NRL 2022: Referee error led to David Klemmer send-off as Latrell Mitchell escapes sin-bin
The NRL has owned up to a series of blunders at the end of South Sydney’s win over Newcastle that will leave Knights fans fuming.
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NRL head of football Graham Annesley says Latrell Mitchell was lucky not to have been sent to the sin bin for starting a melee in last Friday’s win over the Knights, adding David Klemmer should not have been sent off for sparking the incident.
Tempers flared in the final few seconds of Friday’s fiery encounter in Newcastle when Klemmer and Rabbitohs forward Keaon Koloamatangi squared off like they were getting ready for a title bout at Madison Square Garden.
Things appeared to cool off, but Klemmer was still fired up – he dropped an elbow on new recruit Daniel Suluka-Fifita from the very next carry.
That incensed Mitchell, who ran in and dragged Klemmer off his teammate, which led to an all-in scuffle.
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The stand-in South Sydney skipper was also placed on report earlier in the match for a high shot on Knights winger Dom Young but avoided further sanction.
Klemmer was sent off after the final whistle for what the referee said was “reckless contact on the ground and direct to the head”, while Mitchell stayed on and slotted the ensuing penalty goal.
But according to Annesley, the whole thing should have been handled differently.
“There were a number of things that happened in that incident – it was the very end of the game – and there were also a couple of incidents that took place immediately prior to that tackle, so tempers were running at a fairly high level,” he said.
“Having reviewed it, although it was full-time and there are always time pressures to get the players off the field and make sure nothing else can eventuate, we felt that the sin bin was probably a better option in that case.
“Another aspect of that was Latrell Mitchell running in and dragging a player off. He could have very easily seen himself in the sin bin as well.
“We do see players charged for that sort of action and we do see players sent to the sin bin for that type of action, so my recommendation to any player who wants to make sure that they don’t find themselves in the sin bin and they don’t want to find themselves charged, that if you’re not involved in the incident, then stay out of it.”
Klemmer was slapped with a $1000 fine and is free to play this weekend, while Mitchell’s actions didn’t attract any attention from the match review committee.
The decision to allow Mitchell to stay on the field was strange, given Klemmer was sent to the sin bin a week earlier when he rushed in after a dangerous tackle by Jarrod Wallace that led to a scuffle.
“It’s always a concern when players come in,” Annesley said.
“I’m not for a moment suggesting that Latrell did anything other than try and run in to pull Klemmer off, but that in itself – whether that’s Latrell Mitchell or any other player in any other game, a player running in and grabbing a player [escalates it].
“Even if they’re just trying to separate players, our advice is always ‘if you’re not in it, then stay out of it’ because it’s much easier for the referee to handle it if he’s only dealing with two players than he is with a mass of players.
“What tends to happen is when one player decides he’s going to run in … other players see him running in and they follow.
“Then we get this grabbing and this holding each other by the jerseys and pushing each other off, and then the referee has a much bigger incident to resolve.”
Souths warned over ‘ticking time bomb’
South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou is ignoring a ticking time bomb if he doesn’t pull Latrell Mitchell aside and tell him to wake up to himself.
Mitchell was involved in three separate incidents in the win over Newcastle.
How he was not sin binned for his part in that late blow up involving David Klemmer was an absolute joke.
It was equally baffling that he was not put on report for the ugly incident involving young Knights forward Pasama Saulo.
For mine that was scarily similar to Felise Kaufusi’s elbow to the face of Sam Walker a few weeks back, and it was only luck Saulo didn’t finish with a smashed face.
It was also a farce that Klemmer was sent off for the tackle on Daniel Suluka-Fifita that only marginally crossed the line.
The fact it later received a grade one dangerous contact charge (for which Klemmer cops a fine) highlights why it was a massive over-reaction.
While he was treated with kid gloves on this occasion, just imagine if that was a match where the Bunnies’ season was on the line and the ref did do what he was supposed to do – sin bin the third man in?
There was also the potentially dangerous incident when Latrell tried to drag Dominic Young to his feet after the Knights’ winger stayed down following a high shot.
Cody Walker even came over and gave Young a gobful for that.
It is not the Souths players’ job to play doctor.
Remember the blow up when Jai Arrow did it to James Tedesco in Origin.
No one argues that Latrell is not a wonderful player and his passion, power and incredible skills brings great excitement to every game he plays.
But Latrell needs to be reminded that he is not above the rules, and the reason he didn’t play finals last year is because he was suspended for pushing the boundaries too far.
Sims learns fate after sin bin shocker
St George Illawarra enforcer Tariq Sims can count himself very lucky with the veteran forward facing just one week on the sidelines after a wild first half in Brisbane saw him sin-binned twice in the opening 40 minutes.
Sims was sent from the field inside the opening three minutes for a late shot on Broncos halfback Adam Reynolds, who came into the game with an injured rib.
“He absolutely took the handbrake off and hit Reynolds with everything he had,” Cooper Cronk said in commentary, well aware of how hard Sims hits after he copped some huge shots on Anzac Day back in 2018.
The Storm-bound forward was hit with a grade one dangerous contact charge and can escape with a $1000 fine if he takes the early guilty plea, but he is looking at a ban for another incident later in the match.
With his side leading 6-4 and the Broncos deep in their own end, Sims whacked Rhys Kennedy high and was marched for the second time in the opening 25 minutes after the Bunker tipped off lead referee Grant Atkins.
The tackle has earned a grade two careless high tackle charge and will see him suspended if he takes the early guilty plea. Sims faces two weeks out if he fights it and is unsuccessful.
Losing Sims would be a big blow given the Dragons have slipped out of the top eight following Sunday’s 32-18 loss to a severely weakened Broncos side.
The Red V conceded tries on both occasions while Sims was in the sin bin, but coach Anthony Griffin denied his side had set out to target Reynolds and his battered ribs.
“He got sin-binned so that’s what happened,” Griffin said.
“I thought we did a reasonable job to play the first half a man down for 20 minutes.”
THE TACKLE: SIMS’ PUNISHMENT DIVIDES GAME
Paul Crawley runs the rule over the weekend’s NRL action revealing his Likes and Dislikes in his NRL Tackle column.
NRL ROUND 17 DISLIKES
‘Not a sin bin’? What was Joey watching?
How good was it to see Adam Reynolds bounce back from that nasty cheap shot from Tariq Sims to lead the under strength Brisbane Broncos to one of the club’s great wins?
But no wonder NRL referees can’t escape controversy when it comes to punishing foul and dangerous play when they couldn’t even get three of the game’s greatest playmaking legends to agree on whether or not Tariq Sims should have been sin binned for his first half attack on the unsuspecting and injured halfback.
Tariq Sims has to walk after this late shot on Adam Reynolds.
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While Queensland greats Cooper Cronk and Darren Lockyer were of the view it definitely deserved a sin bin, Andrew Johns told Nine: “If you look at it in slow motion it looks like it (a sin bin), but if you look at it in real time I think penalty sufficient.”
Lockyer argued: “I disagree. I don’t think it was late. It was forceful, unnecessary contact in the back.”
Cronk said on Fox: “He took the hand-break off and hit Reynolds with everything in the back.”
The St George Illawarra firebrand should definitely consider himself lucky he escaped a send off after being put in the bin for a second time in the first half when he smashed Rhys Kennedy in the head.
Only one fitting punishment for Cheese’s cheat slur
Brandon Smith needs to grow up.
Everyone loves the fact “Cheese” is a bit of a character with a cheeky edge.
But he has let himself and his Melbourne teammates down by calling referee Adam Gee a “cheating bastard”.
And if Smith cops anything less than a four-game ban it will be a slap in the face to all match officials.
The old boys brigade came out in support of Smith over the weekend when Trent Barrett and Ryan Girdler suggesting on Triple M there “wasn’t too much in it”, and Smith probably only deserves a fine.
They are kidding themselves.
Credit to Craig Bellamy who was clearly fuming after the game when he suggested this won’t happen again from one of his players.
The last thing the Storm need right now is to lose one of their most important forwards for a significant spell.
But the game needs to issue a stern message over this.
You just can’t excuse calling the referee a cheat and reprimand it with a slap on the wrist.
You also wonder what the Roosters must be thinking after going out on a limb to recruit Smith for next season.
Tigers need to make tough call
Andrew Johns and Darren Lockyer have joined the chorus calling for Adam Doueihi to partner Luke Brooks in the halves with Jackson Hastings moving to lock.
But you just wonder if this three-into-two conundrum is a long-term solution.
Or are Tim Sheens and Brett Kimmorley just wasting more time by trying to fit all three in the side to get through the rest of the season?
Hastings could probably handle lock but the fact is he is an out-and-out halfback, so you’ll just be playing him out of position.
And Doueihi is a five-eighth who is playing centres but needs to get his hands on the ball more often, though not as a battering ram.
Brooks tried his heart out in the loss to Parramatta but you still can’t ignore a few crucial plays including that early tackle kick just before halftime that had a huge impact.
With all three players contracted at the club for next season, you’d think the Tigers need to make the tough call sooner rather than later.
Knights coach makes strange call
Adam O’Brien made a curious admission following Newcastle’s loss to Souths.
The Knights coach stunned a few when he suggested complacency may have led to his team’s downfall with the Bunnies missing a stack of players.
“Whether or not we thought it was going to be an easy night given that they had some guys out, I’m thinking that would play a part,” O’Brien said.
It’s a strange suggestion given the Knights were basically fighting for their season and they’ve hardly been setting the world on fire.
There was a period in the first half where they looked like they were going to run up a score.
But within a blink they just fell apart defensively as Souths ran riot.
NRL ROUND 17 LIKES
Moylan thriving under new coach
Matt Moylan turned 31 recently but hasn’t he turned back the clock this season under Craig Fitzgibbon.
And his performance in the win over Melbourne without Nicho Hynes just showed what a massive influence he is going to have on the Sharks’ run to the finals.
Playing both sides of the ruck Moylan took control of the game and pulled Melbourne’s edges to pieces, with back up half Braydon Trindall also having a terrific game.
Not many teams have a better back five than the Sharks but it sure helps having a player as silky as Moylan just reacting to opportunities as they present themselves.
It’s another huge game coming up on Friday against the Cowboys in Townsville.
Cronulla’s last win over a top eight opponent was way back in round three against the Dragons, while that was their first win against a top four side.
Cody has finally found his mojo
Every game Cody Walker plays with Latrell Mitchell you just realise how well these two connect.
Souths went into the game against Newcastle without some key players and then to lose young Lachlan Ilias, who copped friendly fire off Tevita Tatola in the first set, was another massive blow.
But after stumbling early it was Mitchell and Walker who led the revival, with Richie Kennar having a night out with a hat-trick while filling in for Alex Johnston on the left wing.
Upfront big Tom Burgess deserves a mention after another huge game with 21 runs for 215m.
Moses’ class on show for eels
We gave it to Parramatta last week after dropping the ball in the loss to the Rabbitohs.
And while the Tigers aren’t exactly one of the benchmark teams, they certainly turned up to play this week.
But after racing to a 12-0 lead, the Eels fought back control with Mitchell Moses pulling the strings.
It was a game where the clash of the forwards was a pretty even and willing contest, but Moses’ class was the difference.
He finished with a try and two try assists for a win that keeps the Eels right in top four contention.
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Originally published as NRL 2022: Referee error led to David Klemmer send-off as Latrell Mitchell escapes sin-bin
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