Storm lose, not happy with referees

Melbourne Storm brought the new two referees system into question in the aftermath of Brisbane’s thrilling 16-14 victory at Suncorp Stadium, accusing both officials of missing a “blatant knock-on” before a Broncos try.

Storm coach Craig Bellamy and skipper Cameron Smith were furious referees Tony De Las Heras and Ben Cummins awarded a 44th-minute try to halfback Peter Wallace after both sides stopped playing after an Aaron Gorrell fumble.

Gorrell failed to pick up the ball at dummy-half and, with players unsure of the ruling, Wallace sliced through some feeble defence to give the Broncos a 16-8 lead.

Smith questioned the decision on the field and was told the ball went backwards but Bellamy said it should have been referred to the video referee.

“I’m very disappointed to lose by two points,” said Bellamy.

“To me it was a blatant knock-on.

“We’ve still got a video referee.

“I’ve got no problem with referees not being able to see that, as there are bodies around, but when the Broncos pulled up and we pulled up you were probably thinking there might have been something there and we could have had a quick look.”

Smith fell just short of saying the decision cost the Storm the tense match.

“That knock-on should be picked up,” he said. “We lost by two points. I’m not going to say it cost us the game, we didn’t help our own cause with the way we played, but you don’t know what it would have changed at the end of the game.”

Karmichael Hunt put a week of controversy behind with a brilliant all-round game for Brisbane to avenge their heart-breaking 2008 play-off loss.

Like last year, Brisbane appeared in complete control at 16-8 in the second half until Kevin Proctor pounced after Wallace knocked an attacking Cooper Cronk kick out of Inglis’s hands.

Hunt and Wallace starred for the home side who jubilantly celebrated an end to a five-match winless run against Melbourne dating back to their 2006 grand final upset.

The off-contract fullback, who is in the sights of French and Japanese rugby clubs, had his new contract offer taken off the table on Monday and told he would have to accept a reduced offer to remain at the club he debuted for at 17.

Rival No.1 Billy Slater had the chance to snatch the game away near the death, in much the same manner Greg Inglis stole last year’s sudden-death final with a last-gasp try.

Slater knocked on the tough pass from Wairangi Koopu near the line to ensure the final score was the same as last September but it was Brisbane on the right side of the ledger.

Israel Folau quickly rubbed salt into his former team’s wounds to help Brisbane to a 10-8 half-time lead.

It took star back Folau just 12 minutes to punish his old side, scoring a signature try from a sensational high take over Anthony Quinn from a perfectly-weighted cross-field kick by Wallace.

Quinn will have a nervous wait after being placed on report for striking Sam Thaiday with his forearm and knocking him out cold.

Queensland centre Justin Hodges was a late inclusion in the Broncos backline, returning a fortnight ahead of schedule from a shoulder reconstruction.