A hip-drop tackle that wasn’t, an Origin star in strife for two incidents and a game-changing captain’s challenge that looked way too late – there was drama wherever you looked at Accor Stadium on Sunday.
Canterbury have jumped off the bottom of the NRL ladder following a highly controversial 20-18 victory over the Gold Coast in a drama-filled 80 minutes where referee Chris Butler was at the centre of several contentious calls that helped define the game.
The Bulldogs were allowed to make a captain’s challenge when they were penalised for a pass off the ground, after watching the replay on the big screen. The decision came 14 seconds after the referee blew the whistle, even though the rule is a captain only has 10 seconds to make a challenge.
Titans skipper Tino Fa’asuamaleaui was fuming over the decision as he argued with Butler. Not long after winning the challenge, the Dogs scored a try which turned the game.
Fa’asuamaleaui has judiciary worries with Origin selection on Monday – he appeared to strike Dogs hooker Reed Mahoney with a forearm as he made a hit-up in the first half and was reported for a lifting tackle on Tevita Pangai Jnr in the second stanza.
“It’s a contact sport,” the Titans skipper said after the game. “I’m running as hard as I can, Reed is running off the line as hard as he can, and he’s half my size.”
Fa’asuamaleaui felt the same about the tackle on TPJ.
“There was no malice in it, I was just trying to do an old-school tackle and get underneath him and it just came off wrong.”
There was a flurry of questionable calls, including a hip-drop tackle by Mahoney that many thought was perfectly fine placed on report while the forearm to the head he copped resulted in no penalty.
The Bulldogs were woeful in the first 40 minutes, with just 36 per cent possession and having to make a mountain of tackles. But the momentum shift in the second half favoured the home side, with the stats and scoreboard looking much more even.
It didn’t take long for the visitors to open the scoring, with David Fifita steamrolling his way over three defenders to score in just the third minute. The Titans thought they were in again a short time later, but the bunker spotted a knock-on during grounding. Backrower Joe Stimson got the green light in the 31st minute after a beautiful offload from Fa’asuamaleaui close to the line, giving his side a 14-0 lead heading into the sheds at the break.
But as we have seen so often with the Titans, the wheels began to fall off in the second half and they allowed the opposition back in. A brilliant try by Jake Averillo off a Matt Burton bomb followed by a four-pointer to a flying Josh Addo-Carr up the sideline just minutes later closed the gap to just two points.
Titans winger Phillip Sami gave his side a bit of breathing space, scoring a try in the 59th minute, but it was once again short-lived, with Jacob Kiraz crossing just a minute later following the Bulldogs’ challenge after watching the big screen, and the home side trailed by four.
The Titans continued to leave the door open for the Bulldogs, with silly errors and dangerous tackles helping the Dogs upfield to apply pressure. Throwing everything they could at the visitors, the Bulldogs finally broke through in the 77th minute, when Jayden Okunbor crossed for the winning try.
In the end, it was a gutsy effort from the Bulldogs who turned a 14-0 half-time deficit into a victory, and another example of the Titans being a 40-minute side, letting a half-time lead slip through their fingers.
“Really disappointed, I feel awful,” said Titans coach Justin Holbrook.
“Again, we find a way to not win. You don’t lead 14-0 and not know what you are doing, and then we are just finding ways to come unstuck.”
There was a controversial moment in the first half when Bulldogs hooker Mahoney was taken off for an HIA after copping a forearm to the head in an attempted tackle on Fa’asuamaleaui. As Mahoney walked off the field, there was no sanction for the Titans captain or even a penalty awarded to the Bulldogs.
“It was a forearm to the head! He knocked him out!” said Fox League analyst Greg Alexander. “Are you allowed to do that, as a runner, as a ball carrier?”
Fellow panellist Corey Parker was quick to defend Fa’asuamaleaui. “You should be allowed to initiate contact, every front-rower in the game initiates contact at some point,” said Parker. “It’s not up to Tino to determine where Reed Mahoney positions his head.”
Alexander disagreed with his colleague. “Every front-rower might lift their arm up, but they don’t knock the defender out,” said Alexander.
Mahoney defended Fa’asuamaleaui after the match.
“It probably looked worse than what it was,” said Mahoney. “Big Tino was just trying to get his team forward……I don’t think there was anything in it.
“There was no intent……it was probably more my fault. He should get off, he should be right.”
It will be an anxious wait for Fa’asuamaleaui and the Queensland selectors as to how the match review committee deem the action, with the forward expected to be named in the Maroons State of Origin team on Monday morning.
What’s a round of NRL these days without a contentious hip-drop call?
Mahoney was once again involved, shortly before his run-in with Fa’asuamaleaui he was placed on report for an alleged hip drop tackle on Titans forward Moe Fotuaika that left many scratching their heads.
“It’s not a hip drop,” said Alexander. “His feet never left the ground…..it was a hit and spin from Fotuaika, then he trailed him around and ended up behind him.”
“He (Mahoney) never took his feet off the ground and landed on the back of his legs. I can’t call that a hip drop.”
This time Parker was in complete agreement.
“I agree with Brandy,” said Parker. “He was just doing his best in the tackle.”
Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo felt exactly the same.
“That’s not a hip drop tackle,” said Ciraldo in the post-match press conference. “That was a smaller guy trying to tackle a bigger guy on his back.
“That was disappointing.”
Dutski
Roar Guru
Didn’t like the look of Tino’s raised forearm, but if he does get charged there’s a whole library of JWH and NAS doing exactly that without penalty which his lawyers can play to the judiciary for evidence.
The Barry
Roar Guru
As usual the Dogs play a bland, vanilla back-pedalling style of footy until they give up an unhealthy deficit, then play their best footy when they give the ball some air - whether through the hands or off Burton’s boot We don’t have the firepower in the middle third to go toe to toe with big engine rooms like Moe, Tino and Liu. King works his ring out, but is a bit small and doesn’t bend the line. But he comes into his own when we play an up pace game Really impressed with Edwards today. Looks a genuine ball playing 13. Plays right at the line, but doesn’t over do it and is happy to straighten and take the hit up. Defends well and did well in the JAC try to a) back up Burton and b) quickly offload to Perham Pangai probably had his best game of the year, but geez it’s heart in the mouth stuff with him a lot of the time Burton was the man and laid on all the Bulldogs points The Dogs need to work on what they’re doing in the oppo 20-30. By my count we were down there five times. Addo-Carr kicked away possession on the second, Waddell dropped the ball on the 2nd or 3rd, Fox kicked it dead when they ran it on the 5th, we kicked into the defenders shins and Oloapu kicked on the 4th when no one knew what was on. Not a repeat set in sight In the second half we got a few repeat sets, built some pressure and get to points or point scoring opportunities The obstruction call on the Alamoti no try was a dud…
RLFan
Roar Rookie
After that terrible refereeing, all going against the Bulldogs, I can't believe that you think they were favoured. In the first half Campbell would have scored from a pass by a tackled player on the ground, if he hadn't dropped the ball. A non -hip drop tackle, which unbelievably incurred a penalty, an elbow to the head and no penalty. I have yet to see a game this year where the Dogs were on the right end of the penalties and 50/50 calls. . Come off it!!
The Barry
Roar Guru
Corey Parker’s description of the Tino forearm was embarrassing “It’s not up to Tino to determine where Reed Mahoney positions his head.” Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean you can launch forearms to your opponents head
The Barry
Roar Guru
The three minutes that saw Mahoney get put on report and penalised for a “hip drop” that was a perfectly legal and traditional tackle and then forced from the field for a HIA as a result of a forearm that went unpunished is a neat little microcosm of how messed up NRL officiating and rule making is at the moment…
The Barry
Roar Guru
You’re saying the rules get bent in the Bulldogs favour because if Gould??? You have to be kidding me… What about the ridiculous hip drop penalty and report against Mahoney? What about the Tino forearm to Mahoney’s head that put Mahoney off the field for a HIA? What about the 3-4 decisions against the Dogs that has to be challenged to be over turned The Dogs have had the rough end if the pineapple week after week this year… as trans at the south end of the ladder tend to cop. To suggest the Dogs are getting looked after because of Gould is downright laughable I know the rule is ten seconds but teams regularly take longer to get the message to the ref. King was screaming for the challenge from the second the penalty was blown…
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
unconscious bias. A club with an influential figure gets the rules bent in their favour. Not an unusual story, tell you now that the Titans wouldn't get a call like that. Time frame outside that which is allowed.