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Cowboys star Valentine Holmes has had his three-match suspension upgraded to four matches after failing in his bid to have his charge downgraded at the judiciary on Tuesday night.
Holmes was initially offered a three-match ban for a grade two careless high tackle on Jayden Campbell in the 20th minute of the Cowboys’ 22-13 loss to the Titans.
But after unsuccessfully challenging the charge, Holmes will now miss the remainder of the regular season in a huge blow to North Queensland’s finals hopes.
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Holmes attempted to argue his punishment down to a $3000 fine but the judiciary panel of Paul Simpkins and Tony Puletua unanimously determined the level of force excerted by Holmes was moderate – upholding the the grade two charge.
In an unconventional judiciary hearing, chairman Justice Geoffrey Bellew reprimanded Holmes’ legal representative Bill O’Toole several times for not following the proper judicial process.
O’Toole attempted to have a memo sent out to clubs last week by NRL head of football Graham Annesley removed from evidence, claiming Holmes had not seen the announcement titled ‘Player safety update high tackles and shoulder charges’ until Tuesday.
He also argued that Campbell was not injured in the incident and that high contact was avoidable if Campbell did not “lower his body height as he received the ball from Tanah Boyd and prepared to pass to Jojo Fifita.”
O’Toole asked to show footage of a similar charge against Eels winger Maika Sivo in round 20 but that was eventually thrown out by the panel based on their likeness.
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In round 21, Holmes was fined $1800 for a careless high tackle on Mitchell Moses. As the hit on Campbell was his third and subsequent offence, the match review committee handed down a higher penalty.
The centre will be unable to play for the Cowboys again in 2023 unless they advance to the finals because of the team’s bye in Round 24..
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