Titans fullback Jayden Campbell has reached out to hospitalised Eels winger Sean Russell, apologising for the tackle that has divided the league world.
Russell is still in hospital three days after the incident with a punctured lung and two broken ribs.
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Campbell slid in with his knees attempting to tackle the Eels winger as he scored a try – his third of the first half – at CommBank Stadium on Sunday.
Outraged Eels fans demanded the NRL take action against Campbell after Parramatta five-eighth Dylan Brown was suspended for a similar tackle last year.
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But the video review panel cleared Campbell despite the seriousness of Russell’s injuries – and both players are OK with it.
“Sean is still in a bad way but Jayden sent him a text and apologised and said there was no malice in the tackle – that he was just trying to stop the try,” a source close to Russell said.
“Sean was good about it and just answered ‘Yeah that’s rugby league, hey’.”
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