Storm prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona will only miss one game at the start of the 2025 season after it was ruled that New Zealand’s three Tests in the Pacific Championship would count as part of his five-game ban.
Asofa-Solomona sat out the NRL grand final after being found guilty of a Grade 3 Careless High Tackle in the preliminary final against the Roosters.
He had been facing a four-game ban with an early guilty plea but fronted the judiciary in grand final week seeking a downgrade to a Grade 1 in an attempt to be available for the decider.
The judiciary found him guilty and he was banned for five matches, the first of those being the grand final, which Melbourne lost to the Panthers.
With three Pacific Championships matches now included in the suspension it means the 28-year-old will have one match left to serve at the start of the new season.
Meanwhile, Sharks forward Toby Rudolf will miss the 2025 season opener in Las Vegas after being banned for one game for tripping Panthers captain Isaah Yeo in the preliminary final.
Rudolf was charged with Grade 2 Dangerous Contact for the seventh-minute trip and accepted a one-match ban with an early guilty plea.
The Sharks face the Panthers in Vegas, while the Raiders play the Warriors as part of a quadruple header including a women’s Test between Australia and England and the clash of Super League giants Wigan and Warrington.
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