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Find your frequency hereStorm considering appeal over Grant suspension
Nicholas Quinlan • August 23rd, 2025 7:48 pm
The Melbourne Storm's Director of Football, Frank Ponissi, says they will look into the possibility of appealing Harry Grant’s three-game suspension, which could impact their finals campaign.
Grant was sin-binned during Melbourne’s 20-14 win against the Canterbury Bulldogs at AAMI Park on Friday night during the 45th minute.
This was due to the hooker making contact with the Bulldogs' second rower, Harry Hayes, with his shoulder.
Following that, Grant was then given a three-game suspension by the NRL judiciary the next day, who deemed the shoulder charge to be of a category two level, as they believe he made contact with the head.
While it is his first offence, he is able to get his suspension reduced to two games if Grant and the Storm accept an early plea deal.
Speaking on SEN’s Saturday League Kick-Off, Ponissi admitted that the grading handed down by the judiciary surprised him, as he expected that it would be classed as a Grade One charge.
“We obviously expected a charge this morning,” he said.
“We were expecting a Grade One, either a shoulder charge or a dangerous contact. So, a Grade Two shoulder charge did take us by surprise.
“It’s something now we are going to consider (appealing) over the next 48 hours before we enter a plea.
“I think under normal circumstances, it would be a very strong case to fight it from a downgrade at the very minimum.
“But the risk of a third game, which will go into the first week of the finals, is a really big risk we’ve got to consider.”
If the Storm were to get a downgrade to a Grade One, Grant would then be given a $2000 fine and would be free to play next week.
But by accepting an early plea, Grant would only miss their clashes against the Sydney Roosters and Brisbane Broncos, ensuring that he would be fit and ready for the qualifying final clash.
The Storm will submit their plea option to the NRL by Monday morning.
