Queanbeyan Kangaroos hooker Jordan Macey says the rulings from the Canberra Region Rugby League judiciary are inconsistent, comparing the suspended sentences of two players guilty of striking to the season-ending ban for reserve-grade captain-coach Peter Hunt.
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The Kangaroos will face arch rivals the Queanbeyan Blues at Seiffert Oval on Sunday in the Canberra Raiders Cup major semi-final, with a spot in the grand final up for grabs.
The loser will take on the Goulburn Bulldogs, which had Luke Turner and Nathan Chappell escape with four-game and two-game suspended suspensions respectively for their roles in a brawl in last week's 16-10 win against West Belconnen.
Turner and Chappell will only miss games if they re-offend in the next two seasons.
The Kangaroos' reserve-grade team will be without Hunt for the rest of the finals after he was banned for leading the side in its expletive-laden victory song in front of spectators last Sunday.
Macey said it was hard to understand the two rulings after the CRRL had made it clear to clubs this season they were intent on coming down hard on on-field incidents.
"We received a memo maybe a month ago saying the league were going to clamp down on fighting and third players in, and last week West Belconnen and Goulburn got into a fight and players got suspended sentences after they said they were going to dish out the penalties," Macey said.
"For Peter Hunt to receive a penalty being the captain-coach and after all the hard work he's put in for the year, it must have been a pretty serious incident.
"I don't think (the suspended bans were too lenient) at this time of the year, but if the league has come out and said they're going to dish out these harsh penalties ... it's inconsistent."
The Kangaroos are aiming for back-to-back premierships, but this time hope to escape the pressure of sudden-death finals football after falling to the Blues at this hurdle last year.
The Blues took out the minor premiership, with 11 wins, two losses a draw from their 14 games. The Kangaroos were nipping at their heels (10 wins, two losses and two draws).
Both teams had last weekend off and whoever wins on Sunday faces the prospect of playing just twice in a month.
While Macey is hoping to have the week off to give the team's injured players more time to recover, Blues forward Levi Freeman would prefer a more compact finals system.
"I think it's a bit silly how they run that," Freeman said.
"I think there should be two games in the first week and one of the top two teams earn the week off to play the other one.
"I think they should have a look at that in seasons to come.
"You get the rest, but you do lose that momentum.
"That's how it is and every team has to play the same, so we can't be using that as an excuse if we lose."
Sunday: Canberra Raiders Cup, major semi-final: Queanbeyan Blues v Queanbeyan Kangaroos at Seiffert Oval, 3pm.
