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“I think the reaction of the opposing player (Morris) had a big influence on the result. I made a comment I thought youre milking it. It ended up costing me a couple of weeks. I guess theyll say, well dont put your elbow there.
“Thats football. We play a contact sport … two players going at it, hes coming into contact, Im going into contact, theres a lot of bumps. Get on with it. Since my (incident), Ive seen probably ten similar (incidents) and players just getting up and getting on with the game.
“I dont want to see players get suspended for what happened. He (Morris) must have hurt himself. He said he couldnt swallow for a couple of days after it. Its a contact sport. Get on with it.”
Burgess has been charged six times in the past three years, but did have a shoulder charge successfully tossed out at the judiciary. Had it not been for his past sins he could have avoided a suspension altogether for his shot on Morris.
"I reckon I was the same as everyone else, barring Bulldogs fans – and Josh Morris,'' he said, when asked if he was shocked by the two-week ban.
Burgess vowed not to change his action after 12 years in the top grade, including England's Super League, and more than 1000 hit-ups. "I'm not intentionally going out there for someone to tackle my elbow – I'm out there running the ball," Burgess said. "My carry didn't changed, and I probably won't be changing my carry. It's unfortunate how it turned out … and Josh Morris rolled around on the floor."
Suspended: Burgess has refused to change his style have missing two matches.
Photo: AAP
The likes of Brad Fittler and Peter Sterling said on the weekend they were unimpressed with Melbourne's Billy Slater appearing to deliberately dive for a penalty.
Burgess' return for Saturday's clash against Canberra is a welcome boost for Souths who dominated the Sydney Roosters pack last Thursday. Sam's younger brothers George and Tom were especially brilliant against the Chooks.
"Are they back to their best? Who knows? They're just doing their job,'' Burgess said. "Tom had a nice line break (against the Roosters), and George has been consistent and doing things off the ball a lot of people probably don't see, which puts him in a good position when he needs to be there."
The biggest beneficiary of the Burgess brothers' go-forward is hooker Damien Cook, who was spotted doing extras at training on Tuesday in a yellow jersey, an honour awarded by teammates from the previous match. Cook's form has earned him the right to be included in the NSW No. 9 debate.
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Christian covers rugby league for The Sydney Morning Herald.
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