The NRL’s crackdown on kick pressure has officially jumped the shark after a crucial call went Cronulla’s way with Storm star Harry Grant ending up in the sin bin.
Grant appeared to accidentally make contact with Sharks five-eighth Daniel Atkinson late in the first half of Saturday night’s top-of-the-table tussle at AAMI Park.
He was not even looking at his opponent but grazed Atkinson’s leg after he booted the ball downfield and was surprised when referee Grant Atkins penalised him, even more so when he then banished him to the sin bin.
Cronulla scored off the ensuing set to make it 12-12 at the break and after the scores were again deadlocked at 18-18 in the final 10 minutes, a field goal to Atkinson put the visitors ahead before Siosifa Talakai sealed the 25-18 win with a runaway try from the short kick-off restart.
“I had no eyes or Atko or putting that kind of pressure on. I was pulling myself away from dangerous contact. Unfortunately it cost us,” Grant said when asked about the sin bin.
Craig Bellamy was incensed by the decision and said the NRL now had to maintain a consistent benchmark of any contact with the kicker’s legs being a penalty.
“With any rules all we’ve got is consistency so that’s the mark now,” the Storm coach said. “You touch his leg, doesn’t matter how hard, and you go to the bin.”
The Sharks are now 8-1, their best start to a season since they were minor premiers in 1999, to take sole ownership of top spot from Melbourne.
Stars on the sidelines
All the talk leading into the game was around how Melbourne would cope without fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen after his latest leg fracture and halfback Jahrome Hughes due to his calf strain.
But the Sharks pulled a swifty by keeping Nicho Hynes’ calf strain a secret, ruling him out an hour before kickoff with Blayke Brailey switching to halfback alongside Atkinson and Cameron McInnes returning to the hooking role.
Atkinson, who only got a start a couple of weeks ago when Braydon Trindall was stood down due to his drink-driving charges, stepped up with Hynes watching on from Fitzgibbon’s coaches box.
Not only was he cool in potting the match-winning field goal six minutes from time, he organised the Cronulla attack like a seasoned veteran.
Atkinson got his start in the NRL at the Storm but came back to haunt his old club with a five-star display. “He was absolutely outstanding,” McInnes said.
This match was supposed to be a referendum on whether Cronulla were a legitimate title threat but it’s hard to read too much into the result given they were without Hynes and the Storm were also weakened this weekend.
Both teams looked discombobulated in the opening exchanges, conceding penalties and fumbling the ball on the attack to kill any momentum the looked like they were about to generate.
Harry Grant is held up. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)
Storm second-rower Eliesa Katoa scored the first try from close range before Sharks interchange behemoth Tuku Hau Tapuha did likewise a short time later.
When a specialist hooker switches to the halves, the attacking side of things can be easier to adapt to but defensive reads can be a problem.
Tackling in the middle is a tougher but much more simplistic task and Brailey was caught out when a Cameron Munster pass off the edge of the ruck found Reimis Smith hurtling to the line for a six-point advantage.
The Grant sin-binning led to Cronulla squaring the ledger at the break when prop Oregon Kaufusi scrambled through a couple of defenders but despite not convincing Atkins, the Bunker saw enough to award him the try.
Melbourne were uncharacteristically flat after getting their half-time rev-up from Craig Bellamy early in the second half and Sharks centre Jesse Ramien muscled his way over the stripe out wide to enhance his NSW State of Origin claims.
Cronulla’s forwards were hunting like a pack but the Storm struggled to get the upper hand in the middle of the field.
Young fullback Sua Faalogo was dangerous whenever he was given a slither of space and will be hard to leave out of the Storm’s game-day line-up when Papenhuyzen returns next month.
As he has done a couple of times this season, Tyran Wishart bobbed up at the right time to dummy his way past the stretched Sharks defence 10 minutes from full-time to lock the scores up at 18 apiece to set up a thrilling finish.
The result raises hopes that Cronulla can not only compete with the top teams but beat them – Fitzgibbon said their three-game stretch against Melbourne, the Roosters and Penrith would not define their season last week and he was sticking to his guns on Saturday night.
“It’s round 10 and we’re just working on getting better,” he said.
“There’s some elite teams who have been up for a long time. We’re working on getting better and there’s so much more to come between now and the end of the season.
“Honestly, the amount of talk around it, I find it amazing – we’re not walking around thinking we’ve won premierships and we’ve got the right to carry on and get ahead of ourselves.
“Those teams have been there and know what it’s about and we’re trying to figure that out on the fly.”
Sharks of Origin
Hynes was already a strong chance to make the NSW team for Origin I on June 5 and although he was not sure whether he will be fit for Magic Round next Saturday against the Roosters, his stocks are rising given that Nathan Cleary is in extreme doubt with his latest hamstring problem.
He could end up at five-eighth or halfback for the Blues with the other main contender, Parramatta’s Mitchell Moses, under a cloud due to his foot injury.
McInnes and Ramien are also in the Blues mix and Fitzgibbon said nether Shark would look out of place in a different sky-blue jersey.
“As far as Origin qualities go, what more do you want in a player?” Fitzgibbon said of McInnes. “Cam can actually play a number of different roles there at that level too.
“He’s displayed Origin-like qualities for a long time now so I’d love to see him get a crack.”
Hynes told Fox League that he was confident of doing well if given another chance by the Blues after a brief cameo off the bench last year in game one.
“It’s going to be a day-to-day process and it would have been too much of a risk today but hopefully I can get up for next week,” he said.
“I’ve just been focusing the Sharks and getting us at the top of the ladder and I feel like I’ve done a really good job to get us into that position, helped by my teammates.”
with AAP
PB Meister
Roar Rookie
So there was heavy contact after such a play in the Manly/Brisbane match last night. Absolutely ignored by the officials. And... as we all know, Munster was exonerated. Too late to recoup the 2 points lost on the ladder. I''m dreading Origin... what a farce the application of the rules has become.
SPM
Roar Rookie
I have to agree with CB the referees now have no choice, any contact with a kickers leg is a pen and off to the bin for 10. If not they further undermine their own credibility to officiate the game and that will only turn supporters off.
wilbas
Roar Rookie
I hate the ''noise''
wilbas
Roar Rookie
did you hear the bunker put a indiscretion in before the play had reached the corner...like ''bunker insurance''...the ''noise'' happen as he moved towards corner
wilbas
Roar Rookie
tigers lost a game last year I think where the field goal missed and the chaser who threw his arms up fell on to the ground and tapped the foot of the standing leg which cause the kicker to lose balance and he was penalized and game was lost..
NQR
Roar Rookie
Sharks are playing great football mate. Good luck this season. I’m a Fitz fan.
Renegade
Roar Guru
Fair enough mate :thumbup: Sharkies are on fire! Good luck this arvo
NQR
Roar Rookie
LOL. Never said that’s why the Sharkies won. The fact the Storm are leading and then Kaufusi crashes over straight after Grant has been put in the bin is significant. I’m absolutely wrapped in Fitz coaching and the way the Sharks are playing their football. Up up the Sharks for being the team to beat. This is 100% frustration at watching a game being influenced by ridiculous officiating week in week out. It’s farcical the way the game is being officiated and I’m actually feeling sorry for the officials having to deal with the abuse. Simply because they seem to be under instructions to make the game interesting over actual letting the skills of players decide the result IMO.
PB Meister
Roar Rookie
Grant inadvertently “brushes” the leg of the kicker… What would you expect in a contact sport as an absolute minimum when moving in such close proximity to an attacking player? The “incident”, the term itself an overkill to describe that brief moment in play essentially cost Storm the game. Last week it was two non tries awarded to the opposing team which ultimately did not cost Melbourne. Decisions like these are wrecking the game!
Renegade
Roar Guru
lol yeah that’s the reason the sharks won…. Hilarious NQR, even for your standards
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
Stay away as in not make contact with the legs after the kick is completed. I didn’t make the rule, I’m just explaining its consequences.
NQR
Roar Rookie
100% I’ve been following the game to long to have the joy of watching a game destroyed by this ridiculous officiating. Are you seriously saying Grant is guilty of dangerous play in that sin binning? Or are you just validating the Sharks deserved to play 12 men to get back into the game. Literally there’s a photo of Granted being tackled by 2 Sharks around the head promoting this article.
langparker
Roar Rookie
That touch on the kicker’s foot, accidental open palm in the face with no force, they’re penalties & possibly sin bins now? How about the creeping trend of blatant trips, an act thought of as an automatic send off in my day. Saw an obvious intentional one last night without even a slight effort to pretend it was an accident. Refs have lost the plot.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
Gee you’ve been following the game too long to need me to tell you what a defender can and can’t do to put pressure on the kicker and whose responsibility it is to prevent injury.
Duvall
Roar Rookie
Plenty of focus by commentators and media about the missing Storm players before and after the game - Hughes, Paps. It seems that while they've heard of Hynes, they have no recollection of Trindall or Rudolph. Cronulla played with just one half - that is rare. I was stunned pre-game when Dykes wasn't slotted in to replace Nicho. But the plan sure worked - dominate the Storm pack - which they did - kick and defend well and take their chances. It worked a treat. Brailey had one bad miss defending three in - led to a try - but otherwise rock solid taking down big Storm forwards close to the line with regularity - one tackle in particular saved a try. Got to congratulate the Cronulla brains trust in coming up with the plan - going into a game with just one half is taking a big risk. The game may be the making of Atkinson - he was superb. If someone told me Cronulla would beat Melbourne with no Nicho or Trindall and just Atkinson in the halves I'd have thought they were crazy. Overall a fantastic win considering the Storm still had Munster and Grant and were playing at home. Someone wrote "in Fitz we trust" - I must say I do a lot more now after seeing this game. He has a fine side to work with - the spirit is off the charts and their defence is the best in the league - Bellamy said he thought Cronulla wanted it more - maybe - and if that's the case that's a huge plus. It's a formidable side - some huge forwards, lots of class in the pack and bench, a strike weapon in Talakai, a young gun in Iro, a back five that is one of the best in the game if not the best. And then there's McInnes - one of Cronulla's best ever buys - top 10 easy. What a player. Roosters, Penrith and Brisbane await - big tests all - but I have a lot more confidence they can pass those tests after Saturday night. Up up Cronulla.
wilbas
Roar Rookie
golden point and you have to stay away from the field goal kicker..?
wilbas
Roar Rookie
psst...the truth is they have planned world wide for sports like rugby and gridiron to be phased out and soccer to be the only sport promoted by the world govt elite...Why do you think news ltd which owns rugby league keeps reporting stories that are detrimental to rugby league and besides if soccer rises it means more subscriptions for fox which is news ltd.
NQR
Roar Rookie
The kicker is making contact by raising his foot. It wouldn’t surprise me if this lot turned around next week and made up a rule that anyone contacting an opponent with raised studs will be penalised and binned.
Pedro
Roar Rookie
I noticed towards the end of the game that a Sharks defender made minimal contact with the leg of the Storm defender after a kick. Several Storm players said something to the ref and were waved away. I think that illustrates Bellamy’s point.
NQR
Roar Rookie
Learn to stay away? Interestingly that’s why players side step and fend. Kicking and passing are a skill that are inherently much easier to preform without pressure. If you’re getting contacted in the act of kicking your also responsible for being to shallow or taking it to close to the opposition defence? I have no problem with players being binned for diving into players legs or jumping (leaving their feet) into a kicker but simply trying to rush up and put a kicker under pressure and maybe charge a kick down is and a always was considered great defensive pressure.