NRL 2021: Graham Annesley fires up over ‘zero tolerance’ ref outrage
The NRL has launched a passionate defence of under fire whistle blowers, declaring the “zero tolerance” afforded to refs unlike level of scrutiny on anybody else who works in the game.
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NRL head of football Graham Annesley has launched a passionate defence of the under fire whistle blowers, declaring the “zero tolerance” afforded to refs is unlike what everybody else working in the game have to contend with.
And after another weekend of simmering anger over some of the contentious calls and blow ups from players, coaches, experts and fans, Annesley reasoned: “The human that doesn’t make errors of judgment hasn’t been born yet.”
It wouldn’t be a Monday morning if Annesley wasn’t responding to some refereeing controversy and there was certainly plenty more debate coming out of this latest round.
While there has been a stack of arguments over the continuing implementation of the high tackle crackdown, some of the scoreline blowouts have put further focus on the recent rule changes and just how difficult it is for struggling teams to fight back when a run of possession goes against them.
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Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett was left seething after watching his team blow a 10-6 halftime lead to let in 30 unanswered points against Parramatta, but it wasn’t his players in Barrett’s firing line.
Barrett said he would be seeking answers about the lopsided calls that went against Canterbury.
Among them was a match-turning call early in the second half where a penalty try was awarded to Mitchell Moses after he was taken out by Brandon Wakeham.
But that came after the Dogs absolutely butchered the play leading up to it when Jake Averillo threw the ball into an unsuspecting Dylan Napa instead of finding his halves partner for a clearing kick.
Asked to clarify if he was disappointed with the decision from the match officials or what the team did leading to the penalty try, Barrett responded; “I am disappointed with the 8-2 six-agains against us, a lot of the on fourth or fifth tackles.
“I am disappointed with the 4-1 penalty count against us.
“I am disappointed with Tui Katoa getting knocked out and coming off and no penalty and we don’t go back to it.
“Yet we go back to the Luke Thompson one (where he was sin binned after play was called back). They change the game. I am disappointed in that.”
Annesley wasn’t having a shot at Barrett but made some general observations relating to the fact he believes in a “vast majority” of cases the refs are doing a good job.
“But it only takes one or two (contentious calls) for everyone to throw the whole officiating in the NRL into chaos,” Annesley continued.
“You constantly hear that it is a joke and it is the worst officiating we have ever had and that is not the case.
“And the other thing is that not every decision they make just because it is controversial doesn’t mean it is wrong.
“It is just that there is divided opinion on it.”
Asked if the level of criticism directed at the refs this year was worse than at any other period during his long association with the game (that dates back about 40 years), Annesley added: “I wouldn’t say that.
“We go through these periods from time to time where the focus and the blowtorch is applied to the officials.
“It is not anything that I haven’t been through before.
“But like everyone else in the game they are doing their best and none of them go out there in any game to either attract attention to themselves or to try and make errors. They are all trying to get it right.”
And he made the valid point that when it comes to the expectation on the match officials it’s just not equal with what the rest of us working in the game have to put up with.
“The thing I would say is that the public tolerance for what some people consider to be refereeing or officiating errors is zero, where we don’t apply that expectation to any other part of the game,” he said.
“And I am not complaining about it.
“It is the way it always has been, it is probably the way it always will be. I am not going to ask for sympathy because we will never get it. It is the role that people love to hate in some ways.
“So I am not going to go crying over it or I am not going to get into the fetal position about it.
“But they are trying to implement a policy that they have been directed to implement and there is going to be an adjustment period for everybody.
“There is an adjustment period for the players. There is also an adjustment period for the officials. They won’t get them all 100 right to everyone’s satisfaction. But they are doing their best.
“And everyone that plays this game, everyone that officiates this game, everyone that manages this game makes errors.
“We all do.
“The human that doesn’t make errors of judgment hasn’t been born yet.
“I just find it hard to fathom the expectations that are applied to match officials that aren’t applied to any other part of the game.”
POSITIVE SIGNS FOR TRENT BARRETT REBUILD
A frustrated Trent Barrett has slammed inconsistent refereeing decisions as his side surrendered a 10-6 half-time lead to go down to the Eels at Bankwest Stadium.
For 40 minutes it looked like the Bulldogs were going to pull off one of the upsets of the season, but a calamitous error and subsequent penalty try woke them from their slumber as they stormed home to stay in third spot.
Barrett didn’t comment on the penalty try but he was irate with the decision to go back several plays to sin bin Luke Thompson for a late shot on Dylan Brown, especially when Eels forward Nathan Brown was allowed to stay on the field for a high tackle that forced Tui Katoa off for an HIA.
“There was nowhere for him to go,” he said.
“He can’t stop. He didn’t try to whack him and it wasn’t in the back. It’s pretty hard for a big fella at 110 kilos to pull up on a slippery night and disappear. He can’t do it.
“Luke Thompson goes to the sin bin…they go back and put him in the bin, but Tui Katoa gets concussed and we don’t go back and look at that one. There are a few questions I will be asking this week because we didn’t get a chance to get in the game in the second half.
“If you’re going to do it then do it consistently, because they didn’t do it when my poor old winger got knocked out.”
The Bulldogs were on track for back-to-back wins, but everything turned in the 45th minute when the blue and whites produced a moment of madness coming out of their own end.
Halfback Jake Averillo fired a pass that cannoned into Dylan Napa, with the big man choosing to watch the ball instead of falling on it.
Mitchell Moses then toed it through and was taken out by a desperate Brandon Wakeham, leaving the Bunker no choice but to award a penalty try.
It sparked a 30-0 run that didn’t do justice to the contest as the Eels flexed their muscles to claim another two points before the week off.
BUILDING BLOCKS
Half-time entertainment at footy games is often underwhelming and needlessly chaotic, but Sunday’s Bankwest offering was a perfect metaphor for what the Bulldogs have become under Trent Barrett.
Fans were asked to use blocks to build a tower and then try to knock over the other group’s structure. The towers weren’t pretty and the process wasn’t overly exciting, but like the Bulldogs, they stayed intact thanks to the foundations that had been laid.
The Barrett rebuild is far from over but the signs are promising. They will duke it out with the Broncos for the wooden spoon, but they’d be in the top eight for heart and effort after more than matching it with the premiership hopefuls for 40 minutes.
“We took a really good team to a place not many teams have been able to,” Barrett said.
“We’re not just here to make up the numbers.”
FAIR GO FOR FERGO
No one can begrudge Brad Arthur for dropping Blake Ferguson based on his poor defensive reads this season, but if the Eels want to win a premiership, their enigmatic winger needs to be in the side.
He has dropped way down the pecking order, with Haze Dunster and Sean Russell earning starting spots with Maika Sivo out suspended.
Dunster spilled a bomb that led to Dylan Napa’s first try after a 44-game drought, and was caught infield when Wakeham lofted a pass for Tui Katoa to score in the corner, while Russell scored two late tries to cap a dream debut.
Ferguson picked up a lower-leg injury after 50 minutes in reserve grade but recovered to score a 95-metre solo try at the death to show he’s far from a spent force.
He may have already played his final game for the club, but they’ll need his powerful carries coming out of trouble when yards are worth their weight in gold in the finals.
INJURIES TO INSULT
Canterbury’s loss could get worse with fears Adam Elliott fractured his cheekbone midway through the second half, while Nick Cotric was also forced off late for an HIA.
Hard-working Englishman Luke Thompson could also be in trouble after he was sent to the sin for a late shot on Dylan Brown, while Parramatta pair Marata Niukore and Nathan Brown were placed on report for high shots.
“I don’t know exactly what it is at the moment, but it’s not nice for him because he worked hard in the pre-season,” Brad Arthur said.
“We were patient with him with his preparation, and the boys really like him which makes it easier to pick people in the team. He earned his opportunity, but I’m not sure what happens from here.”
Originally published as NRL 2021: Graham Annesley fires up over ‘zero tolerance’ ref outrage
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