RUGBY LEAGUE
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NSW will attempt to end Queensland's State of Origin reign with its playmakers intact, after five-eighth Josh Reynolds successfully had his grade two dangerous throw charge downgraded at the NRL Judiciary on Thursday night.
Reynolds had the charge reduced from a grade two to a grade one, meaning he won't miss any football and is available for the June 18 clash against Queensland at ANZ Stadium.
The Bulldogs No 6 was potentially facing a three-week ban after he was charged over a tackle that cartwheeled Queensland winger Brent Tate on to his back in the first half of the Blues' 12-8 win in Wednesday night's Origin opener.
Reynolds's representative, Nick Ghabar, argued that fellow Blues' tackler Beau Scott significantly contributed to the dangerous position Queensland's Brent Tate was placed in during the spectacular tackle.
It took judiciary panel members Sean Garlick, Mick Vella and Paul Whatuira just under 10 minutes to agree that Reynolds's role in the dangerous nature of the incident was no worse than Scott's, who had only received a grade one charge.
Reynolds escapes suspension entirely because of the discount he received for his early guilty plea, taking him down to 93 points, and he'll be free to take on Manly in Canterbury's next NRL match on June 6.
Bulldogs chief executive Raelene Castle faced the media outside the NRL judiciary with Reynolds by her side but the five-eighth didn't speak.
"It was a brave decision to challenge the grading," Castle said.
"Josh is one of those players who plays with a huge amount of passion but never plays with intent to injure anyone." AAP