Reds replacement Will Genia cited & GONE for 3 weeks

Reds replacement Will Genia cited

Reds replacement and try scorer Will Genia has been cited for a dangerous tackle on a player in the first half during the Reds 25-13 victory over the Sharks in Brisbane on Saturday.

Genia will appear before a SANZAR judiciary at 6pm on Tuesday at Ballymore following an incident in the first half.

Genia was also seen to tackle a Sharks player in the second half which prompted the assistant referee to call over the referee and a penalty was awarded to the Sharks.
As neither official was able to see Genia's number the Reds were given a warning and told that if the officials would have had the number the player would have been shown a yellow card.

Unsurprising - at least two I would have thought.

at least two what?

Matches.

Queensland Reds half-back Will Genia to miss three games after suspension

March 17, 2009 Queensland Reds are considering an appeal after half-back Will Genia was on Tuesday night suspended for four weeks for a dangerous tackle.

Because of the bye Genia has effectively been banned for three Super 14 matches for his spear tackle on Sharks flanker Keegan Daniel in Saturday night's 25-13 victory at Suncorp Stadium.

Reds coach Phil Mooney was highly disappointed by the result after a 90 minute SANZAR judicial hearing in Brisbane and indicated they may appeal.

“We're extremely disappointed and we'll consider our options,'' Mooney said.

Fuelling the Reds' belief Genia deserved a lighter sentence, former Wallabies captain George Gregan only received a one week ban in 2006 when he pulled off a similar driving tackle on Highlanders back Richard Kahui when playing for the Brumbies.

Genia's absence for Queensland's next match on March 28 against the Chiefs leaves the franchise with a half-back crisis as fellow No.9 Ben Lucas is in doubt with a rib injury.

Lucas will be assessed again before this weekend's bye, but is highly unlikely of lining up against All Blacks half-back Brendon Leonard.

Queensland Academy half-back Brendan McKibbin is now in line for his Super 14 debut after impressing with the Academy side and also taking out the Brisbane club player of the year award in 2008.

Mooney dismissed reports former New South Wales Waratahs captain Chris Whitaker will return from Irish club Leinster to make a special one-off appearance in the Reds No.9 jersey.

“Brendan is the first cab off the rank,'' Mooney said.

“He's been on our development tour, has been the standout player in the club competition and he trained with us all pre-season as well as being with us in this last week.

“So there's no worries there with Brendan at all, and he's also a pretty good goal kicker.''



AAP

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...002381,00.html

Ouch. Is the tackle on youtube? I can't see it and I don't know how to post it.

It was nasty, but they have a bye so it's just 2 I guess.

Whoops misread it, 3 games hm I need to see the tackle again.

Reds angry at Genia's three-match ban

17th March 2009, 20:30 WST

Queensland are considering an appeal after halfback Will Genia was suspended for four weeks for a dangerous tackle.

Because of the bye Genia has effectively been banned for three Super 14 matches for his spear tackle on Sharks flanker Keegan Daniel in Saturday night's 25-13 victory at Suncorp Stadium.

Reds coach Phil Mooney was highly disappointed by the result after a 90 minute SANZAR judicial hearing in Brisbane and indicated they may appeal.

"We're extremely disappointed and we'll consider our options," Mooney said.

"Fuelling the Reds' belief Genia deserved a lighter sentence, former Wallabies captain George Gregan only received a one week ban in 2006 when he pulled off a similar driving tackle on Highlanders back Richard Kahui when playing for the Brumbies.

Genia's absence for Queensland's next match on March 28 against the Chiefs leaves the franchise with a halfback crisis as fellow No.9 Ben Lucas is in doubt with a rib injury.

Lucas will be assessed again before this weekend's bye but is highly unlikely of lining up against All Blacks halfback Brendon Leonard.

Queensland Academy halfback Brendan McKibbin is now in line for his Super 14 debut after impressing with the Academy side and also taking out the Brisbane club player of the year award in 2008.

Mooney dismissed reports former NSW captain Chris Whitaker will return from Irish club Leinster to make a special one-off appearance in the Reds No.9 jersey.

"Brendan is the first cab off the rank," said Mooney.

"He's been on our development tour, has been the standout player in the club competition and he trained with us all pre-season as well as being with us in this last week.

"So there's no worries there with Brendan at all, and he's also a pretty good goal kicker."

BRISBANE
AAP

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.as...ntentID=130727

"Oui, this is Matt..."

Doesn't he need to do more time ?

Former Wallabies halfback Chris Whitaker targeted by Queensland Reds for cameo appearance
By Wayne Smith
March 17, 2009 Queensland Reds plan to test the limits of brotherly love if their half-back crisis does not abate, exploring the possibility of bringing former Waratahs captain Chris Whitaker back from Ireland to pinch-hit for them against the Chiefs on March 28.

Leinster-based Whitaker was the first person to text his brother, QRU performance rugby manager Ben Whitaker, after the Reds' stunning 25-13 triumph over the Sharks on Saturday night to congratulate him, not just on the victory, but on the scintillating manner in which they achieved it.

Aware the Reds' starting half-back Ben Lucas was in grave doubt for the Chiefs match because of a rib cartilage injury, and that the back-up number nine, Will Genia, was facing a judiciary hearing on a dangerous tackle charge, Ben half-jokingly replied that now would be a good time for Chris to come home to visit the family - and to bring his boots with him.

Surprisingly, the 34-year-old did not scoff at the proposal and suddenly what had begun as a half-baked joke began to take on the shape of a possible short-term solution if Lucas and Genia are ruled out of the Reds' next game.

"It's not beyond the realms of possibility," said Reds coach Phil Mooney yesterday. "But I'm not going to think seriously about it until I know for certain that both Lucas and Genia are out."

They will know soon enough on Genia, who will appear before a SANZAR judiciary officer at Ballymore tonight, after being cited for a second-half incident when he up-ended Sharks flanker Keegan Daniel. Lucas's availability will take a little longer to determine and in the meantime Brendan McGibbon, the Queensland Second XV number nine, will train in his place.

A jack-in-the-box-style half-back, McGibbon played on the Reds' development tour of Europe last year and subsequently put in a short stint at Saracens under former Queensland coach Eddie Jones. "It's not as though we'd be plucking him from obscurity," Mooney said. "He trained with us as recently as last week. He knows all the plays and all the players."

Still, for a one-off clash against a dangerous Chiefs side masterminded by All Blacks half-back Brendon Leonard, a 107-Super rugby veteran like Whitaker could prove invaluable. "Chris didn't say no, but he did say he might be struggling to convince his (Leinster) coach (Australian Michael Cheika)," Ben Whitaker said.

The major complication is that Leinster has a Magners League match against Ulster on March 29, but then Whitaker was only used as a bench player in the side's last League fixture.

Meanwhile, the Reds are about to harvest the first fruits of their resurgence as a credible side in the Super 14, with number eight Leroy Houston set to re-sign with the franchise this week.

"Everyone's happy at the moment, so that's creating a great atmosphere," Mooney said. "All the guys coming off contract seem keen to stay with us."

The possible exception is winger/centre Digby Ioane who is being pursued by European clubs, but Queensland Rugby Union officials are hoping the lure of adding to his modest tally of four Tests will be sufficient incentive to recommit.

Certainly in terms of his rugby development, Ioane has vastly matured since controversially breaking his contract with the Western Force in 2007 to return to Queensland. Houston, too, has rebuilt his career at the Reds, after they threw him a lifeline last season when it seemed he might be lost to rugby after an unsettled period at the Waratahs.

Under Mooney, the 117kg number eight has regained and indeed surpassed the form that won him a place on the 2005 Wallabies spring tour.

"People warned us about Leroy's supposed chequered past when we took him on but we have not had a single problem with him," Mooney said. "He has been a pleasure to have around."


http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...-23217,00.html

Depends how much time you thought he needed to do in the first place, I'd be happy to see him in pink this week...

Queensland remain unhappy at the sentence but have ruled out appealing halfback Will Genia's three-match Super 14 suspension.

The Reds on Wednesday opted against lodging an appeal after Genia was rubbed out for four weeks, including a bye, for his dangerous tackle on Sharks flanker Keegan Daniel.

...

Coach Phil Mooney started the day saying Queensland "probably will" look for a judicial review but the Reds took further legal advice and decided to cop the penalty on the chin.

"We've considered it pretty strongly but the latest information we've received indicates that an appeal might not be the best thing to do," said Reds high-performance manager Ben Whitaker.

The in-form Genia's unavailability until round 10 against the Lions means third-stringer Brendan McKibbin will be sized up for his Super 14 debut against the Chiefs on March 28.

...

Barnes backed McKibbin, who enjoyed a 2008 stint with London club Saracens, to make a good fist of a likely big first-up challenge against All black Brendon Leonard.

"We'll bring McKibbin in and he's experienced," said Barnes. "That stint at Saracens over there really helped him.

"He's grown a lot in confidence and I have every faith in him he'll be able to do the job for us.

"It is going to be a tough ask but we've got blokes around him working for him as well and he doesn't lack toughness, he's an ex-flanker so I've got no qualms there."
there."

Missing bits HERE

yeah he was a flanker quite a few years ago, back in colts..

Its actually pretty common for many players to switch positions during the schoolboy-opens rugby phase due to physical development. Some get to big for positions, some remain to small.