Raiders fullback Jack Wighton has beaten his grade two shoulder charge at a judiciary hearing tonight and will be free to play against the Sharks at GIO Stadium on Sunday.
The match review committee charged Wighton with a grade two shoulder charge, which if found guilty would have seen the Canberra number one miss the remainder of the 2016 NRL season.
The Wighton tackle was on Tigers forward Joel Edwards and came in the 70th minute of their victory last weekend.
The charge was dismissed despite Match Review Committee Coordinator Michael Buettner expressing earlier in the week what they believed constituted a shoulder charge.
“We look for three key indicators when determining whether a shoulder charge has been made,” Mr Buettner said.
“They are: The upper arm of the defender must be tucked in to his side at contact.
2. The defender is making no attempt to wrap in the tackle with both arms
3. There is forceful contact by the defender to any part of the body of the attacking player.
“If all three of these indicators are clearly identified in an incident then a player will be charged with a shoulder charge.
“In the Wighton incident the MRC was satisfied that all three indicators were present and so a charge has been laid.”
