What happened to the North Queensland Cowboys was unacceptable. The moment Beau Ryan scored the infamous seventh tackle try, the momentum of the match altered.
We can all agree this human error from the two on-field officials is the cherry on top of a miserable season for Daniel Anderson’s men.
But this mistake is conceivable. These two referees made an error.
The Cowboys are well within their rights to be furious, but there is a difference between Henry Perenara and Matt Cecchin’s howler on Saturday afternoon and everything else that has been happening to our game.
That might be hard to stomach for North Queensland supporters. All fans expect a consistently reasonable level of officiating. Sometimes mistakes happen – it’s part of being human.
What happened to the Cowboys might not be Anderson’s fault – he wasn’t on the field at Allianz Stadium after all – but the growing upheaval from supporters and experts who are confused and angry at the current product might just be the final nail in the coffin for Anderson.
His time is up.
The game is rife with inexplicable penalties. Players are milking for anything and everything and real rugby league fans are at their wits’ end.
Volvo driving football mums are getting their way at the expense of the majority who are repulsed by the road our game is travelling down.
Saturday was it for Anderson.
But let’s not burn Perenara and Cecchin. A mistake is a mistake.
For North Queensland players and fans to say there is a conspiracy against non-Sydney sides is obscene, almost insane.
Remember that since 1998 the NRL has been intent on building the game.
Three of Sydney’s greatest clubs are gone from the competition for the sake of rugby league. Ask Western Suburbs, Balmain or North Sydney if they think the NRL are in Sydney’s corner.
An enraged Johnathan Thurston let fly at Townsville Airport after the loss.
“One-hundred percent there is a bias towards Sydney… 100 percent,” Thurston said.
“Sydney and NSW haven’t won anything for that long, we’ve won all these Origin series, of course that (an all-Sydney grand final) is what they want.
“To be honest, I hope Melbourne win it, I really hope Melbourne win it.
“I just can’t stand Sydney mate.
“I’m still shattered about what’s happened. We’re the ones going home with our tails between our legs yet again.
“Two years in a row we have been dudded by the NRL’s referees.”
Sorry Mr Thurston, but you’re just downright wrong.
There is plenty wrong with the way this game is controlled but there is no bias against Queenslanders or your Cowboys.
The players on-field had no idea at the time that they had been screwed.
Remember that they had 72 minutes to win the game too.
Give us a break. Nobody is saying the better team won.
But nobody is saying the better team lost either.
yokahontas
Guest
The try in question last year was also not converted, so that would make it a four-point deduction, not six. And that's if you discount the dodgy strip and 5m forward pass try that went the Cowboy's way in the same match - that one WAS converted, so the Cowboys actually got 2 points' more benefit from bad decisions than Manly did.
john badseed
Guest
Onya Will. Stewart was proven to be innocent. Did he get an apology from anyone? Lost reputation, lost income, maligned by the rabble who read News journos. No conspiracy in this eh? And anyone supporting Gallop should find themselves in Snakeys shoes. Cowboys got a dud decision last year but so did Manly in the same game, (the strip), yet they held themselves together and won by 10.
john badseed
Guest
And Stewart was proven to be innocent. Did he get an apology from anyone? Lost reputation, lost income, maligned by the rabble who read News journos. No conspiracy in this eh? And anyone supporting Gallop should find themselves in Snakeys shoes. Cowboys got a dud decision last year but so did Manly in the same game, (the strip), yet they held themselves together and won by 10.
Luke M
Guest
Wow, there is some highly entertaining and interesting conversation going on in this thread.
Pest
Guest
Swannie how I love ya , It's to simple mate , c'mon were on 1.2 bill now , what your saying means some highly paid tool misses out on his/ her slice of the pie , we need 4 refs on the field , 2 officiating , 2 officiating the officiates , and the count from Sesame Street , one tackle A A A , two tackles A A A , follown me ,, yeah and a big machine that makes thunder noises , easy ,,,,, invoice is in the mail Smithberg
Zedman
Guest
One thing for sure,EVERYONE watching this weekend games will be counting the tackles.haha
Daniel Szabo
Roar Guru
Only now he's lost the plot?
V.O.R.
Guest
means you agree or disagree with the previous post Fran_Gipani....cool name ;)
Fran_Gipani
Guest
What's + or - 1 mean please? Cheers.
Fran_Gipani
Guest
V.O.R: *you get it* I'm a 76 kid. In the 80s it was mad fun. Sitting at the paddock at Seagulls. Cheering people you KNEW. When....(when didn't they hahaha?) Wynnum-manly would make the finals....in QRL. The whole of the bayside, due east 40 mins drive from Brisbane city, would decorate their houses in balloons and streamers. Cars had flags etc Shopfronts were 'red n green'. It was serious as a heart attack then...and still is :) A TRUE League Town. I love it.
V.O.R.
Guest
Hi Dave, plenty of Cronulla offside in the final 10 minutes when they were wheeling backwards. One shot showed 8 players in the defensive line standing 4 metres in front of the referee. Selective use of the games laws by the refs and inexcusable on the big stage. A penalty would of tied it up. Had it been a Cowboys home game the Refs would of likely been forced to give a penalty because of the crowds displeasure, a certain asset the parochial Cronulla fans pride themselves on at Shark Park. Anyone who says there was no bias in the semi on the weekend is.....well.......bias. ;)
Pest
Guest
Wrong , had you lost by a bigger margin I'd maybe consider your thoughts however , your loss can be solely broken down to an officiating error , simple , that's the fact , your mob legally out scored the other mob ,,,,,, but ,,,,,,,,
Pest
Guest
Oh the Humanity , V.O.R. together we shall conquer all that is Gallen Evil , FIGHT CRIME AND WIN !!!! Up Up. and away.
db swannie
Guest
I wont comment on the incident,as a cows fan I was glad for the extra week that was a longshot 2 months ago. My beef is the refs . Anderson you brainless big mouthed twit(was going to fix the referee problem) ,go & watch any JRL game & watch how 1 ref keeps it simple & the game flows. Easily fixed at NRL level(Jesus a Pom can come over & ref a test all by himself) & the game is fine. Simplify the ruck ,forget the surrender/dominant or anything else you can think of. Call HELD/TACKLED & OFF .If they don't get off penalise them . Will fix the wrestling/holding down problem,one of the biggest blights on our game. Don't call players out for offside..Penalise them .You are taught in under 7 to get back onside. You dimwits are out there to REF games not coach grown men,& if they are too stupid to get back 10 then do your job. Concentrate on reffing ,not coaching. Go back to One ref,i believe the game flows more & it would be a massive help if the touchies actually did their job.
Dave the Yank
Guest
That is the issue with bringing up causality. Cowboys supporters, myself included, cannot definitely say we would have won the game. However, the Sharks would have been in a different place mentally if the tackle count had been judged correctly. As I have mentioned above, the more worrying point is that there was a clear bias in the match. Not a conspiracy, but a clear bias.
V.O.R.
Guest
robbed blind, deaf and dumb....maybe the southerners could take some maths lessons from the Sunshine State...1 banana, 2 banana, 3 banana, 4, 5 banana, 6 banana..... that should suffice....no need to complicate things.
V.O.R.
Guest
Nup...we need Tooves to shine in the post match analysis....keep the narrative going....sorry Pest...normally I would back your boys but the prospect of Captain Gal doing his top in a Grand Final is too big a carrot ;)
Dave the Yank
Guest
Shall we start from the top? I shall assume you read my original post. I will clarify, bias can be defined as: 1. To influence in a particular, typically unfair direction; prejudice. It also has something to do with cloth but I don't think that aspect really apples on this situation. As for the Linnet try, if that is awarded than their is no bias. This simply demonstrates that the refs are incompetent . The incompetence is not creating a clear benefit to one side. In this case, as mentioned above, the NRL knew well in advance that what had happened. As soon as they admitted it and said they would do nothing about it they admitted they were acting in a biased manner. I am not saying it was intentional, only that it was bias. The clock is irrelevant. This cannot be considered a "Square up" as league scrums are about as much of a contest, well a league scrum. The penalty count was hardly 'favouring' one side explicitly. I think this may have been a better count than normal for the Sharks. An uneven penalty count is not a bd thing. Some teams break the rules more than others. If they do they should be treated appropriately. It might teach them to stop wrestling, keep on side and generally play the game in good spirit.
up in the north
Guest
Cheers Curtis. The last line sums it up. I've gone from angeer to denial to conspiracy. I am now rational - at least as much as possible- but I have to ask is it worthwhile being involved with an NRL comp' if you are from outside Sydney?
Pest
Guest
No Carney No Hope ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Isn't it great when ya team makes the 8 ,,,,,,,,,, MAAAAAAAAAAAAAANLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. sorry Oik , No I'm not ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, C'mon V.O.R cheer with me bro. MAAAAAAAAAAAANLYYYYYYYYYYYYYY