Tony Archer has come out and admitted that his referees were incorrect in disallowing Andrew Fifita a try in the closing minute of the Sharks/Raiders clash on Saturday afternoon.
If the try was to be disallowed due to a knock on, it should have been awarded as a penalty try, according to the referee’s boss.
A Valentine Holmes field goal luckily saved the officials blushes and handed the Sharks a victory they were denied minutes earlier.
Should Canberra have won the match, would Archer have come out and said what he did?
If so, how would telling Sharks fans that they were robbed of victory have helped them?
Canberra walk away with two competition points, but the referee boss comes out and says the try that everyone in the world except the one person with the opinion that counts, thought was a try.
How about instead of apologising for incorrect decisions after the fact we implement steps to ensure these errors don’t happen?
I want to make it very clear that I’m not talking 50/50 calls or opinion. Sometimes it takes three replays for fans to discover an error made by referees made in a split second.
This is about an error made by an official who blatantly disregarded the rules.
The referees sent the decision up as a TRY. The rule states there must be conclusive evidence to overturn the on-field decision.
Ignoring the absolute insanity of the rule, which is another argument for another day, there was ZERO conclusive evidence to over-turn the on-field decision.
That is not my opinion … that is the rule.
Shayne Hayne ignored the rule and took the safe option. If the decision had gone up as a no try, then it wouldn’t have been given. It wasn’t 100% grounded, there was doubt.
That’s how the ridiculous rule is, but referees do not get to pick and choose which rule they follow.
Hayne’s punishment?
An all-expenses paid trip to the heated Melbourne video referee box for a super important clash between the Storm and the Dragons.
How do I sign up to become a video referee? If that’s a punishment for an error that could have cost a team their finals footy chances, I wonder what they do to reward good performance?
If it sounds like I’m a little hot under the collar, it is because I am.
I LOATHE seeing the referee blamed for results, it drives me crazy. Players, coaches and fans throw the officials under the bus for lop-sided penalty accounts instead of working on their own discipline.
It’s so much easier to call #RefsFault (check the hashtag on twitter for some hilarious reactions), than it is to accept defeat.
Only a Valentine Holmes field goal stopped Saturday afternoon from erupting into another media storm of referee incompetence.
Decisions on-field that are incorrect I can cop.
Someone having 25 views of something and then ignoring all evidence, and the rules they are paid to uphold, to render a verdict that 99.5% of the non-Raider supporting members of Rugby League fans couldn’t believe …
Should have gone to specsavers.
Manly tell 14 players to leave
I was as surprised as anyone when reports emerged about Manly telling 14 contracted players that they were free to look elsewhere.
It’s hard to argue against a clean out happening on the Northern beaches, however 14 players is a drastic move to say the least.
Of course this doesn’t mean that 14 players will exit, some have contracts beyond this season and may not be able to find contracts elsewhere.
Looking at the names, perhaps only Matt Ballin is a real surprise, as just months ago the club was talking up the fact he had re-signed.
Obviously, as a popular player with fans and teammates, Manly were happy to trumpet his re-signing to appease fans following the outrage from other popular players leaving.
When they signed Api Koroisau from the Panthers, Ballin suddenly became surplus to requirements.
Of the other names, there are plenty of solid players, however no genuine game breakers. Burgess and Mateo probably would have expected to be there next season, but both look to have their futures already sorted overseas.
Manly need to reinvest in their forward pack and a player clean out to free up funds was the quickest way to achieve that.
Sandow saga is becoming boring
Sandow wants out, the Eels want him gone, Warrington want to sign him …
JUST GO!!!
Sandow is a brilliant player on his day, but unfortunately his day is becoming once a month, rather than the one in every two games.
The Eels have made it very, VERY clear that he is not in their plans next year, and no other side in the NRL has shown any sort of interest.
The downward spiral of Sandow is sad to watch and a move to England could really reignite his career.
For his own good, the good of the Eels and the good of Warrington, Sandow needs to move … yesterday.
Just get it done and end the saga.
The Eels will be left to rue a big recruitment decision that didn’t work out. Something they’ve unfortunately become accustom to over the past few years.
