Ryan Matterson has hit out at the NRL over his punishment for a grand-final crusher tackle, defending his decision to take a three-match ban rather than pay a $4000 fine.
Matterson will miss Parramatta's first three rounds of next season after being stung for his third offence of this year with a crusher tackle on Dylan Edwards in the Eels' loss.
Under NRL rules brought in specifically to keep players on the park in the finals, the Eels back-rower was able to accept a financial sanction for the offence.
But speaking to reporters at Parramatta's presentation night, Matterson said he had reasons to not take up the financial sanction and expressed frustrations over perceived judicial inconsistencies.
Notably, he questioned why Penrith five-eighth Jarome Luai was not charged over an alleged first-half kick on Isaiah Papali'i.
The 27-year-old also called on the NRL to abolish fines, claiming players were struggling to keep up amid rule changes.
"I just feel that $4000 is pretty hefty considering I have already paid close to $4000 in fines this year for things that are absurd," Matterson said.
"At the end of the day I have personal things I need to worry about outside of rugby league. I just didn't think it was warranted.
"If you do something wrong at work. They don't take money off you.
"I didn't do anything wrong. I'm playing rugby league.
"It's just getting quicker and quicker and people are getting stronger and stronger - and the game keeps changing rules."
Matterson's comments come as the players' union has long pushed for fines to go, adamant they do not act as a deterrent.
The NSW State of Origin representative also said he felt the grand-final incident was not serious enough to attract any charge.
"The way Dylan went back in towards me and he kept driving his legs, I tried to let his head out but he just kept back-pedalling," Matterson said.
"I'm not going to let him back-pedal 100 metres. So I have to stop him. There wasn't much in it.
"It didn't make sense to me. At the time I thought it was definitely a penalty, but I didn't think it would go much further than that.
"Considering Jarome Luai is kicking players and he didn't get cited. It makes you think 'Where is this game heading?'"
Matterson, who had the best year of his career in 2022 which earned him a new four-year deal, said he had received the Eels' approval before making the decision to take the ban.
"It's always hard. I love playing. It's something I spoke to the club about before I made the decision.
"Obviously it's a hard one, but I have personal reasons I need to take into consideration."
Shaun Lane won Parramatta's Ken Thornett Medal as male player of the year, while Simaima Taufa and Kennedy Cherrington were judged best women's players.
