League: NRL clears Wiki of foul play charge

SYDNEY - The New Zealand Warriors received a timely shot in the arm when their inspirational prop Ruben Wiki was last night cleared of foul play and will captain them in the NRL match against the Sydney Roosters here on Sunday.

The Kiwis captain, accompanied by Warriors football manager Don Mann and represented by prominent Sydney lawyer Geoff Bellew, was cleared by a three-man NRL judicial panel of allegedly dropping his knees into Broncos forward Corey Parker in Auckland last Sunday.

The grade five charge carried an eight-week suspension if Wiki had been found guilty.

"It's an awesome result. After looking at all the footage and going through it with Geoff, we were very confident we'd covered all our angles and I'd get to play some footy," a beaming Wiki said.

"[A guilty verdict] would have been a kick in the backside but someone's looking after me. Geoff's done a great job and I'm just happy I get to play.

"I play the game hard but fair, I've been doing that for the last 13 years and it won't change."

The incident occurred in the first minute of the match, won 23-18 by the Broncos, when the NRL's match review committee alleged Wiki dropped his knees into Parker's back after he was tackled by two other Warriors players.

Bellew's defence centred on the wording of the charges, which specify the tackled player must be on the ground and the act carry a high degree of recklessness.

He pointed to video evidence to show Parker was "substantially in the air" when contact occurred, and that he was still moving when Wiki moved in to attempt a "legitimate" tackle.

The panel of former players Darren Britt, Don McKinnon and Mal Cochrane took less than 10 minutes to reach their decision.

Wiki wasn't penalised by the referee on Sunday but his actions were highlighted in Australian newspaper reports on Monday.

"He got deliberate knees in the back and they really hurt," Broncos coach Wayne Bennett said of Parker, who was diagnosed with bruised kidneys.

Meanwhile, Billy Slater's return from a lengthy suspension lasted just 25 minutes after the Melbourne Storm back was outed for two matches by the judiciary.

Slater was found guilty of a grade one dangerous throw on Sydney Roosters centre Ryan Cross and had enough carry over points to warrant a two-game ban.

He had just returned from a seven-week ban for kicking West Tigers prop John Skandalis and held slim hopes of a State of Origin recall for Queensland.

- NZPA