By STEVE MASCORD
ALL-time great Darren Lockyer and London Broncos coach Jason Demetriou each admitted confusion after a Doncaster player was sent off after getting involved in a melee while sitting on the bench.
In the latest instalment of the intrigue and contretemps between the Championship clubs, trouble started with a late challenge by former United States international Bereta Faraimo on Broncos fullback Alex Walker during the home side’s 68-18 win at Kufflink Stadium in Ebbsfleet.
London utility James Meadows rushed in to shove Faraimo after the incident and the bulky winger took exception, resulting in a group of more than a dozen jostling players spilling over the sideline.
When the smoke cleared, Faraimo walked over to apologise to Walker – before he and Meadows were sent to the sin bin.
But a man not on the field, New Zealand-born hooker Misky, faced a harsher fate for getting involved while he was a reserve. Misky was show a red card and he walked slowly around the pitch to the visitors dressingroom, play not restarting until he had left the arena.
At halftime, Broncos co-owner Darren Lockyer told rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads he could not recall ever having seen a player dismissed from the bench and he was unsure if Doncaster would be allowed to play with 13 men when Faraimo returned from the bin.
Demetriou said: “No, I haven’t (seen it). I honestly thought that you have to take a player off the field.
“I’ll still query that. It doesn’t make sense to me that you don’t have to lose a player from the field of play as well. Because otherwise, where’s the advantage in sending him off?
“You can’t come off the bench. That’s just a massive no-go. Everybody knows, if you do that you’re gone.
“I give a lot of credit to the referees and touchies for seeing it. I didn’t see it. I was right there.”
Faraimo did indeed bring Doncaster’s complement back to 13 shortly after halftime – and he went on to score two tries and put his side back in striking distance after it trailed 32-4 at the break.
The Broncos celebrated their 17th consecutive win in the Championship with a star-studded coterie of cricket luminaries and members of their ownership group.
“Chris Lynn and Darren Lehmann, playing … coaching … (Northamptonshire) over here – it was great to have them down supporting us,” Demetriou said.
“Our owners, Aaron Gray and David Dixon as well, our shareholders, Locky, Grant (Wechsel) and Gary (Hetherington) as well – it’s the first time we’ve had the ownership model at a game.
“It was a good game for them to come down to, too.”
David Dixon is the name of a businessman said to be getting involved in the York Knights. He has not been associated with the Broncos before and the nature of his association with the club is not known.
The return of PNG stars Robert Mathias, Alex Max and Epel Kapinias was a big boost to the home side, while captain Reagan Campbell-Gillard was a colossus throughout but was guilty of an old-fashioned coat-hanger tackle late in the match.
“That was a good old-fashioned clothes line, wasn’t it, a coathanger?” the coach said.
“I think it looked worse that it was and that’s probably why the referee didn’t send him off. He got wrong-footed and his arm came up.
“The disciplinary people will look at it and see where it lands.”
LONDON 68 (Glare 2 Voro 2 Smith 2 Tchamambe Hersey-Hord O’Beirne Webster-Mansfield Campbell-Gillard Bienik tries Meadows 9 Webster-Mansfield goals) beat DONCASTER 18 (Boas 2 Faraimo 2 tries Robinson goal) at Kufflink Stadium, Ebbsfleet.
Teams:
LONDON; Alex Walker; Neil Tchamambe, Robert Mathias, Brandon Webster-Mansfield, Elliot Wallis; Gairo Voro, Jimmy Meadows; Reagan Campbell-Gillard ©, Finley Glare, Emarly Bitungane, Luke Smith, Ben Hersey-Hord, Siliva Havili. Res: Connor O’Beirne, Epel Kapinias, Lewis Bienik, Alex Max.
DONCASTER: Tom Holmes; Bureta Faraimo, Watson Boas, James Glover, Luke Briscoe’; Cory Aston. Connor Robinson, Suaia Matagi, Gregory Burns, Muizz Mustapha, Jacob Jones, Luis Johnson, Loui McDonnell. Res: Tyla Hepi, Isaac Misky, Sam Smeaton, Thomas Whitehead.
Referee: Denton Arnold.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
