Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson believes if the NRL match review committee is consistent, then Luke Keary will play in next Sunday’s grand final.
Keary will nervously be waiting for whether he has a case to answer for a high tackle in Saturday’s eight-point preliminary final victory over Melbourne.
Keary wasn’t put on report, however the MRC is certain to look at a second-half shot from Keary that knocked out Storm forward Felise Kaufusi for the night.
Replays showed Keary coming up a swinging arm that hit Kaufusi in the jaw, however Robinson is adamant his five-eighth has no reason to be concerned.
“If it’s consistent, it’d be pretty certain he’d be playing that’s week, that’s for sure,” Robinson said after his team’s win over the Storm.
The incident came moments after a fierce Kaufusi fend to Keary’s face, and the Roosters No.6 retaliated by pulling a chunk of the forward’s hair.
Keary then had a second crack at Kaufusi, making contact with his face.
A heavy charge would have serious ramifications for Keary and the Roosters, who will advance to a grand final against Canberra with a victory over the Storm.
A grade-one careless charge would result in a fine, while a grade-two would attract 150 points and could rub him out of the grand final.
A grade-one reckless high tackle is 300 points.
“I actually feel really bad. I didn’t mean to knock him out or anything like that. I hope he’s okay. I haven’t spoken to him yet, but I hope he’s okay,” Keary said.
“I haven’t thought about consequences, but I just hope he’s okay.”
Asked about the hair-pull, Keary said: ‘I think I was just trying to grab him. I don’t really want to joke about it until he’s healthy. But yeah, it is what it is.”
Keary was a strong contributor in the Roosters advancing to a second straight grand final, including putting up a bomb that resulted in the opening try.
The former Kangaroos star’s preparations for the game were hampered by a foot injury he picked up in their qualifying final win over South Sydney.
He aggravated it again against Melbourne, however the 27-year-old is confident of taking the field against the Raiders.
“We knew I was always going to play. We just knew we had to manage it in a certain way,” Keary said of his preparation.
“And I knew the Thursday session I wasn’t going to do.
“I was just going to do some stuff on my own, which was just to keep the swelling down. Friday, did everything. It was a little bit sore out there, but nothing too bad.
“I’ll probably manage it a little bit at the start of the week. It pulled up pretty good so I should be fine to train most of the days.”