Dumped video referee Bill Harrigan has labelled his stunning gaffe in awarding a try to St George Illawarra centre Mark Gasnier an ‘implosion’ that has put the heat on whistle-blowers ahead of the NRL finals.
Harrigan was on Tuesday indefinitely stood down from his role in the box after admitting he erred in giving the green light to a four-pointer, despite replays clearly indicating Gasnier had lost the ball in Monday night’s clash.
Referees boss Robert Finch refused to guarantee if Harrigan – the game’s most experienced referee who controlled a record ten grand finals – would be reinstated before the finals.
Harrigan, who saw the error when he viewed the try on returning home on Monday night, said his punishment was deserved.
But he was more upset at the pressure he had brought upon his fellow referees, with his error capping an ordinary fortnight for NRL officials after what had been a controversy-free few weeks.
“We imploded and I contributed to it and that’s probably one of the biggest things that hurts me over this,” Harrigan told Sydney radio station 2SM.
“I put the spotlight back on referees and decision-making, whereas if I hadn’t have made that blunder, we go through that game relatively unscathed.
“When I walked in and saw Finchy this morning – I just said to him – `mate, I’ve stuffed up here, I’ve got this wrong, and I’ve got to be accountable for it.’
“I said `you’ve got to drop me for it’ and he agreed, he said `absolutely.’”
Finch said the decision to drop Harrigan was proof no-one was immune to the axe as he admitted his entire squad had to lift its game.
“It’s a wake-up call for everyone,” Finch said.
“They all work very hard at what they do, we just need to work a little harder.
“There’s certain standards that we all set and even Bill acknowledges the fact that his standards probably dropped in that decision and we need to be consistent when we appoint all video referees.”
Harrigan said he only had one look at the head-on shot which showed Gasnier clearly losing control of the ball as he attempted to plant it over the line with the Dragons leading 6-0 in a game they would eventually win 32-10.
“In the end I had four looks at it, but had I have gone back to that first one and thought that there was a problem now, and been able to see that as clearly as I did when I got home – no risk in the world I would have picked that up,” Harrigan said.
“I can understand why people sitting at home would have gone -`wow, look at that, you’re kidding.’”
While Finch claimed the gaffe had little impact on the result of Monday night’s encounter – despite it giving the Dragons some breathing space in what had been a tight contest – he was well aware of the potential ramifications of an error at a more crucial moment.
“I keep talking about the trains coming – it didn’t impact last night but if we don’t look at what we do and evaluate what we do, that may occur and we don’t want that to happen,” he said.
Finch said Harrigan would remain in his role as assistant coach with the referees, but refused to confirm how long he would be kept out of the referees box.
Daren Weippert
Roar Rookie
Good point Rob, allegations of Harrigan being crooked have been made in the past. Let's hope for the sake of the game that he is merely incompetent, but with either being true, he should still be fired and banned for life.
Jeff
Guest
There was another incident, when A Saints player may have knocked the ball on prior to his team mate running the length of the field to score, Manly players asked for the video footage to be checked and were more or less told to go away and get on with the game. some right of appeal has to be available, even after 3rd ref decisions. Refs are human and can make mistakes, I make em all the time, but the result of a close game cannot hinge on these mistakes.
Jeff
Guest
The worst thing about this decision, it was at an important part of the game and it gave extra points to chase. YES, it could have affected the score more than the scoreline shows. (The forward pass to Manly was also disgraceful, but the damage was already done.)
Rob C
Guest
This smells a little funny to me... First he awards a try that clearly wasn't a try and then he says afterwards that he clearly got in wrong... I hope for the sake of the game that there were no bookmakers involved in his decision making process. Not pointing the finger here but something just does not seem right with this decision. In hindsight it was an easy decision with little to no subjectivity required in getting the call right....
M.O.C.
Roar Guru
I agree Spiro regarding the apparent arrogance of refs and their apparent love of the spotlight. It is now common-place to see the officials giving a ridiculous video decisions because of the most minute technicalities while allowing blatent rule iniringements at other times - this is often seen in trys from kicks being disallowed because a player is inside the 10m zone even when not involved in the play (this occurred in a panthers game about 2-3 weeks ago with Lewis being penalised). It is also seen with marked inconsistencies throuhgout a game, where certain rules only appear to be applied if a try is scored but ignored in general play, ie, obstruction rules. It is almost like they are trying to impress us with their intricate knowledge of the game which far exceeds the rough interpretation of the mere mortal viewer.
Hutchoman
Roar Pro
This is completely outrageous and unacceptable. If these blokes can't get it right sitting up in the stands watching interminable replays in air conditioned comfort, what hope have we got ?!?!? Harrigan must be made to face a charge of bringing the game into disrepute. We fans are sick and tired of having glaring errors cost our teams wins and plaes in the finals. There is a hell of out a lot to answer for here. Simply standing down a video ref for a week or two will not fix the problem. The management of rugby league operations has become completely shambolic, only being propped up by a media with enormous vested interests.
Spiro Zavos
Expert
Bill Harrigan has been an accident waiting to happen over the years. When the referee becomes a 'star' in his own right, as Harrigan tried to be during his on-field career, the natural order of things in sport is reversed and it can only end in tears. The best referees in all codes are seen but not heard, like children in the Victorian era. Their job is to facilitate play so that the best and most even contest possible is played out. With 'star' officials there is a tendency to allow their refereeing style to become a sort of attraction. How Harrigan could ever contemplate awarding that try to Mark Gasnier defies belief. There must have been a sort of arrogance involved which led to the astonishing decision. I see, too, that there are suggestions that the quality of the video replays in the video referee's box was not up to a HD standard. But really you didn't need the clearest picture that could be produced to see what was so obvious. Presumably now, after a period of penance, Harrigan comes back for the finals. Robert Finch hasn' ruled this out, only saying that he won't certainly be reinstated. But is this a proper outcome? I would think that many people would think it is not.
Mr Cool
Guest
If the commentators were truly neutral, good idea, however.......... Hayne would only have to ground the ball on the 10mtr line and some of em would give benefit of the doubt, no thanks
M.O.C.
Roar Guru
Yeah, why not give it to the commentators, at least there is usually a couple of them to debate the decision and as it is on air at least the decision is made with the public being able to hear the reason for the decision rather than it being a complete surprise. Imagine how much money must be wasted on paying a 3rd ref and having a purpose built video review box at every NRL game to have the decision being a toss of a coin anyway.
Chris
Guest
How about from now on we just give the commentators - who inevitably get it right more often than the referees - the Video Refs controls. They certainly couldn't do a worse job and could actually be a lot better. Robert Finch - stop ruining rugby league. Your time is up!
M.O.C.
Roar Guru
I just find it incomprehensible that these guys don't watch the same replays as the rest of us. There have been some calls made in which have been truely baffling now we know why. Seriously, when things like this happen it makes a true mockery of the game and asks some very serious questions about the people who influence the results (and some results have been dramatically influenced over the past couple of sesaons) - is there a scandal brewing or are these guys just that bad at their jobs?.
Daren Weippert
Roar Rookie
Of course Wayne Bennett is philosophical about the call, he has never had an important call because for some reason the NRL refs seem to fear him. It is a rare day when you would ever see a questionable call go against a Wayne Bennett coached team. The Broncos benefitted from this protection for years and now the Dragons are reaping the rewards of the fear that Bennett instills in the NRL refs.
Dean - Surry Hills
Guest
Do they need two (or three) video refs sitting up in the box? In a split decision the referees have awarded the try to Mundine!!!!! Maybe the NRL can go with a phone poll via text message from viewers at home on whether a try is awarded or not - it wouldn't be any slower than the time it takes for some video ref rulings - ha hah hah ha ha. Calls are charged at 75 cents per text message!
Daren Weippert
Roar Rookie
Good point! If Bill didn't realize the mistake until he saw it at home, and unlike the refs, the commentators even get it right most of the time, he SHOULD stay home and phone in his calls after watching the tv replay and listening to the commentators input.
M.O.C.
Roar Guru
Is he joking, he realised the error when he saw it on his TV at home!. That must be why so many decisions are clearly wrong, the poor refs are watching replays on a fuzzy pre-1970's black and white TV in the 3rd ref's box - as a roarer said yesterday, why don't the refs watch the same broadcast as the rest of us, additionally, if it makes things easier to see, maybe they should all work from home and "text" the decisions when needed!