England star could miss Samoa series after ugly incident in NRL play-off clash

Aaron Bower
Victor Radley

Sydney Roosters' Victor Radley

England star Victor Radley’s participation in this autumn’s Test series against Samoa has been thrown into major doubt.

The Sydney Roosters forward would be a certainty to start for Shaun Wane’s side in the two-match series later this year, with Radley consistently putting his hand up to feature for England ever since making his debut in 2022.

He has been included in an extended train-on squad for the autumn internationals but faces a nervous wait to see if he will be eligible to take part after being put on report for an ugly-looking incident during the Roosters’ NRL semi-final against Melbourne Storm on Friday.

Radley appeared to be involved in a hip drop-style tackle on Melbourne forward Nelson Asofa-Solomona in the early stages of the first half of the contest at AAMI Park.

He wasn’t sin-binned, but was penalised and placed on report – immediately sparking fears that he could cop a suspension which would put his involvement for England in major doubt over the coming weeks.

The tackle can be seen below (note: not available to view in the UK):

 

Radley has been somewhat of a serial offender in the NRL in recent seasons. In the last three years before this campaign, he had received a staggering 12 games’ worth of suspensions for various incidents, marking him out as one of the most ill-disciplined players in the NRL.

But he has cleaned up his act in 2024. He has been charged by the disciplinary process just once, and fined $1,000 for an incident in Round 12.

However, the nature of this tackle on Asofa-Solomona could leave him sweating over his participation for England.

He has only just returned from a shoulder injury ahead of schedule after suffering a fracture to his scapula in the final weeks of the NRL season.

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