NRL round 15: Jack Murchie scores a double during victory against Canterbury Bulldogs
The commentators were bemused when New Zealand Warriors star Jack Murchie was penalised in strange circumstances on Sunday.
NRL
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New Zealand Warriors star Jack Murchie scored two tries during Sunday’s match against the Canterbury Bulldogs in Sydney, but was also penalised in bizarre circumstances.
The Bulldogs were trailing by six points when Sauaso Sue barged into the Warriors’ defensive line with 11 minutes remaining in the second half.
While completing the tackle, Murchie accidentally ripped Sue’s boot off his foot, and chucked the shoe about ten metres as he returned to his feet.
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As Sue played the ball, the referee blew his whistle and awarded a penalty for the boot flick, which left the commentators baffled.
“There would have been some players in past eras in trouble for throwing boots away if that’s a penalty,” Warren Smith said on Fox League.
“Reaches out, rips off the slipper and gets penalised for it! I’ve never seen it before.”
Penrith Panthers great Greg Alexander responded: “I didn’t know you could get in trouble for that.
“I’ve seen boots end up in grandstands and not be penalised.”
Despite the dubious penalty, the Warriors successfully defended their lead and secured a gritty 20-14 victory over the Bulldogs, their sixth win of the season.
The Bulldogs raced to a 10-0 lead at ANZ Stadium, but conceded three costly tries in the second half.
Murchie scored a double to ensure his club had a slim chance of qualifying for the NRL finals — the Warriors are four points behind the Cronulla Sharks in eighth spot on the ladder.
“I’ve been here for a few weeks now and am starting to get to know all the boys better. Things are starting to click and those combinations are getting better,” Murchie told ABC Grandstand after the match.
“The whole point of me making the change from Canberra to Warriors was to try and get some more game time. Hopefully that’ll continue towards the back-end of the year.”
Skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and young gun Adam Pompey were the other tryscorers for the Warriors during their round 15 clash. Tuivasa-Sheck ran 292 metres and had three tackle busts in a stellar performance from the Dally M Medal recipient.
NRL LIVE SCORES: Round 15 match centres
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs remain in bottom spot on the ladder, still searching for their third win of the season.
“I thought we worked really hard for our tries. Our defence was strong in the beginning and just some poor decisions after halftime really cost us. There seems to be a 10-15 minute period in our games that’s letting us down,” Canterbury prop Aiden Tolman told ABC Grandstand.
Next weekend, the Warriors will face the Newcastle Knights in Tamworth, while the Bulldogs will travel to Canberra to take on the Raiders.
Originally published as NRL round 15: Jack Murchie scores a double during victory against Canterbury Bulldogs