With the curtain closing on the 2019 regular season and the top eight finally taking shape, we thought we would take a look at the top five disappointments of the 2019 season.
With the NRL now beginning to resemble a pinata more than a national sporting organisation following consistent scathing reviews of the current administration, the following organisations and individuals have been listed following their sub-par 2019 performance in conjunction with the reputation they garnered in previous seasons.
4. Referees
Yes, I know they are an easy target, but it cannot be denied that the standard of refereeing in the NRL this year has not been up to par.
With Graham Annesley having to front the media seemingly every week to justify or occasionally admit wrongdoing following another baffling decision, I can confidently say on behalf of all NRL fans that we are almost at our wits end.
While I understand and accept that human error is bound to take place, that does not make up for some of the baffling and folly decisions that have been made throughout the year. Not to mention the inconsistent interpretation of the rules, with some referees choosing to apply discretion in certain areas while others officiate by the letter of the law, a recipe for disaster.
With in-correct decisions having decided numerous games this year (cast your mind back to the Warriors shock loss to the Eels in round 19) as well as multiple instances of play not being stopped when players have suffered serious injuries or concussion, it seems the whistle-blowers have done their best to be in the public eye in 2019.
With the NRL's old tactic of not addressing incorrect decisions seemingly not cutting it anymore, the proof is in the pudding, with Graham Annesley being forced to drop numerous officials over the course of the season after calamitous and game-deciding errors.
Here's to hoping we can avoid any more officiating controversies over the remaining rounds, I doubt it.
Biggest disappointment is allowing Edwardwoodwood1 and his 5 aliases posting false statistics to elevate the otherwise member depleting, no junior roosters.
Don’t see the Dragons as a disappointment , i never had them near the 8 anyway.
Giving the roosters regular 2pm Sunday home games which is the prime slot for fans to attend which explains the reason the roosters are getting some attendances despite the majority crowd is opposition fans as pointed out by the commentators.
Must also be disappointing for the roosters club that the members bar has to be closed at home games this year because of no members showing up.