- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The NRL did the right thing thing by not fining Jarryd Hayne for the comments he made after the Manly-Parramatta game on Sunday. Now they should continue doing the right thing and sack the two referees who handled the match.
Eels captain Hayne was interviewed on radio immediately after fulltime, with the emotion raw, and he spilled his guts. He described the refereeing as “disgraceful”, and he was right. He stopped short of attacking the integrity of the referees, which is the main check-point for the league.
I’m not saying the refs should be banished indefinitely, but at least a week or two out of the NRL while they work on their consistency would be a good idea. There was too much inconsistency in their rulings on Sunday and unfortunately for the Eels, most questionable decisions went against them.
You don’t need to compile the complete dossier to justify axing both refs. The two occasions they failed to penalise Sea Eagles players for playing the ball sideways should be enough – particularly when a Parramatta player was penalised for doing the same thing. That infringement should be among the easier ones to identify. It’s not like possible strips, where the refs often seem to be able to identify an infringement despite there being plenty of bodies around the ball.
Manly scored one try on the tackle immediately after a sideways play-the-ball and then manufactured the winning try in the last minute two tackles after the other sideways play-the-ball. The Eels lost 22-18. You do the maths, as they say.
It is possible to suggest one referee is more responsible than the other for not spotting an infringement, depending on who is the dominant referee at the time, but they should be in a position to help each other on relatively straight-forward calls like this.
In other words, how the hell did both refs – Jared Maxwell and Grant Atkins – miss it? Not once, but twice. That is just poor work, and there should be a price.
Parramatta are not one of those teams that can afford many things to go against them. Coming off back-to-back wooden spoons, they’re trying to learn to win all over again. Their confidence is at risk of being easily dented.
They had done a fine job of bouncing back from a second-round flogging at the hands of Sydney Roosters to put themselves back into the game against Manly after trailing 10-0 at halftime. They were set to win it when they led 18-16 with one minute to go.
There have been times in the past when a more nervy league, prone to knee-jerk reactions, may have fined a player for saying what Hayne said. But the current league management is more solid and less likely to overreact.
But this particular job isn’t finished yet. People need to be made accountable on this occasion. It’s up to new referees boss Tony Archer to act.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.