New Zealand Warriors prop Matt Lodge has reportedly admitted to staying down in an effort win his team a controversial penalty in the dying minutes of Saturday's clash against the Canberra Raiders.
The tackle, from Raiders' bench forward Corey Horsburgh, saw Lodge remain on the ground clutching his jaw.
The replay appeared to suggest Horsburgh had made contact with Lodge's forearm initially, before sliding up and contacting his head.
In a scarcely believable decision, the NRL bunker, who checked the incident while Lodge remained on the ground, elected to award a penalty to the Warriors.
Reece Walsh would boot the penalty goal which would send the game to golden point, before Shaun Johnson stepped up for his second field goal in as many home games during golden point to get the Warriors over the line for a controversial, but crucial win.
Raiders' coach Ricky Stuart refused to be drawn into debating the decision on Saturday after the game, suggesting his side should never have been in that position, but The Daily Telegraph's Phil Rothfield has reported on Sky Sports Big Sports Breakfast on Monday morning that Lodge himself has told people that he stayed down in an effort to win his side the penalty.
“I was disgusted by the way that game finished the other day,” Rothfield said.
“I really was, this was a good game of football in that it went down to the line and we were all sitting on the edge of our seats.
“Then Matt Lodge took a dive that decided the football game. He told people after the match that he hated doing it but it won them the game, they got a penalty from a dive.
“Now the bunker stepped in and could not recognise that Corey Horsburgh’s tackle was not a bad tackle, shouldn’t have gone on report, shouldn’t have even been penalised.
“We had a game of rugby league decided, two competition points, by a dive.
“Other players will see it, and we’ll get closer to the finals when clubs are desperate and it’ll happen again and it’s wrong.”
Inconsistency over decisions regarding penalties and sin bins for high tackles has been a major bug bear of fans this season already, with Daniel Tupou's effort on ANZAC Day against Mikaele Ravalawa, which went un sin binned, seeing a referee dropped. It followed other incidents of a far less significant nature which were placed in the sin bin.
Horsburgh remained on the field for his part in Saturday's tackle on Lodge, however, the penalty was all the Warriors needed to send the Raiders to yet another loss, with the green machine's season going from bad to worse.
The Warriors are also struggling, sitting in 11th spot on the table, and will take on the Cronulla Sharks in the Shire next Sunday.
