Maloney cleared to face Broncos

New Zealand Warriors youngster James Maloney will face Brisbane this weekend after being cleared by the judiciary.

The 21-year-old halfback was found not guilty for a dangerous throw charge on Cronulla’s Anthony Tupou early in Saturday’s encounter at Mount Smart Stadium.

Maloney appeared on a video link hook-up in Auckland while he was represented at NRL headquarters in Sydney by senior counsel Geoff Bellew.

After a 45-minute hearing, the panel of Mal Cochrane, Mark Coyne and Michael Buettner deliberated for about 15 minutes before returning a not guilty verdict.

“I’m really relieved I’ll now be able to take my place in the team against the Broncos,” said Maloney, who’ll be playing his seventh NRL match on Sunday.

“I’m so grateful to the club for their support and for the job Geoff Bellew did representing me.”

Maloney faced a two-match suspension if he had been found guilty.

He’ll join his team-mates tomorrow morning for their final run before leaving for Brisbane on Friday.