HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS star Olly Russell has spoken out on the incident that involved himself and Leeds Rhinos forward Sam Lisone in last night’s 34-6 loss to the Rhinos.
Russell was quite obviously hit with Lisone’s forearm to the face in the lead-up to Leeds’ second try moments before half-time.
However, the Huddersfield halfback bounced straight back up to complete the tackle on Lisone, with Sky Sports pundit Jon Wilkin applauding Russell for his “unbelievable” actions.
In the fallout from that tackle, Wilkin and Sky Sports host Brian Carney were left discussing whether Russell should have stayed down in order to win a penalty and a potential card for Lisone, with video referee Liam Moore unable to assess the incident once the Rhinos had scored given that it was multiple tackles before.
That being said, whilst a number of people have since spoken out saying that Russell should have stayed down, the Huddersfield man himself has taken to social media to dispel those comments.
Russell posted on X: “I don’t normally comment after games but people saying I cost the team a try or the game for not staying down. I signed up to the sport knowing it was tough and not football to roll around and pretend I’m hurt, I stand by getting up and the correct decision was made 👊🏼”
Something definitely needs to be done regarding such incidents, whether that means a change in the rules which would allow video referees to rule on foul play in prior tackles remains to be seen.
However, Russell should be applauded for his tough actions – something which we want to see replicated throughout the leagues.
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