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St George Illawarra skipper Jamie Soward thought he had blown it.
With the Dragons trailing Sydney Roosters by six points with as many minutes remaining in their Anzac Day blockbuster, Soward’s mouth got the better of him – conceding a penalty in his own in-goal for venting his frustration at a decision in the face of referee Matt Cecchin.
Roosters skipper Braith Anasta added the gift two points, putting the Roosters – and seemingly the game – out of reach.
Soward’s blushes were saved as the Dragons scored two dramatic late tries to run out winners.
“It would have been disappointing,” Soward said when asked if he thought he had cost his side the game.
“There would have been a few headlines about myself.”
Soward abused Cecchin after Dragons winger Daniel Vidot had been pushed back into the in-goal after cleaning up the scraps following Mitchell Pearce’s missed field goal attempts which clipped the upright.
Soward believed when Jason Nightingale had attempted to hold Vidot in the field of play as four defenders pushed him backwards, the tackle should have stopped.
“I probably went a little bit over the top but I was just clarifying the rule,” Soward said.
“I probably didn’t go about it the right way, but I’m pretty sure that’s the rule.”
The moment was lost in the final wash-up with Matt Prior and Ben Creagh scoring tries in the final four minutes to salvage an amazing 28-24 win.
But the crucial call did have the potential to be game-deciding, with Dragons skipper Ben Hornby approaching Cecchin, saying “that’s a big call.
Cecchin replied with: “I know it a big call and it’s right.”
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