BY DAN

Savelio Tamale is the middle of having a cracker of a debut season for the Milk. He’s done everything right. On the field.

Off the field he’s set to face Goulburn Court, now in June, for driving while his licence was suspended, according to the Canberra Times.

Lord knows what the impact is. A quick glance at the NSW government’s website will tell you the penalties range from a fine to a six-month prison sentence. So the this accusation is serious, and needs to be treated as such.

He won’t be immediately stood down by the NRL. That’s reserved for crimes with a more significant maximum sentence (11 years or more). From the Times article it doesn’t appear that the Raiders see it as a matter than requires immediate addressing, and would be happy to wait and see what the court thinks.

That would be consistent with the approach it’s taken with a range of issues with players and the legal system lately. Tom Starling, Jack Wighton and Josh Papalii have all been allowed to keep playing while waiting for their day in court.

If anything it highlights a stress that came to the fore when Albert Hopoate was ruled out last week with an ACL injury. They are not deep in first grade experience in the outside backs, and losing Tamale for any time, either through NRL suspension or *gulp* otherwise would not be an easy matter to handle. Jed Sutart has been hanging around as 18th man in recent times, and Michael Asomua has been performing well in NSW Cup.

But let’s hope it doesn’t get to that. Let’s also hope this is the most major legal issue the club faces this year, and that Sav gets this sorted out in June and doesn’t have any more interactions with the law. It’s the best way to live.

Because he’s been really good. On the field.

Sign up to the mailing list and I’ll sing you a song like the piano man. Or maybe like the page on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or share this on social media and I’ll tell you why solidarity is all you need. Don’t hesitate to send us feedback (dan@sportress.org) or comment below if you think we are stupid. Or if we’re not. Feature image courtesy of Karleen Minney.