The NRL has ticked off an offside decision against Gold Coast’s Erin Clark that sealed a loss to the Dolphins, insisting the Titans were penalised for a common play that often goes unpunished.
Clark was penalised for being offside pressuring Dolphin Jamayne Isaako on a failed field goal attempt, the winger slotting the subsequent penalty to pinch a 23-21 win on the Gold Coast.
NRL football boss Graham Annesley said the offside call was clear to see and played audio of referee Grant Atkins giving Clark multiple warnings not to get involved in the play before penalising him.
“It is a big call for the referee, but it’s one that he had to make and he didn’t shirk it,” Annesley said on Monday.
“There’s been some suggestion in the Clark situation that it’s probably no different to other situations for field goals. You can hear the referee call Erin Clark out of play.
“There have been many other incidents during the course of the year where the referee will call a player out of play and they will stop or they’ll drop out. In this case he doesn’t.”
Annesley addressed Gold Coast five-eighth Kieran Foran’s on-field criticism of Atkins, where he suggested he’d let an offside infringement slide at the other end of the field when halfback Tanah Boyd equalised the game in regulation with his own field goal.
Dolphins fullback Kodi Nikorima got strong pressure on Boyd’s kick and even got a hand on the ball, but couldn’t prevent the one-pointer.
“You didn’t blow that down the other end, you’ve got to make sure it’s for both,” Foran was heard telling Atkins.
Annesley played audio of Atkins warning the Dolphins’ defence not to move until the ruck had been cleared, with Nikorima seen to be in line with the referee at that moment.
“Both attempted to either keep their team in the game or to win the game, they’re clearly going to take a kick that’s going to result in points and you just want that kick to be taken fairly,” he said.
“In the case of the Nikorima pressure it was, even though he got a touch on it.
“In the case of the Clark it wasn’t, he got away too early.”
Canterbury legend Josh Reynolds has finally called time on his first grade career, with the club set to celebrate their most beloved local junior at this weekend’s Back to Belmore clash with the Broncos.
The five eighth gave up his NRL contract last week to free up the top 30 spot that allowed the club to sign Toby Sexton, and will now play his final match as part of the Dogs’ NSW Cup team ahead of Saturday’s NRL match with the Broncos.
The club is set to re-name the famous grass bank the “Josh Reynolds Hill” for the fixture, with face masks of the Bulldogs legend handed out to fans ahead of his last appearance in the blue and white.
Reynolds played 145 games for the Dogs across two spells, with a further 22 NRL appearances for the Wests Tigers and 25 for Hull FC in the Super League. ‘Grub’ also made four appearances for NSW in State of Origin.
Sydney Roosters five-eighth Luke Keary can empathise with both sides in the ongoing collective bargaining agreement dispute as NRL players front the press for the first time amid the Rugby League Players Association’s media strike.
Keary has also disputed claims by Canberra coach Ricky Stuart that players are unaware of the nuances to discussions around the CBA, which is now eight months overdue.
The RLPA announced its most drastic action in 20 months of talks last Wednesday after a meeting of more than 50 players from across the NRL.
Until a draft CBA has been agreed upon, players have agreed not to talk to media on days when games are played, with chief executive Clint Newton saying the blackout could stretch on for months.
It comes as the league and its players dispute several of the 100 items in the CBA, including the NRL’s ability to lengthen the season without consent, access to and ownership of player data and allocation of RLPA funds.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Throughout the negotiation process, the NRL has maintained it has listened to players and acted in good faith but must ensure the long-term financial security of the code.
The RLPA believes it had little choice but to take strong action given the current CBA can only roll over until the end of October before no agreement will be in place at all.
With no matches played until Wednesday, Monday marked the first time players were available to media since the RLPA announced its strike.
“It’s the RLPA doing their job and the NRL doing their job,” Keary said.
“It’s the RLPA’s job to fight for our rights, protect us into the future, protect the income, protect the players and how many games they’re playing, things like that. But you can take yourself out of it and go, ‘Well what’s the NRL’s job?’
“Their job is to run the game, keep it viable, keep it sustainable into the future. But it’s not going to stop the RLPA from trying to protect the players’ rights.
“We see it all the time with unions, there’s always going to be a bit of pushback and there should be. Because if there’s no pushback, someone’s getting pushed over.”
Keary pushed back against suggestion from Stuart last week that “95% of players” would not know why the media blackout has been enacted.
“Communication has been really effective from the RLPA and the delegates,” Keary said.
“The RLPA are constantly out, coming here (at Roosters headquarters) to feed that information back, they were here a couple of weeks ago.
“It’s kind of an invalid argument.
“With every union, there’s going to be guys that are not interested, don’t care, just get on with it and that’s fine. As a young player, I was exactly the same.
“But there are boys that are invested at the top and they’re the ones that we’re leaning on for the information and the guidance.”
with AAP
© AAP
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
The Jackson Topine lawsuit raises issues of significant importance for player welfare and the duty of care owed to players by NRL clubs. In…
Canterbury's board have vowed to "vigorously defend" themselves against a $4 million civil case from former player Jackson Topine, amid claims he suffered a…
Andrew Johns and Brad Fitler disagreed over how the Hetherington-Mahoney altercation should've been handled with Joey suggesting if the pair got all their steam…
The younger brother of NRL star Nathan Cleary, Jett, has inked a three-year deal with the New Zealand Warriors to start in 2025. Cleary,…
Jack Hetherington could face sanctions from the NRL after vision emerged of the fiery Newcastle forward appearing to throw a punch at Bulldogs hooker…
Who are the hardest working big men in the NRL?
