Melbourne Storm front-rower Nelson Asofa-Solomona will miss the NRL Grand Final and likely New Zealand's Pacific Championship title defence after copping a five-game ban for a high tackle in the weekend's NRL preliminary final win over Sydney Roosters.
The towering (2.08m) prop will miss this week's Grand Final against Penrith Panthers, as well as the Kiwis' international fixtures and at least one game to start the 2025 NRL season.
Asofa-Solomona was cited for a Grade 3 careless high tackle that ruled counterpart Lindsay Collins out of the remainder of the game from the very first tackle. Collins tried to play the ball facing his own goal-line and needed assistance to leave the field.
Attempting to have his charge downgraded, Asofa-Solomona — nicknamed 'Big Nasty' — saw his pleas utterly rejected by the NRL judiciary. Counsel Nick Ghabar argued, due to his height, the Storm star would have put himself in significant danger of head injury, if he had lowered himself in the tackle.
"I'm obviously really disappointed with the result, but I had a fair hearing," said Asofa-Solomona. "All of my energy is going to go towards my team getting the result on Sunday."
Asofa-Solomona, 28, has played 14 Tests for New Zealand, coming off the interchange bench in their record 30-0 defeat of world champions Australia in last year's Pacific Championship final.
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