NZ Warriors coach Andrew Webster denies second-row enforcer Marata Niukore has a discipline problem, after his latest NRL suspension.
On Friday, 26-year-old Niukore was charged with a grade two high tackle offence for a high shot on St George Illawarra Dragons centre Moses Suli, as the Warriors took a 48-18 victory away in Sydney.
Niukore was sent to the sin bin for the indiscretion, while Suli failed a concussion test after the tackle.
Subsequently, Niukore has submitted an early guilty plea to the NRL judiciary, and will now sit out of the Warriors' next three matches, at home to South Sydney Rabbitohs and Cronulla Sharks, separated by a trip to Sydney to face Parramatta Eels.
But Friday's incident is just the latest blot on Niukore's worrying rap sheet.
In round three of this year's NRL, Niukore was fined $1000 for a dangerous tackle charge, and was banned for two weeks for repeating the offence against Cronulla Sharks in round five.
In round 10, Niukore was fined $3000 for a tackle against Penrith Panthers, and again in round 15 against Canberra Raiders.
However, confirming Niukore would not attempt to fight the charge and would plead guilty early, Warriors coach Webster outlined his second rower was not going out of his way to hurt opponents.
"I don't think he's got a problem, [but] I'm not going to say the system has a problem either," said Webster. "Marata could definitely lower his level in contact a little bit.
"I always say to myself 'is there intent for Marata to take the player's head off?' There's certainly not.
"Straight away, I say to myself that's not a discipline problem. Can he work on some things to get it right? Yes."
In particular, mitigation can be applied to the first two of Niukore's 2023 charges, both deemed as 'hip drop' tackles, after the NRL enforced a crackdown.
Explained by NRL referees boss Graham Annesley, a hip drop tackle occurs when a player "drops their body weight onto an opponent's legs in such a way as to constitute an unacceptable risk of injury".
However, Webster also concedes Niukore must improve his technique if he's to play a key part in the Warriors' run towards the end of the season.
"The first time he got in trouble was for a hip drop," Webster explained. "It was one of the first occasions where anyone got suspended for it. It was a new thing.
"If you look at all his charges in isolation, you're not going to say 'this guy's got a problem', there's no way you can say that.
"Like all of us, we can improve the way we do things. He knows that, and wants to get better at it.
"We've had a chat about the improvements he can make, but I'm certainly not going to say he's got a problem."
