Quote post="post"I said it's bad what he did but not that bad (the way some are going on its like he popped his eyeball out of the socket), watch the incident again on mute and tell me its as bad as the link I provided or any other gouge in Rugby Union'"
You miss the point entirely. It's nothing to do with whether Harrison was injured as a result of Hock's gouging and everything to do with Hock [iintent[/i to gouge. The RFL can't go easy on him because he messed up and missed the major part of Harrison's eye.
For me, 5 games is a little ridiculous. It's telling that when I found out my first reaction was 'well at least he got a ban'. I don't have a huge degree of faith in the disciplinary panel to pass down punishments without being influenced by factors other than the offence itself. There was clear intent in what Hock did and it should have been the full 8 games, considering it's hardly out of character for him. But then that would mean the RFL growing some balls and we all know that's not going to happen anytime soon.
