Jazz Tevaga sin bin: NRL Head of Football lays blame on both parties
It was the call the effectively ended the Warriors’ finals hopes - but NRL head of football Graham Annesley says both parties are to blame for Warriors lock Jazz Tevaga’s controversial sin bin.
NRL
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NRL head of football Graham Annesley has conceded the Warriors were wronged and should not have had Jazz Tevaga sent to the sin bin for his jumper grab ‘love tap’ on Parramatta’s Nathan Brown.
But rather than take aim under fire ref Grant Atkins following the Warriors’ 24-18 loss that has basically ended their finals hopes, Annesley said Tevaga should also take responsibility for putting himself and his team in that position through his poor discipline.
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“If you do the crime you have got to be prepared to do the time,” Annesley said.
“And in this case a player of his own volition decided to take action that was going to bring him to the attention of the match officials.
“And if you are a player you lose control with it after that.”
Warriors coach Todd Payten was adamant it was the wrong call to sin bin his lock, and suggested both Tevaga and Brown should have both been marched if one went.
Annesley agreed in his opinion Tevaga didn’t warrant a 10 minute spell but he only had himself to blame given the rule states striking is a sin binning offence.
Wow, that’s the softest sin-binning ever seen. An absolute disgrace #NREelsWarriors
— Angus Mead (@angusmeadvideo) September 6, 2020
Jazz Tevaga, a master of NRL shithousery, copped a shithouse send off right there #NRLWarriorsEels
— Rob Sutherland (@rob_sutherland3) September 6, 2020
That is not a sin bin!!!! Damn Jazz sent for 10 for a shove basically
— Supercoach Addicts (@NRL_SC_Addicts) September 6, 2020
“The rules and interpretations make it very clear that striking is a reason why you can be sent to the sin bin,” Annesley said.
“So there is no question that being sent to the sin bin was an option for the match officials.
“Do I think that incident was serious enough to go to the sin bin? Probably not.
“But I think it is only fair that everyone accepts their share of the responsibility.
“And the players have a responsibility. If they want to win games, they want to put themselves in contention, then they also have a responsibility not to place the officials in a position where they force them to make a decision that might negatively affect them.
“The best way to avoid this is that if Jazz doesn’t do what he did, then no one is talking about it.
“I am just trying to put some balance into this.
“I think a penalty would have been sufficient.
“But I do think that we need to have some balance in how we look at these things. The referees had no option. They had to take action. If you don’t want to concede penalties, if you don’t want to go to the sin bin, if you don’t want to be sent off, then don’t take the action in the first place.”
The incident proved costly with Parramatta racing in two tries in Tevaga’s absence in the first half.
It means the Warriors are still four points adrift of eighth-placed Cronulla who they play on Sunday.
But the Warriors, equal with Wests Tigers on 14 points, would have to win all three remaining games and need the Sharks to lose all three to make up the gap.
Match report: Rollercoaster Eels scrape through
One minute they looked like world beaters. The next Parramatta was a rabble.
But after fighting back to cling on for a dramatic 24-18 win over the incredibly gutsy Warriors in Gosford, the question now is can the Eels stand up to ladder leaders Penrith this Friday night.
On an afternoon where Warriors coach Todd Payten was fuming at the crucial first half sin-binning of Jazz Tevaga for a ‘punch’ Payten labelled “a push”, Brad Arthur’s team survived a huge scare after leading 16-0 in the first half and crossing for two tries while Tevaga was off the field.
But a week after crashing to an embarrassing 38-0 defeat to South Sydney, the win could also come at a cost for Parra with dummy half Reed Mahoney forced off in the second half with a left shoulder AC injury.
Arthur said Mahoney he couldn’t pass and would go for scans on Monday with his season in some doubt.
The last thing Parramatta needs is to lose their tough little hooker who has been superb this season.
Arthur said Ray Stone would take over if Mahoney wasn’t right for the Panthers.
As for whether he went home confident his team was still a live threat in this competition, Arthur reasoned: “We have still got a couple of weeks to get it right.
“You couldn’t say that on the back of that performance right now.
“But the good thing is we have got a real tough opposition next week to challenge ourselves and we are up for the challenge.”
WHAT A GAME
On the first weekend of September when we usually kick off the footy finals, this game had everything.
There was bone jarring defence and sensational tries.
Fire and brimstone in the forwards, absolute class in attack, and no shortage of character from both teams.
No one was more spectacular than the inspirational Roger Tuivasa-Sheck who ran for 264 metres and finished with a try and eight tackle busts.
But that still doesn’t discount the fact the Warriors’ season is now clinging to life support.
With three rounds remaining they are still four competition points adrift of eighth-placed Cronulla, who they take on this Sunday followed by Canberra and Manly.
It might be a mountain too big at this late stage.
But the way they have fought back from incredible odds this season, you couldn’t count them out.
EELS ON CHARGE
Peter Sterling said in Channel 9 commentary he’d go as far as to say if the Eels didn’t win this game they wouldn’t finish top four.
Well, they won the game but it wasn’t convincing enough to say they have got themselves back in the conversation as a genuine premiership threat.
They sure started with a bang.
Shaun Lane produced a wonderful cutout ball to send Maika Sivo crashing over after just five minutes.
And after the sin-binning of Tevaga for a half-hearted push/punch on Nathan Brown, the Eels looked to be cruising to a comfortable win.
In that Jai Field scored and Blake Ferguson’s celebrated his first for the season.
But the jubilation didn’t last long.
THE TURNAROUND
It hit like a cyclone.
One minute the Warriors were down for the count. Then, within the space of two minutes, their season was back alive.
And it came on the back of two tries to Chanel Harris-Tavita that would rate up with the best we’ve seen this year.
For the first of them there were two kicks and the ball travelled through nine sets of hands, going from one side of the field to the other.
But almost as soon as you thought you couldn’t see better, Tuivasa-Sheck exploded through the ruck.
Starting just 25 metres out from his own line, he charged 65 metres down field and while Kodi Nikorima couldn’t get his hands down quick enough to collect a pass, Harris-Tavita was on the spot again to be rewarded for his effort.
Don’t worry, both teams were brave but Payten was understandably upset with the sin bin.
“I thought it was the wrong call,” he said.
“Jazz was trying to push him off with his jersey in his hands.
“It was the wrong call in my opinion.
“That is not the only call I think we were pretty hard done by.”
WARRIORS 18 (Harris-Tavita 2, Perham & Goals: Harris-Tavita 3/3) EELS 24 (Sivo, Field, Ferguson, Blake & Goals: Moses 4/5) at Central Coast Stadium.
‘Same sh*t, different day’: Dragons coach in stunning spray
Dean Young has slammed his side as his hopes of securing a full-time coaching gig took a hit after the Dragons went down to the lowly Cowboys 23-22 on Sunday night.
Valentine Holmes was the hero with a field goal in golden point and he also scored a second-half try as caretaker coach Josh Hannay claimed his first win to end a nine-game losing streak.
“It’s been a hard slog and we’ve had some near misses. It was nice to come out on the right side,” Hannay said.
A win would have given the Red V a mathematical chance of playing finals footy, but instead they can start planning for 2021 after they failed to get the job done for the second week in a row.
“Same shit, different day,” Young cursed.
The Dragons legend has done a fair job in recent weeks, and he’ll be hoping his strong relationship with the club will be the clincher as he looks to remove the word ‘caretaker’ from his job title.
The Dragons interviewed Young as well as former NRL coaches Anthony Griffin and David Furner for the job on Thursday, and it’s expected the club will make a decision as early as this week.
Young will be hoping the board had their minds made up before Sunday’s loss.
VALENTINE’S DAY
The calendar said it was Father’s Day, but Valentine Holmes can expect some presents from fans up north after his dagger field goal in extra time helped his side to their fourth win of the season.
He looked much better at fullback after showing plenty of rust last week, with his trusty right boot proving the difference.
“It’s something I’ve been working on at training for a time like this and it worked,” he told Fox League after the game.
LONG ROAD AHEAD
A three-week stretch against the Queensland teams should have been the springboard the Dragons needed to keep their finals hopes alive.
They had just beaten the Eels and looked to have momentum on their side. A narrow win over the Broncos set the tone, and their season has gone up in smoke with back-to-back losses against the Titans and Cowboys.
Whoever gets the job going forward has to find a way to make this team click. They play well in patches, but short bursts don’t cut it in the NRL.
“It went wrong in blokes not getting their jobs done,” Young lamented.
IN TODD WE TRUST
The Cowboys have the makings of a quality team, and Todd Payten’s return next season will hopefully be the final piece of the puzzle that unlocks their potential. Payten has been a revelation at the Warriors and has them in contention to play finals footy despite everything they’ve endured.
He’ll face another challenge in Townsville at a club that hasn’t played finals footy since 2017, but he appears to be the real deal and is capable of turning things around. Hannay may have missed out on the role, but the club would be wise to keep him involved.
“I only want good things to happen to this place because it’s been a big part of my life,” he said.
COWBOYS 23 (Tries: Jake Clifford, Kyle Feldt, Valentine Holmes, Francis Molo. Goals: Valentine Holmes 3/4. Field Goals: Valentine Holmes 1) defeated DRAGONS 22 (Tries: Euan Aitken, Jacob Host, Mikaele Ravalawa. Goals: Zac Lomax 5/6) at Queensland Country Bank Stadium
Originally published as Jazz Tevaga sin bin: NRL Head of Football lays blame on both parties