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Jake Friend charged by NRL for dangerous Greg Inglis tackle

Jake Friend has received a grade one dangerous contact charge for his tackle on South Sydney’s Greg Inglis in Saturday night’s preliminary final.

Despite receiving the charge, if the Sydney Roosters decide not to appeal the decision, Friend will be set to run out for the NRL grand final next weekend.

While Melbourne star Billy Slater will fight for his availability in the NRL grand final at the judiciary following his controversial shoulder charge, Friend will not suffer the same fate.

The Roosters are expected to enter an early guilty plea, meaning Friend will receive 75 points and not cop an automatic one-game suspension.

Roosters hooker Jake Friend is free to play in the NRL grand final, despite being charged for a dangerous tackle. Pic: Getty/WWOS
Roosters hooker Jake Friend is free to play in the NRL grand final, despite being charged for a dangerous tackle. Pic: Getty/WWOS

The Roosters coughed the ball up inside their own half and Friend sparked a scuffle when he tipped Inglis on his head.

While there were initial concerns that Friend could be suspended, the player’s clean record and the nature of the throw worked in his favour.

Friend has not been charged in the past two years and has no carryover points, with an early guilty plea on a grade-one charge freeing him for the grand final.

But now that Friend has been given the green light to play, fans will be questioning whether Billy Slater will receive the same good fortune.

Storm hire ‘shoulder charge whisperer’ to help free Billy Slater

Melbourne will push to have Billy Slater’s judiciary hearing brought forward to Monday after hiring gun defence counsel Nick Ghabar to help free the retiring star to play in his farewell grand final.

Slater’s hopes of playing one last NRL game will rest in the hands of a three-man judiciary panel of ex-players next week, after he was hit with a grade-one shoulder charge offence for Friday night’s hit on Cronulla winger Sosaia Feki.

The Billy Slater shoulder charge on Cronulla’s Sosaia Feki. Pic: WWOS
The Billy Slater shoulder charge on Cronulla’s Sosaia Feki. Pic: WWOS

Melbourne were expecting their veteran fullback to go uncharged over the try-saving hit that pushed Feki into touch, but swept into action quickly after receiving the news on Saturday morning.

The Storm confirmed immediately they’d challenge the charge and hired Ghabar, who is considered as one of the best lawyers available when players attempt to evade a ban and has become somewhat of a ‘shoulder charge whisperer’.

Ghabar was responsible for freeing Jack Wighton to play in the 2016 finals series after an apparent shoulder charge on Michael Ennis, when the Canberra fullback’s prospects looked bleak.

He also successfully defended Sam Burgess against a shoulder charge claim at the start of last season after he cleaned up Canterbury’s Greg Eastwood.

with AAP.