‘Please stop apologising’: Phoenix Crossland learns fate as emotional Cleary phone call revealed

The Knights have suffered a devastating blow just days out from the grand final after dummy-half Phoenix Crossland copped a four-match ban for his hip-drop tackle that ended Nathan Cleary’s season.

Get the expert take on NRL Grand Final Day with FOX LEAGUE’s extensive coverage, plus full and mini replays available post-game on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

Crossland was referred directly to the NRL judiciary for the first-half incident in Sunday’s preliminary final that saw him sent off and resulted in Cleary suffering a shocking compound fracture of the ankle.

The judiciary panel of Ryan James and Paul Simpkins sat through an 80-minute hearing and then deliberated for a further 17 minutes before delivering their unanimous verdict.

The Knights hooker had already pleaded guilty on Tuesday, with NRL counsel Patrick Knowles seeking a four-match ban, while defence counsel James McLeod was pushing for 2-3 games.

Crossland was named in the No.9 jersey for Sunday’s grand final against the Roosters, but Harrison Graham is expected to make just his third start of the season.

That could open up a bench spot for 19-year-old Diesel Hagan who could become the first player since Eddie Lockhart 90 years ago to make his first-grade debut in a grand final.

It was an emotional hearing that saw Crossland in tears at one stage as he explained how much he looks up to Cleary and how the incident had ruined what was supposed to be the best week of his life.

No player made more tackles than Crossland in 2026, but Sunday’s hip drop is the only one that everyone will remember.

“It happened so fast,” Crossland explained.

“The most of what I’ve seen of it was on a screen when you slow it down, it doesn’t look great. I was trying to stop a try. In my position, it’s my job to stop tries. That’s all I was trying to do. I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone.

“Of course (I got my execution wrong).”

McLeod used a comparable tackle from round three when Dragons forward Ryan Couchman was sent to the sin bin and copped a four-match ban for a tackle that saw J’maine Hopgood suffer a season-ending ACL tear.

“I called him yesterday. It was a tough phone call,” Crossland said.

“I had to apologise and make sure he was doing all right. It was a horrific incident and he’s our best player. I reached out to his dad as well. I apologised to him. It ruined a great game and left a sour taste in everyone’s mind.

“He’s such a gentleman. He told me to stop saying sorry. He understood the situation, he was a class act and he was really good about it.

“It’s been the worst couple of days of my life. I’m a fan of the game before I’m a player. He’s my favourite player by a mile, so to be the reason he’s in hospital is killing me.”

Crossland apologised to everyone in the room for making them be there in “the best week of the year” and vowed to practise his tackle technique at training to ensure this never happens again.

The Danny Buderus Medal winner has received vile messages on social media which led to Cleary calling on footy fans to leave the Knights star alone.

“Please don’t be one of these people writing comments like this to Phoenix, it was a complete accident and he doesn’t deserve this unwarranted hate,” Cleary posted on social media.

“He reached out to apologise and I have nothing but respect for him. He’s a competitor and our game is made up of split second moments that sometimes lead to unfortunate circumstances.

“Comments like this are so unfair. Spread love not hate.”

McLeod tendered evidence of Cleary’s Instagram post which included a series of abusive message sent by trolls to Crossland’s account.

“It’s not great, but my family sees it. I can deal with it, but they can’t,” he said as he teared up.

“He’s the best player in the game. I look up to him.

“He’s in hospital and he’s going to miss a World Cup so it’s not a great place to be knowing I’m the reason for that.

“It’s meant to be the best week of my life, but at the moment it’s far from it.”

It was an emotional night at Rugby League Central where Crossland was forced to sit through 12 angles and 24 clips of the tackle.

NRL counsel Patrick Knowles SC said the tackle brought about a “high degree of carelessness, was not deliberate and did not intentionally cause injury.”

But he pointed out that Crossland got the tackle wrong and that the incident featured the three main components of a hip drop and had a high risk of injury.

Both Knowles and McLeod agreed that a large chunk of Crossland’s body weight landed on the ground before he made contact with Cleary’s left foot.

But the NRL’s counsel implored the judiciary to protect players and to send a “very serious message” because tackles like this one can’t be tolerated.

Crossland was supported by Knights director of football Chris James and received character references from club legends Mark Hughes and Michael Hagan for his strong standing in the community.

McLeod argued his client should receive a discount given the guilty plea and the fact he already missed 45 minutes of a preliminary final, as well as the fact that Crossland was copping so much vitriol online.

Crossland will miss the grand final and three World Cup matches for New Zealand.

Click here to read article