NRL Head of Football Graham Annesley has revealed the conversations between the Bunker and onfield officials that led to the Cronulla Sharks’ match-winning try being approved against the St George-Illawarra Dragons.
Though a try was awarded on the field, the Bunker was brought in to assess whether Wade Graham had knocked-on just before Bronson Xerri sped away for the crucial four-pointer. It was eventually upheld.
Graham added fuel to the fire after the win, saying the ball had “clipped” his arm.
“I wasn’t about to go tell them I touched it, but sometimes you get it, sometimes you don’t,” Graham said.
While reaction has been divided, Annesley says he and the NRL have given the decision the all-clear.
In his weekly briefing, he provided audio from the Bunker that wasn’t aired on TV which demonstrates the reasoning behind the try being awarded.
Annesley says that a key aspect of the call was that the Bunker moved on from whether Graham had touched the ball to whether it had been knocked forward, ultimately decided it had not.
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Roar Guru
The problem is, is explanation of this is probably fair, and at the end of the day, it is such a line ball decision, that most reasonable people can live with a decision either way. Problem is all the focus was on this because it happened in a close game on Sunday afternoon. Maxwell (the Bunker official on Sunday) made an absolute howler in the Titans v Eels game. But as it was a blow out and involved a low interest team at a low interest timeslot, nothing come of it. The problem remains - Maxwell makes too many poor decisions, but addressing this decision in such detail highlights that Anessley is only responding to the media, not addressing the actual problems.
Nat
Roar Guru
What a waste of Annesley's time. How is this a question he needs to answer? Even with a Red V across one eye, you could see the ball went back off Graham's arm toward Xerri. Just let that game die.