Jarryd Hayne believes Parramatta aren’t being given a fair go by match officials because they lack big-name forwards and also called on the NRL to return to one on-field referee.
The Eels were furious at the number of calls that went against them in the first half of their 18-16 loss to Canterbury last Friday night and Hayne said his side are being penalised for things other teams get away with.
In the 21 games played by the Eels this season they have come out on top in the penalty count on just three occasions and prior to this round of fixtures they were the fourth most-penalised team in the NRL.
“I remember going through the video and talking to (coach) Brad (Arthur) about it and we were left shaking our heads,” Hayne said.
“There’s no explanation as to what we were doing wrong … that could cost us a finals berth.
“It’s upsetting because when you compare our games to other games you are scratching your head and saying ‘why are we getting penalised when other teams are doing the same thing?’.
“But because we don’t have the big-name superstar forward pack, they think we can’t dominate a tackle and we can’t wrestle.
“You look at your Manlys, the Storm, the Bulldogs, South Sydney.
“Why are they going so well? It’s because they wrestle in the tackle, they get away with things we wouldn’t get away with. We don’t get treated like they would.”
Hayne admits he needs to work on keeping his cool when addressing officials on the field, but said it’s difficult when referees refuse to explain decisions to him.
“Most of the time when you talk to them it doesn’t do much … they’re not going to turn it around,” he said.
“But I want an explanation as to why it (the penalty) happened or what can we do better.
“I will then go and speak to my team and tip them up about it.”
“I try and say my part on the field and they don’t want to talk about it … then you become frustrated.”
Earlier this year former NRL referees boss Bill Harrigan, one of the greatest supporters of the two-ref system, admitted it was time for a rethink and Hayne said his preference would be for one man to be in charge in the middle.
“With the two refs there’s hesitation,” he said.
“Is he going to blow the whistle, is he not? For me the one ref has the whole control of the game.”
Luke M
Guest
Thats a whole other can of fish. You need to try and stop the offload, but if the ball pops out with a finger anywhere near it the referee flips a coin to make a call.
Luke M
Guest
This is actually a brilliant idea. So simple but effective. Held, 3, 2, 1, penalty. I like it.
Adam
Guest
He is spot on. These refs train and watch tape of all the teams and no doubt focus on certain players. And it's not just the wrestle. There are players like Anthony Watmough, who has bad hands and forces passes. Not a week seems to go by where he doesn't win a penalty while in possession for being stripped when it was a poor carry. Meanwhile other players like Sam Burgess (who I am no fan of) get pinged for a knock on every time regardless of how the ball comes out
Barfly
Guest
I agree fully with Hayne, u can tell which team is gunna win in the first 15 minutes of a game now by the way the refs swing....
SuperEel22
Roar Guru
Because Parramatta rates? How does the penalty count relate to TV games?
parrafan
Guest
You make a hell of a lot of sense Eagle. The ones that really get me is when a forward pack starts to dominate three or four tackles in a set and the opposition are making no effort to get up yet the defending team get pinged towards the back end of a set. It happened in the set before bulldogs second try. That's when fans get frustrated about referees having too much influence on a game. When they completely shift the momentum for a penalty that shouldn't have been blown. Also "conspiracy" wasn't used as rightly pointed out.
PJC
Guest
I hate Hayne and I hate the Eels and as much as I hate to agree with him, he is right.
HarryT
Guest
With regards to tackles, instead of telling Snotty and Sweaty to get off Smelly, they should yell out '3'. If Smelly isn't able to play the ball by the time the ref has counted down to zero, then it is a penalty. Problem solved.
Albo
Guest
Spot on Felix ! I am a Panther fan, but I agree with exactly what you noticed at last nights game ! Penrith got a bit lucky early on with some dodgy decisions, but there were some dodgy square ups later in the game. I have been following the game for 50 years, and over that time , I have long thought that the lesser credentialed teams copped the rough end of the pineapple especially in relation to 50/50 decisions. I suspect this may be a subconscious thing in referees decision making processes, something along the lines of where you have a top team playing a bottom team..... " therefore it is more likely the bottom team will have to cheat to remain competitive with the top team ?" I saw this apparent influence for years out at Penrith in those early decades of battling against much better teams, but come 1989, 1990, 1991, when the Panthers had a really highly regarded team, they suddenly were getting these very same types of contentious refs decisions all in their favour ! In a game where there is a lot of subjective decision making required, I think you will always suffer from human subconscious influences in the refs eventual decision making process.
The Barry
Roar Guru
It's a shocking headline...
TheTruth
Guest
+1 EJ, very well said. P.S. Can't wait for Friday, hope the lads can at least manage to go toe-to-toe with your blokes though I think all this rain will play heavily into Manly's hands (Not that they wouldn't be outright favs anyway)
Clark
Guest
And boy does he sound stupid.
CNS
Guest
This Happens all around the league. I don't want to use the word 'conspiracy' but the Sydney Roosters, Parramatta Eels and the NQ Cowboys i believe are most affected by referees bias with the Roosters the most affected. its not hard to notice, I watch every game every round and if I miss a game i catch up on it during the week. These three teams, especially easts, are constantly dudded by the refs with unfair penalty interpretation and consistently on the wrong side of 50-50 situations. As a Roosters supporter i can accept most of the penalties given away (but the Waerea Hargreaves binning was way out of line) but I cannot accept that every week teams that are ill disciplined become cleanskin saints in the eyes of the referee when they play the Roosters, Same can be said in some cases for Manly (apart from when they played the Roosters this year 11-2 penalty count, seriously?).
The eye
Guest
True,but 80% of the time they're watching from the stand and we're battling away with a Robinson,a Prior,a Roqica and a Poli-bloody-toni..who also get more than their fair share of tough love from the referees..there's truth in what he says.
turbodewd
Guest
Ok, then why did Parra, in 2013, running last, get some many FTA TV games. And the Raiders get about one per season. Hayne is as stupid as he sounds.
Sideline Comm.
Guest
Well put eagleJack. The title is a misleading, don't think Hayne used the word 'conspiracy' once but its a word that gets hits so the editors chuck it in a headline, a la Johnathan Thurston. Hayne was voicing legitimate concerns he has for the way wrestling tactics are policed in the ruck, and it gets labelled as an 'anti-eel conspiracy.' I really dislike this type of journalism.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Hayne is a great player,but sometimes his mouth kicks into gear before his brain. The Sharks pack have a Gallen,a Lewis,a Graham,a Toupou.a Fifita.Please advise Jarryd where their current position, is located on the NRL ladder.Nothing to see here!!!!
Felix
Guest
Hear, hear. Cannot agree with you more on everything there. It's endemic across the league, not just with the Eels - it's the inconsistency that drives fans mad. I'm a Cowboys fan and last night there were 4 penalties given against us for incidents which were probably the faster of the play the balls. We are renowned for laying all over players, and I hate it, so we deserve to be pinged for it, but they were penalising the wrong ones! It took the pocket ref to award our first one to end the string of Penrith penalties. Then the typical square up penalties come later, and if I was a Penrith fan I'd be furious over a couple of them, it was really nitpicky stuff from the refs. I know they can't get it right all the time, but let's just start with getting it right one half at at time.
The Barry
Guest
He needs to pull his head in about how he communicates to the refs because he's coming across as petulant. By the same token I've never seen a group of refs so bad at communicating with players. Maybe they're withdrawn because they're so under the pump and the constant haranguing they receive. Gavin Badger is a case in point. He used to communicate well with players now he's a grumpy old so and so.
eagleJack
Guest
Geez I hate the word "conspiracy". Hayne is actually making a fair point. I don't like the Eels. I've never liked the Eels. But I too shake my head at the penalties they concede in the ruck. I have no doubt that refs go in with a pre-conceived idea on which team will win the ruck. The Eels have a young pack, an unknown pack, and it appears that any sign of wrestle they are penalised for. Not sure if having one ref would change that. But atleast we would get back some consistency on simple things like keeping the 10m the same for both teams.