BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 11: Herbie Farnworth of the Broncos celebrates victory after the round one NRL match between the Brisbane Broncos and the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Suncorp Stadium, on March 11, 2022, in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

The NRL's head of football Graham Annesley has confirmed the penalty try awarded to Herbie Farnworth of Thursday evening was correct.

Coming just a minute after Reece Walsh not penalised for what has now been confirmed as a shoulder charge, Brisbane would have points added to their tally after Melbourne Storm hooker Harry Grant was ruled to have pushed Farnworth over the ball.

The decision left fans seeing red, but Annesley said it was a clear cut penalty try, with Farnworth likely to have scored had Grant not made the pushing action.

That came with Farnworth leading the race for the ball, while Grant had fallen behind him, rather than still being shoulder to shoulder as the duo were at the start of the chase for the grubber kick.

"You can see as the chase for the ball starts, Farnworth gets to the front and attempts to kick the ball, but at this point, Harry Grant's left arm extends forward and pushes upwards. You can see Farnworth's body rise up from the momentum of the push which effectively pushes him straight over the top of the ball," Annesley said.

"If you look at where Farnworth is when he trips over the ball, it's right in front of him and then moves away from him. He has no chance to get there to ground the ball.

"In our view, that is a legitimate penalty try. Farnworth was leading the race, he was brought down with a shove from behind which took him over the top of the ball. The ball was there for the taking, he only has to get the ball to the in goal area and fall from it."

Brisbane almost managed to score without the penalty aspect after the ball moved away from the chasing duo, with Brisbane half Adam Reynolds planting the ball just beyond the dead ball line.

Reynolds was taken from the field on a stretcher following the attempt to score, having planted his head into the ground. There were concerns for a neck or spinal injury, however, the halfback was ultimately cleared of that and will now progress through concussion protocols for his return to play.

Brisbane would go onto lose the clash against Melbourne, and will now ready for a match with the Penrith Panthers in Round 12.