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New Zealand Warriors fullback Wade McKinnon has potentially covered his side’s finals hopes in spit after he was reported by referee Ben Cummins during his side’s 42-20 win over the Penrith Panthers.
While the Warriors keep their top eight hopes alive for one more week, McKinnon will be hard pressed to play again this season due to his previous misdemeanours with match officials.
Indeed, McKinnon was suspended last season for pushing a referee out of the way when defending his own tryline during a game against the South Sydney Rabbitohs at ANZ stadium.
Although he would gone to have his finest year in first grade, McKinnon has been known to show a fiery temper when things do not go his way.
In yesterday’s win over the Panthers, McKinnon was reported for allegedly spitting at a touch judge after the official failed to call a forward pass.
Despite the pass being well forward, play was let go and winger Luke Rooney would go on to score for Penrith. The smallest whiff of a comeback was now on the cards.
At the time, the crowd was furious, but none more so than McKinnon, who put all his eggs in the one basket and played Russian roulette with the touch judge.
As Panthers winger Michael Gordon attempted to convert Rooney’s try, McKinnon would later go and presumably spit at the official who later reported the incident to referee Cummins.
That was as hot as it would get at Mt Smart stadium as the Warriors eventually turned their afterburners on to post two more tries to effectively end Penrith’s charge for season 2008.
As McKinnon now ponders his immediate future in league’s centenary year, the time has come for Penrith to bid farewell and reflect on what has been an improved, but inconsistent season.
After finishing last year with the wooden spoon, the Panthers simply had to make amends in 2008.
With a roster containing eight representative players, including the induction of Australian and Queensland forward Petero Civoncieva from the Broncos, Matthew Elliott’s men knew the only way was up.
Not that it started that way.
In the opening two rounds of the season, the Panthers were thrashed by the Brisbane Broncos and lost a very disappointing game to the Raiders the following week at CUA stadium.
Things though did get better with the emergence of star rookies Wade Graham and Lachlan Coote. Two players that will no doubt form the basis of a very strong Penrith team in the near future.
Other successes could be drawn from the emergence of playmaker Luke Lewis.
Formerly a representative centre, Lewis was cast at five-eighth for the majority of season 2008 due to the lack of form displayed by new recruit Joe Williams from the Rabbitohs.
Coach Elliott took a chance with Lewis, handing the Origin player the playmaking duties at a club who needed some spark.
Thankfully for the Panthers, Lewis showcased great patience and verve in his new role and was on the cusp of playing for the Blues in Origin this year such was his form.
Ultimately though, Lewis’ spark in the middle of the park was not enough to bring Penrith back into finals reckoning after a shocking year in 2007.
Not helping the cause was recent speculation involving Kiwi back rower Frank Pritchard and his keen desire to leave the foot of the mountains.
Throw in Rhys Wesser’s departure to South Sydney next season and it became too much to handle for Elliott’s men.
With a game against the Manly Sea Eagles to look forward to, Penrith could cause the upset and wonder why a team with so much talent, continually fails to make an impression.