Roosters star Brandon Smith has appealed to the NRL to allow for greater discretion with the obstruction rule, as one of his teammates said players are milking contact to game the interpretation.
Smith, whose Roosters side were on the wrong end of a contentious bunker ruling which cost them a try against the Panthers last Thursday night, has added his voice to the growing number of players and fans becoming frustrated with the rule.
The NRL conceded Joseph Manu should have been awarded a try in their defeat to the three-time defending premiers, which was chalked off after Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was adjudged to have made contact with Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards.
Waerea-Hargreaves had already run through the front line of defence and Edwards was not in a position to affect the play where Manu scored.
“It can’t be too much black and white,” Smith said. “I thought the Panthers were hard done by against Melbourne [in round one], which in my opinion, wasn’t really an obstruction.
“It comes and goes. Who knows if that try would have got us back in the game. As long as the NRL acknowledged they might have made a mistake, which I think they did. Eliminating black and white rulings in the game is a big goal.”
Joseph Manu had this effort ruled out for an earlier obstruction.Credit: Getty
The obstruction controversy in the Roosters-Panthers game came four days after the Sea Eagles had a try ruled out when Jake Trbojevic was adjudged to have stopped in the line, impeding Eels forward Luca Moretti, before Tom Trbojevic speared through a gap Moretti was never going to be able to close.
The NRL has insisted the obstruction rule has been largely unchanged for a decade and allows video review officials sufficient discretion in deciding whether a foul has been committed, rather than adhere to a rigid black and white ruling.
But Roosters halfback Sam Walker said many players were now staging after bumping into a lead runner in the defensive line to win the decision.
“They’re embracing the contact and then milking it as well,” Walker said. “It’s frustrating as a player. If someone runs a good line and a player is purposely taking themselves out, you’ve got to go back. It halts your whole momentum and sometimes that can be the difference between winning and losing.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves obstruction on Dylan Edwards.Credit: Sydney Morning Herald
“They make it tough and no matter what, you just can’t have black and white. I’m standing there about to goal kick, and I’m thinking, ‘This has to be a try’. All of a sudden, it gets pulled back for something.
“If you watch every try or tackle in the NRL, you will get pulled up for something.”
Smith was quick to point out the Panthers had been far superior to the Roosters, who couldn’t trouble the title favourites despite them missing Nathan Cleary.
“We got beat by a good side, not by the referee,” he said. “We were 14-0 down off the bat and I don’t think the obstruction rule would have helped us win that game.”
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