Sea Eagles expose judiciary flaw MANLY coach Geoff Toovey last night called for an overhaul of the NRL's judiciary grading system after Sea Eagles forward Richard Fa'aoso became the latest player to score a win over the NRL's shoulder-charge crackdown. Fa'aoso was staring at a four-match suspension for making dangerous contact with Gold Coast lock Ashley Harrison last Saturday night but will miss only one game after successfully arguing to have the charge downgraded from a grade three to a grade two. He will return for the game against Canterbury in round five. Although the match review committee had not charged Fa'aoso with a shoulder charge, last night was considered a test case for the game's ban on the dangerous practice because he led with his shoulder in the tackle. Central to the Sea Eagles' defence was the fact that Melbourne fullback Billy Slater had been charged with only a grade-one offence for dangerous contact in round one in an incident that they believed had been far worse than Fa'aoso's. Slater took an early plea and played the next round. Toovey stopped short last night of saying the match review committee had got the charge wrong, but said the decision was further evidence that the grading system needed to be rethought. "It was a head clash and we're really glad that we got a good hearing there today," Toovey said. I think there needs to be some more transparency around (the grading system). At the end of the day, Richie made the tackle, which was illegal, and we accept that. We just hope that Ashley Harrison is OK to play this weekend and the players' welfare is at the forefront of everyone. Richie after the game and during the game was very remorseful and very concerned about his fellow player. NRL prosecutor Peter Kite went to pains at the start of the hearing to explain that while the incident was not a shoulder charge, it was Fa'aoso's decision to perform the tackle that led to dangerous contact on Harrison. The panel of Don McKinnon, Michael Vella and Sean Garlick was shown six angles of the incident in which Fa'aoso charged in and dug his shoulder into the ribcage of Harrison before their heads clashed and the Titans lock crashed to the ground. Kite conceded that Fa'aoso's actions weren't deliberate but the Manly forward must have known that there was going to be a head clash and there was a foreseeable risk of injury to Harrison. He added that the Titans lock was in a position where he was unable to defend himself, the referees had reported the tackle as being late after the game, and that his head had whipped back and forth following the hit. The panel was told that Harrison had suffered a mild brain injury and loss of consciousness as a result of the hit and that they needed to send a strong message across all levels of the game to ensure there couldn't be a repeat. "There's a need for deterrence -- not only in the NRL and the National Youth Competition but in all levels of the game," Kite said. There needs to be a clear message to all players of the game at this level and all levels that this is a dangerous strategy. It needs to be avoided.