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?
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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