St George Illawarra’s Hannah Southwell faced an early dismissal in a match against the Wests Tigers due to a dangerous lifting tackle. This incident occurred shortly after Jetaya Faifua scored for the Tigers. Southwell, 26, rushed in and tackled Portia Bourke, lifting her off the ground and tipping her dangerously over, resulting in Bourke landing awkwardly on her neck and shoulder. Commentator Peter Psaltis deemed the tackle hazardous, and following the incident, Southwell was penalised and subsequently sin-binned after an apology to Bourke.
Ruan Sims commented on the tackle, stating it put Bourke in a risky position, though she acknowledged that Southwell’s intentions were not malicious. Sims drew a contrast between Southwell’s tackle and that of Matekino Gray, who had been sent off in a previous match for a more severe incident.
Things deteriorated for the Dragons when Southwell’s departure impacted the team’s performance. Following her exit, five-eighth Kasey Reh was also forced off the field due to a head knock after a clash with Tigers centre Emily Bass. Both players displayed concerning symptoms, yet were later cleared to return after the mandatory assessment period at Allianz Stadium.
In an unexpected twist, while serving her ten minutes in the sin-bin, Southwell underwent a head injury assessment (HIA) and failed it, thus ruling her out for the remainder of the game. Marlee Silva from Nine described the circumstances as peculiar, noting Southwell exhibited symptoms despite no obvious incident during play. Sims expressed her concern over Southwell’s condition and the impact it would have on the Dragons.
Despite this setback, the Tigers took a commanding lead early on with Tiana-Lee Thorne scoring in the eighth minute. However, the Dragons fought back, with Zali Hopkins crossing to narrow the scoreline. As the game progressed towards half-time, Faifua expanded the Tigers’ lead to 16-6.