Lotto shop beckons for Tialata

May 14, 2008

Neemia Tialata should have invested in a Lotto ticket following his one-week suspension handed down for his outrageous 'tackle' on Western Force wing Dane Haylett-Petty.

For if his luck with Lotto equalled what he got away with from the Sanzar judiciary, chances are he could become New Zealand's latest millionaire come 8pm on Saturday night.

How Tialata got off with just a one-week suspension is beyond me.

Rewind the clock back to last August when Tialata was on the wrong end of a king-hit from Hawke's Bay prop Clint Newland.

Tialata was knocked cold and Newland was handed a hefty 10-week suspension.

While Haylett-Petty was left a bit dazed by Tialata's crazy actions at Wellington's Westpac Stadium on Friday night, he didn't have to be carted from the field as the All Black prop was last year.

But the fact Haylett-Petty wasn't injured, again largely through luck than anything else, shouldn't have meant Tialata got away with the weakest of bans.

What Tialata did had far more risk of serious injury than Newland's punch.

He should have had the judicial handbook thrown at him.

Tialata's actions could easily have caused serious spinal damage to his unfortunate victim.

And the judgment handed down by the judicial officer should have reflected that.

Instead, Tialata was slapped across the wrist with a judicial wet bus ticket for a move which would have been more appropriate in the comical world of professional wrestling.

Do you agree? Or do you think that as Haylett-Petty wasn't injured, Tialata should have been handed leniency?

Also in the news over the weekend was former All Black halfback Justin Marshall having a whinge about the NZRU not offering him a retainer so he could return for the Air New Zealand Cup.

The sight of Marshall running around in the red and black jersey of Canterbury would have been interesting to witness.

But it seems that Marshall has picked the wrong body to point the finger at.

Surely if anyone was to offer Marshall a tidy retainer to play in the Air New Zealand Cup, when he will be aged 35, it would be Canterbury.

They will be the ones gaining benefit from his services, not the NZRU.

The fact it is unlikely he would be wanted for the 2009 Rebel Sport Super 14 presumably made it a very easy decision to make. And it's one the often criticised NZRU has definitely got right.

Great player that he WAS, Marshall is wide of the mark.

Marshall did talk to Canterbury officials, but said his hoped-for return fell over when the NZRU didn't play ball.

You would think if the Canterbury Rugby Football Union were that keen on him they would have offered him a gig.

Marshall is no stranger to mouthing off when things don't seem fair to him. This is just the latest case.

Would you like to have seen Marshall back? And do you think the NZRU are in the wrong?

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chris-ward@xtra.co.nz - posted May 14 03:07 pm

Your talking a crock of crap mate. Tialatas tackle was far less potentially damaging than the "legal" hit from Jerry Collins on Colin Charvis some years back. I'm not suggesting there was anything wrong with Jerry's tackle - there wasn't, neither was there with Tialata's. As Umaga said, "it's not Tiddly Winks."
I'm picking you were a soccer player..................

colinanddebs - posted May 14 03:25 pm

Professional wrestling comes with the warning "Please DON'T try this". Someone forgot to tell Tialata,and he's incredibly lucky the victim of his "suplex" wasn't injured, and even luckier he's still allowed to play rugby at all after it. 10 weeks should have been the starting point.
Rugby isn't tiddly winks, but thuggery has no place in any legitimate sport.

waitrya - posted May 14 04:55 pm

chris-ward - You're the one thats way off the mark! If Tialata had flipped him not fully over he could have landed on his head and broken his neck and potentially paralysed the guy. Tialata went right through with the tackle. Comparing it to Jerrys tackle is a joke. Colin Charvis couldn't have come out of that tackle any worse really.

That sort of tackle has no place in the game and a much longer suspension should have been given. And im a rugby player through and through

bopkiwican@xtra.co.nz - posted May 14 07:23 pm

I'd like to support Tialata on this one as it seems Neil Reid has not played the game himself and does not realise there are many ways players can unintentionally contact or bring down players, without intending to seriously injure the other player. It was an unusual way to bring a plyer to the ground but Tialata in no way tried to drive the head of the player into the ground and kept hold of him throughout the tackle so they went to ground together.

fialemaa - posted May 15 01:41 am

I agree. Tialata should have received a longer ban than just one week. It was a dangerous throw, taking the player on a 270 degree ride through the air. The saving grace probably was that Tialata had control of him the whole way through. the media do tend to exaggerate the potential damage these tackles can cause, fuelled by endless slow-motion replays. A lot of things can look worse than they actually are when physical contact occurs at such intensity and speeds.