Rugby league loves a controversy

Another week, another controversy in rugby league. Wow, what a shock. Is there anything more dependable than counting on the NRL to produce some type of drama, be it on the field or off?

It’s like clockwork. In fact, the famous saying should be altered to ‘death, taxes and rugby league controversy’.

Last week it was Josh Reynolds’ meltdown in Brisbane. The week before it was Robbie Farah’s exclusive interview and rant on Channel Nine’s The Footy Show. The week before that it was Robbie Farah versus Gorden Tallis in a heated debate about a conversation they had 15 months prior.

Preceding that, it was probably Wayne Bennett, or Darius Boyd, or someone else. I’m not sure – it’s difficult to keep track of, to be honest.

The latest episode in rugby league’s soap drama has been unoriginally labeled ‘Ball Boy Gate’, and alludes to the controversial finish to Friday night’s game between the Bulldogs and the Eels.

With Parramatta trailing by two points with less then three minutes to go, Eels halfback Chris Sandow completed a 40/20 kick, providing his team with the ball 20 metres out from the Bulldogs line and the opportunity to win the game at the death.

And that appeared to be exactly what the cheeky number seven had accomplished when he took the quick tap, and then dived across for a try. Unfortunately, the referee called him back, because the ball boy had thrown the ball to winger Vai Toutai, rather than placing it on the sideline, as per league rules.

The Eels subsequently squandered their chance to score, and the Bulldogs held on to win. However, the storm had already well and truly brewed in the teacup.

The Channel Nine commentary team were quite animated, led by Phil ‘Gus’ Gould and Brad Fittler, both having raised the issue of the 40/20 ruling in previous weeks.

Twitter, understandably, lit up, led by Eels hooker Nathan Peats.

And the sensational headlines on the internet were written within minutes, including the likes of, ‘The call that put Parra on life support’.

I can understand Parramatta and their fan’s frustration. After all, we’ve seen ball boys do the exact same thing a number of times this season, and it was simply play on .

Personally, I was more than happy with the decision to call Sandow back. Mainly because I go for the Bulldogs, but also because I thought the Eels had actually gained an advantage from the ball boy throwing the ball in, as it had saved Parramatta valuable seconds and enabled them to cross the line before the Dogs could get back onside, or into defensive position.

However, Twitter foe Matt Bungard quickly told me to pull my head in, and pointed out that the Parramatta winger was right there on the sideline, so little to no advantage was given to the Eels from the ball boy. But as I replied to Matt, objectivity is a little hard to come by when your team is facing its fifth loss in a row.

In any case, a review of the footage suggests that Sandow never tapped the ball, and therefore it shouldn’t have been awarded a try anyway. So I do find it a little hard to swallow the line of thinking that the call ruined the Eels’ season. You need to tap the ball to restart – that’s the rule – and it doesn’t appear as if Sandow did.

However, that doesn’t hide the fact that here we sit on a Monday morning, discussing yet another controversy in the NRL. One that could have been easily avoided with some common sense. Though as I’ve mentioned before, the problem with common sense is that it’s not very common, especially in rugby league.

A few weeks ago, Fittler suggested the easiest fix to this 40/20 ruling that one could possibly imagine: a ball should be placed on the 20 metre sideline, on both sides of the field, in both halves. When a 40/20 kick is successfully completed, the winger simply has to pick the ball up and throw it in field for a tap.

Simple. Easy. Full of common sense.

Instead, the NRL – a professional sporting organisation – places an incredibly large amount of responsibility on kids that are usually around 10 to 12 years old. Who are also affiliated with one of the teams. And are standing metres away from their physically imposing idols.

Sarcasm alert, but yeah, that makes perfect sense. Yet don’t expect the NRL to take any accountability for that gross absurdity.

Speaking on Triple M‘s Deadest Legends on Saturday morning, Eels coach Brad Arthur stated that an NRL official had told the ball boy that they cost Parramatta the game. Arthur quite rightly called that an ‘absolute disgrace’.

It’s a shame that after a good game of footy, all we’re talking about is some type of drama, and one that could have been avoided. But that’s rugby league for you. Any suggestions on what next week’s controversy will be? You know it’s coming.