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NRL head of football competitions Graham Annesley has admitted that the Dragons should have been awarded a try in Sunday’s loss to Parramatta after the bunker incorrectly decided that Jacob Liddle had knocked on in a tackle with Clint Gutherson.
It was ruled a loose carry at the time, but many thought that Gutherson stripped the ball, a conclusion that Annesley later agreed with.
“When you look at this closely, Gutherson is trying to make a tackle, there’s no question about that,” he told his regular Monday press conference.
“Clint comes across the top and throws his arm across the top of the ball and the other arm around the body.
“But at this point he finds his hand on top of the ball and I think there’s only two outcomes here, either he’s about to break free from this tackle and score or Clint has the opportunity to try and dispossess him.
“At this point here you can see the fingers curl up on top of the ball and there is a raking motion that dislodges the ball.
“The action of Gutherson raking the ball and dispossessing Liddle means the tackle count should have restarted and that should have been a try.”
He also declared that Jack Wighton should have been called for a forward pass that led to a crucial try for Seb Kris in the Raiders’ 22-18 victory over the Wests Tigers.
“As Jack Wighton passes this ball, if you look at the motion of the hands it appears to be forward,” he said.
“You can see the touch judge at the bottom of the screen who is pretty much in line with this, and also after Jack Wighton passes the ball he gets knocked over which always makes things look worse after a ball is passed.
“The ball hits the ground and bounces which makes the whole thing look a bit of a mess to be honest, but the only reason it will be an issue is if the ball is passed forward out of the hand and is passed directly forward.
“Looking at this one with the camera on the halfway line, I don’t think you can reach much other conclusion than this was a forward pass.”
In a third instance or bungled refereeing, Annesley said referee Grant Atkins wrongly pinged Dolphins prop Herman Ese’ese for holding a Newcastle player at a scrum late in the match, won 30-28 by the Knights.
“Given where the ball goes and the fact no one is prevented from making that tackle and the defensive line would have time to reset, I think that’s a very harsh penalty,” Annesley said.
Sam Burgess could be set for Super League with Warrington deep in discussions to make the English rugby league legend their coach for next season.
The perennial underachievers of English footy had prerviosuly offered the job to former Titans boss Justin Holbrook, but were knocked back as he chose instead to take up an assistant’s role to Trent Robinson at the Sydney Roosters.
Burgess is currently an assistant at South Sydney, where he spent his entire career in Australia, and has only ever coach on his own in bush footy with the Orana Valley Axemen.
Souths are already preparing for life after Sam and have privately accepted that he will leave.
Canberra will offer 2023 breakout star Corey Horsburgh a hefty extension, with the hard-running forward set to be extended through to 2027.
His contract currently expires in 2024 with an option for 2025, but the Raiders are looking to tie him down long-term after Horsburgh bolted into rep conversations with some stellar early season form.
The 25-year-old has been with Canberra since 2018 and debuted in 2019, and save for two matches on loan to Canterbury in the Covid bubble of 2021, has been a stalwart for the Green Machine across nearly 100 games.
An extension would take him to close to his 30th birthday, a strong reward for good form and breaking into the Queensland squad in 2023.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The huge payout that Manly received due to Tom Trbojevic’s injury on rep duty for New South Wales has been revealed, with the Sea Eagles given $300,000 as compensation.
Turbo went down early in Game 2 of Origin and tore his pec muscle, ruling him out for the rest of the year – at least, if Manly do not make the Finals. Should they somehow sneak into the top eight, it is thought that Trbojevic would be ready for week one.
As he was injured while playing for NSW, Manly were eligible for compensation and salary cap relief to sign another player.
Coach Anthony Seibold was unable to land a suitable replacement, though it was reported that he had a crack at Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, with the Kiwi rugby union player set to return to rugby league next year with the Warriors.
Souths also received $100,000 on the same compensation scheme for an injury suffered by Latrell Mitchell in Blues camp. The fullback pulled up with a calf problem ahead of Game 1 and subsequently missed ten weeks of football, returning two weeks ago for the Bunnies’ win over the Tigers in Tamworth.
with AAP