NRL 2016: Ricky Stuart not dark on bunker after Raiders fall short against Dragons

RICKY Stuart had no problem with the bunker not ruling on foul play, even though Blake Austin was not awarded a penalty after breaking his nose.

Blake Austin of the Raiders looks on following his team’s loss to the Dragons.

CANBERRA coach Ricky Stuart said he had no problem with the bunker not ruling on foul play, even though his playmaker Blake Austin was not awarded a penalty after breaking his nose.

While the lights may have gone out at Kogarah Oval, few people missed the shot by Dragons enforcer Joel Thompson which, late in the first half, split and smashed the nose of Austin.

Apart from being one of Canberra’s rare breaks of the first 40 minutes, it was also a big talking point afterwards.

Blake Austin had his nose smashed against the Dragons. Picture: Mark Evans

For after taking over a minute to find his feet, and with blood dripping from his sliced snoz, Austin screamed toward the whistleblowers “can’t you see my f...en nose?

Nup. Apparently not.

The bunker, too, choosing not to act despite several replays.

Yet speaking afterwards, both Stuart and Dragons coach Paul McGregor said it was the correct call.

“We spoke about it at the coaches’ meeting, that the bunker shouldn’t rule on foul play if the referees miss it,’’ Stuart said.

“And he (Thompson) will go next week. He’s broken his nose.

“But I think it will stop diving. So I agree that the bunker shouldn’t adjudicate on foul play.

“I didn’t know if it was in. Obviously it’s in but I haven’t got a memo on it. That’s not to be smart, I just didn’t know.”

Blake Austin looks on following Canberra’s loss to the Dragons.

Quizzed on wether the bunker was still supposed to make a call if the incident was deemed reportable, Stuart just smiled, shrugged and responded: “Ah, mate.”

Elsewhere, Canberra skipper Jarrod Croker became the highest-scoring Raider of all time — his try in the 78th minute taking him past Dave Furner, to 1224 points.

Dragons enforcer Tyson Frizell also continued his push for an Origin jersey while Josh Dugan, from the back, was again outstanding, running for more than 150 metres.

“Give St George credit, I don’t think they made an error in the second half,’’ Stuart added.

“But the amount of games we lose by beating ourselves, it’s very frustrating at times.”

Originally published as NRL 2016: Ricky Stuart not dark on bunker after Raiders fall short against Dragons