Gold Coast Titans CEO Graham Annesley has acknowledged advice from the NRL of its intention to issue a breach notice with a proposed penalty of a $5000 fine resulting from yesterday’s interchange incident involving David Shillington.
“We agree with the NRL’s assessment that the breach was relatively minor and we appreciate the expeditious manner the matter has been dealt with to quash any further speculation over the holiday weekend,” Annesley said.
“We will await full details of the breach notice over the coming days before deciding whether to make submissions to the NRL detailing any mitigating circumstances the club believes should be considered before the final penalty is confirmed.”
The Titans will make no further comment until this process has been completed.
The NRL’s release in regard to the breach is listed below:
The NRL today announced that it would issue a breach notice of $5000 to the Gold Coast Titans for having an extra player on the field briefly in Saturday’s match against Canberra Raiders.
Having reviewed footage of the incident, which occurred in the 48th minute, the NRL notified the Titans of the sanction today.
“There is clear evidence of 14 players being on the field for a very brief period of time,” said NRL General Manager of Football Operations Nathan McGuirk.
“While it did not impact significantly on the game, we do take matters of this nature very seriously.
“Ultimately, the responsibility for ensuring there are 13 players on the field at any one time rests with the Club.
“Based on the facts, we see this as an offence of a relatively minor nature, and we believe that a $5000 breach notice is an appropriate penalty.”
The Titans have five working days to respond to the breach notice.
