Penrith coach Ivan Cleary insists Taylan May’s hit on Brisbane star Reece Walsh was simply an accidental head clash, as the Broncos wait anxiously on the results of scans of the fullback’s eye socket.
May was placed on report after he rushed out of the line and tried to put a hit on Walsh early in the Panthers’ 34-12 win in Penrith on Thursday night.
They clashed heads slightly after Walsh passed the ball.
The contact left Walsh unable to see out of his left eye, as it closed up while he was off the field receiving stitches to a bad cut to the face.
May was told by referee Gerard Sutton he had a duty of care to avoid the head clash, and that he should have bent down in the contact.
A grade-two dangerous contact charge would leave May banned for next week’s match against the Sydney Roosters.
But Cleary believed there was nothing wrong with the tackle.
“No-one wants to see the best players go off, but I just saw it as an accident,” Cleary said.
“I thought he was trying to pull out of the tackle, he was directly upright, which is not how you tackle.
“If he had of bent down, he probably would have hit him in the head with his shoulder.
“Reece Walsh moves pretty fast, these things happen. I’m not too concerned about that.”
Broncos coach Kevin Walters said he did not have a good view of the hit but labelled it as “just one of those things that happen”.
Of greater concern for Walters is the fitness of Walsh.
Any fracture could potentially leave him on the sidelines with Adam Reynolds and Payne Haas, and the Broncos without their three most important players.
Walsh was due to have scans on Friday morning, but the Broncos are hopeful there is no bone damage.
“He tried to get back on, but he couldn’t see. So we had to pull him from the game,” Walters said.
Thursday night’s result moved the Panthers to fourth place on the ladder with a 2-1 win-loss record.
The Broncos are 12th, with one win from three matches.
AAP
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