Five footy stars that missed the final

Brisbane's Justin Hodges is far from alone if suspended out of Sunday's NRL grand final against North Queensland in Sydney. Photo / Getty Images.

Brisbane's Justin Hodges is far from alone if suspended out of Sunday's NRL grand final against North Queensland in Sydney.

The veteran Broncos centre - who is about to retire - faces almost certain suspension for a dangerous throw when he fronts a hearing on Tuesday night. We look at other footballers who have been benched by the bench on their big day.

Double whammy going for the triple

Manchester United midfielders Roy Keane and Paul Scholes were both suspended out of the 1999 Champions League final, which resulted in an unforgettable victory over Bayern Munich via injury time goals. Hardman Keane was lauded by coach Alex Ferguson for his display against Juventus, which earned him the heartbreaking booking. "The most emphatic display of selflessness," according to Ferguson, whose team won the coveted Premiership/FA Cup/European combo that season.

The double double whammy

Kiwi league prop Dane Sorensen and Sharks team mate Greg Pierce were bladed from the 1978 final against Manly, which ended in a draw. They also missed the replay, won by the Sea Eagles. Cronulla allegedly had video which may have exonerated Sorensen, but kept it in the can because it also showed one of his team mates breaking an opponent's jaw with an elbow according to a Telegraph story.

Dirty Dozen

There are about 12 Aussie club league players so far who will forever be dirty about missing their big day, including Kiwis Sorensen, John Lomax and Issac Luke. They also include Steve "Blocker" Roach, who missed out in 1988. Roach, one of league's great characters, tried to pull a swifty by getting his sentence out of the way in England.

Warrington named him in two teams on one weekend but the Australian bosses were not moved. Roach listened to the grand final from England over a telephone line.

Here's the tip

Manly forward Jim Serdaris reportedly offered to pay a $10,000 "fine" in return for having his suspension quashed for a fairly obvious lifting tackle. His kind offer was turned down, and he missed the 1997 grand final defeat to Newcastle. The judiciary tends to be intransigent on these matters. Kiwi Issac Luke missed last year's final against the Bulldogs for a dangerous throw, even though his target Sonny Bill Williams said there was "nothing in the tackle". Video confirms there was plenty in the tackle, which makes you wonder why footballers persist with a move that is dangerous to both opponents and their own careers. Souths won without Luke.

Dealt a rough hand

A second yellow card, for what has been described as a dubious handball decision, put Argentinian striker Claudio Caniggia out of football's 1990 World Cup final against Germany, which his side lost. He had starred in the tournament and scored the goal which kept Argentina in the semifinal against Italy.

"When I got into the dressing-room everyone was enjoying the moment. But I was not, I was very upset. I was very angry. I could not believe I could not play the final. But no, no tears. There were no tears," he told The Scotsman this year, speaking for all who have experienced a similar fate.

This is a long way from being Argentina's most famous World Cup handball moment though (think Maradona).

A footnote...

...in Jonah Lomu's amazing career. Rugby's runaway train was suspended out of the 1996 NPC final against Auckland for a spear tackle during Counties Manukau's semifinal win over Canterbury. It was a tough year for Jonah - he was hit by injury and his debilitating kidney condition took hold. He had only just returned to the field for Counties Manukau, who were crushed by the glamour Auckland lineup in the final.