Matt Cecchin could find himself going from State of Origin to NSW Cup in the space of a month after Sunday’s NRL clash between Brisbane Broncos and Sydney Roosters was marred by three controversial calls.
Cecchin, who was last week axed from officiating Origin two, pocket referee Adam Devcich and video referee Bernard Sutton will come under scrutiny when referees’ chief Bill Harrigan assesses their performances in his weekly review on Monday.
Harrigan, who survived an NRL review into the performances of match officials on Thursday, will be under pressure to sack the trio for next weekend after tries to Brisbane’s Peter Wallace and the Roosters’ Tinirau Arona should not have been given.
Arona dropped the ball over the line as he scored, but Cecchin did not go to the video referee and awarded the four points.
Sutton then gave Wallace the benefit of the doubt when he appeared to promote the ball in a double movement as he lunged over the line.
However, the biggest controversy came just after halftime when Roosters centre Joseph Leilua was wrestled to the ground by Broncos winger Lachlan Maranta.
The hosts claimed Cecchin called “Roosters ball” – which he denied – but before the confused home side had time to react, Maranta ripped the ball from Leilua’s grasp, and without playing the ball sprinted towards the line, then passed to Alex Glenn who scored.
The try came when the score was 16-12 to the visitors and although Roosters coach Brian Smith and skipper Braith Anasta denied the decision cost them the game, like Brisbane coach Anthony Griffin they were baffled by the call.
“There were some funny things happening out there from both sides,” Griffin said.
“They let Maranta get up and run with the ball so that is one we shouldn’t have got.”
Glenn said that he was convinced the referee would call the play back, but his decision to play the whistle paid off.
“It was funny. I didn’t know what to expect. I was waiting for the referees to call it back, but they didn’t,” Glenn said.
Anasta banged his forehead on the table in despair at the press conference as Smith voiced his frustrations at the Glenn try.
“It’s probably right at the top of the list of the amazing things that happened … bewildering,” Smith said.
“If he’d ruled we’d knocked it on or they’d knocked it back and ruled they were in possession of the ball, then at that point he had to call tackled or six again or play on and Broncos then have to play the ball.
“That’s a tackle. The guy is stationary.
“It was reported to me that referee Cecchin said that the ball wasn’t on the ground so therefore that wasn’t a tackle.
“There are a thousand tackles made every weekend where the ball never touches the ground.
“It’s whether he was stationary and whether he was held that mattered.”
Anasta said Cecchin denied that he’d called Roosters ball, but was at a loss to explain why the try was awarded.
“My players were saying they (referees) said Roosters ball so I said that to the referee … and he denied it.
“I said ‘If it was Broncos ball then it was held because play had stopped and they were both holding the ball’ but he said ‘no’.
“I’m sick of talking about it. It’s happened a lot this year.”
In Sunday’s other game, Cronulla ended a run of two successive losses with a comfortable 22-12 win over Gold Coast.
Human
Guest
Poor guy, he's only bloody human. Players make multiple mistakes every game! Cecchin has a bad run after being crucified over what I thought was a good Origin I and people are calling for him to be sacked? Pick up a whistle your selves I say and see how you go...!
The Barry
Roar Guru
I agree with Pot Stirrer. Two refs are essential these days but there shouldn't be this switching from lead ref to pocket ref and vice versa. Rookies could be teamed with pros. It's a bit of a Catch 22. I don't think the constant speculation about refs performances by captains, coaches, media, etc is helpful for the game but the reffing this year has been diabolical at times. The Maranta call was just about the worst decision I have ever seen on a footy field. The Arona try on the other hand is just "one of those things". It looked like he got over the line ok as I'm sure it did to the ref. The only way to prevent those things is to have the video ref used 100% of the time. Do we want that ? Maybe broadcasters do. I can live with these mistakes as it's a case of the ref not being able to see everything...the Maranta decision just appeared to be a complete lack of understanding for the rules and the way the game is played. Going to the video ref 100% is no guarantee - we get decisions like the Vatuvei no try decision last night - an absolute howler - how do they get these things wrong ? Refs have always been in the spotlight but has it been as bad as it is since Harrigan has been in charge ? Is he a lightning rod for all of this ?
The Barry
Roar Guru
There was also the Lafai play the ball / Inu try against the Bulldogs. I rate Smith and Anasta as two of the biggest whingers in the game but the chooks have copped a series of rough calls this year. Maybe it's karma for all the pressure Smith and Anasta have heaped on the refs.
Pot Stirrer
Guest
I dont like critisising the Refs but under Haragon they are going from worse to worse.. If we must have 2 refs then one should have control of the whole game and the other just keeping the teams onside with a consistent 10 metres. It would be a good way for the lesser refs to get experiance.
steve b
Roar Guru
Dishes i to would like to see us go back to one ref , with the video ref being able to call on the run of play,, captains or coaches call is must and i think we will see it in the near future ..These refs are supposed to be pro and get paid quite well however some of the decisions of late show the need for change and the sooner the better.If the new commish are serious about change for the betterment of the game these are just a few things i think need changing ..
jdubya
Guest
See you later then mate. We don't want or need people like you. On another note it seems like the Roosters have been on the receiving end of a couple of season defining refereeing blunders, namely the no try call against Manly, the Glenn try and the obstruction try that was given to Melbourne. All of those turning points came when the Roosters were competing with top 3 sides but were then cruelly denied an opportunity to finish the game by referees.
oikee
Guest
I dont agree with that dishes, i think the 2 refs was a great call, the game is ever faster with more sneaky things happening around the ruck. I do think what has not happened is other parts of the game to compliment the 2 refs have not happened. As Messta Cool above said, a Captains call would help put a stop to bad calls. The reason i say this is because the guy in the video box could even listen to the feedback from a tellvision, to get a feel for the call. If he heard Gus rabbiting on about it being a dud call, he could change the call. It makes for good drama as well. Better tv as in digital for the video ref would also improve the game. I think after this next tv deal, we will see some further changes, i feel it in my bones. It also feels like channel 9 will lose the rights, they seem to be getting very lazy. I counted 6 minutes of ads the other night, then another batch after the first try was scored a minute later. This is bad. real bad. You must not care about losing veiwers to do this, i just turned it off and went to bed. Just my thoughts, we will wait and see in 2 months.
oikee
Guest
Captains appeal. I wont rattle on, but most know my thoughts on the game, we need to follow the yanks, not as in stoppages, but a captains call will get rid of most bad calls, it really is that simple. It would also allow the station to throw in some ads. I like the idea of timeouts for a pee and drink break. If i know a timeout is called, a can go get a refill, have a pee, be back in time for the ref to give his verdict. Why is the game having so much trouble with changing a few things. Anyhow, nuff said. I keep throwing in these yankee words. Yo.
dishes
Guest
2 refs was a bad idea. all the responsibly should be on one shoulders, and consistency is the main thing, which is what we had with one referee. it doesn't work cos if they miss something they just hope that the other guy picks it up, responsibility should be fair and square on one set of shoulders. with one ref you wouldn't have seen the Alex Glenn incident, and if you did, that ref would be sacked, clear as day.
Noel Rigney-Johnson
Guest
After watching this game I am of the opinion that all of the game officials screwed up badly. And although I nominally follow Rugby League, should the relevant match official turn in similar match performances then I will divert my loyalties to AFL, Rugby Union, Soccer and the NFL from the USA via Foxtel.
Meesta Cool
Guest
Oikee, blaming the ref and crowds yelling abuse is a trend that we are catching from the other two main sports In the late 50s I stopped going to soccer games because of crowd behaviour, I started watching Rugby league and as you say the banter between the opposing fans was nothing short of great. Like you also state, these crowd behavioural patterns are starting (Or are already established) on the terraces at NRL games. Soccer never found the answer!, will we learn from them??.. I dunno, I am always amazed at the disrespect for all officialdom in this century, maybe it will get worse!. especially if commentators 'rattle on for 15 minutes about one single happening, Yup I believe the ref got it wrong, and they also got the Roosters try wrong, but hey, why can't the video guy give em a 'third vote' on these decisions. Each of those two decisions could easily have been overturned!. Why not allow a third set of eyes to tell em that they got it terribly wrong!. --- this gives credibility to a Captains appeal' system that has been talked about on Roar for last few years.
oikee
Guest
Yes, i am not aware of junior level, but from comments i hear, it is a problem because the parents and juniors take into account alot of the nrL games and actions. So the commentators giving it to the refs is doing the game massive damage. Players running into a fight, this is bad, very bad, kids do this at junior games. And sitting next to some guy screaming at the refs, screaming at them would have my wife walk out on a game if this happened at Suncorp, most of the time the guy yelling out is kicked out. It is plain and simple, why would you want to keep a loud mouthed numpty, over a whole family. Rugby league needs to wake up fast. Our game is founded around a family game, in England they pride them,selves on the family aspect of the game, women kids and whoever side by side all safe and having fun. Fun is not some fools yelling Cecchin this, Checchin your that, i sat and listened to it for 80 minutes on TV. The night before i had to listen to some Storm fan or fans do the same to the refs in Melbourne, and i wondered, what is going on, this is not toletrated at Suncorp. Again, i repeat, rugby league needs to wake up fast. Gus really needs to pull his head in, the Tweets are becoming ever more abusssive.
Muzza
Guest
Well said Oikee, however one must ask the question of the over arching refereeing panels decision making process, I refer back to game one of Origin 2012. Yes we are aware that the try awarded to Greg Ingliss was a try under the current rule structure, Bill Harrigan has come out publically and supported the decision to award the try in so saying that both the on ground officals and the video ref had made the right call, and then BANG, out of nowhere these officails have been stood down from game two, I think the words in the media was SACKED. What kind of message is that sending out to the footballing community, the whole thing is very confusing. And on your last comment about Juniour rugby league, the game is in crisis at junior levels, parents expecting NRL results from these kids. This is a story for another day
oikee
Guest
They want to be careful or we wont have any refs to ref the game. Some things i noticed on the weekend, because it was raining the crowds were closer to the microphones. The one thing i heard for 80 minutes in both the Melbourne game and Roosters was some guy or guys yelling out constantly about the refs. This did not happen for a few minutes, it went on for the whole games. On top of that you have Gus and Rabbits giving it to the refs as well because they made 1 or 2 mistakes. Gus even went as far to say the 2 refs are not working. ? So out of 8 games a week, and we are nearly halfway throught the season, because we had a few dud calls with 1 or 2 games, Gus wants to knock the 2 refs idea on the head. Yeah right, that will fix the game Gus. You numpty. I can tell you, even with 2 refs they are still missing a lot that happens in the game. Anthony Quinn needs his head pulled in, i seen him twist a couple of blokes ankles in most games when he tackles around the lower leg, last weekend he also pulled the guys legs right back onto their upper leg. ? Mate, is this guy brraindead, is he trying to cuase damage on purpose, what is worse is i seen it and both refs let it go. Another issue, the refs might only make one mistake, then it is compounded by the video Ref. The amount of times i have seen this happen is to often. Sean Hamstead who i dont rate always seems to be the one in the box. The guy is not a good ref. We really need to get everyone off the refs backs, other wise nobody will want to do the job, we wont have refs, even at junior games. For a start i think we need to control the fans at games, can anyone imagine their wives or kids sitting next to these guys who are yelling out for not 1 minute, but 80 minutes throughout a game, ? Dont we have crowd control anymore. And the juniors will suffer as weel, because the parents take this abuse to the junior games.
steve b
Roar Guru
How many more ref mistakes are we going to see before something is done ,,Wallace double movement clear as day,, Arona 4 points that shouldn;t have been awarded on and on it goes , and we are told their only human,, you have to take the good with the bad ..These guys are supposed to be at the top of the tree when it comes to refs ..And yet each week we have more and more dodjey calls and some are so basic its a joke .. Something needs to be done and quick before the finals so a bloody poor decision dosen;t cost a team ..Harrigan needs to get them all on the same page ,,and whats the video refs story they cant get it right either..