How the referees' seventh-tackle error was found on a computer spreadsheet

THE former Origin star who exposed the NRL's botched tackle count used a computer spreadsheet to discover the Sharks scored a seventh-tackle try.

THE former Queensland Origin star who exposed the NRL's botched tackle count used a computer spreadsheet to discover the Sharks scored a seventh-tackle try.

Cowboys high-performance chief Paul Bowman was using Microsoft Excel when he unearthed the refereeing blunder that has sparked outrage and prompted an NRL investigation.

As the NRL looks into how a series of officiating "fail-safes" broke down, the solution may lie in the Cowboys' data-gathering system that detected the fundamental error. 

The Courier-Mail has obtained the detailed document. 

Devised by former employee Michael Whiting, it enables Bowman to track each tackle, with pre-programmed formulas providing analysis of possession flow, kick effectiveness, completion rates and dominant defence. 

Using the spread sheet during live action, Bowman inserted the letter “B’’ for tackle five on the game's seventh set after Cronulla forward Luke Lewis was tackled. 

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The "B" denotes a "Brick" tackle, the term that describes when a Cowboys defender puts a rival ball-runner on their back, effectively winning the ruck for that play. 

On play six, Bowman entered an "X", meaning the Cowboys lost the ruck after a rampaging run by Sam Tagataese. But when referee Matt Cecchin failed to rule a turnover, Bowman was the first person at Allianz Stadium to suspect the tackle count had been botched. 

Believing he had made an error, Bowman amended the spread sheet, but his and the Cowboys’ worst fears were soon confirmed.

"When Cronulla scored, I was looking at my computer and I had this feeling it was the seventh tackle," Bowman recalled.

"I started working through the set. I thought, 'No, this couldn't be right', so I dismissed it a bit. I thought maybe I miscounted, but then all these texts started coming in on my phone. 

"It’s a system we use every week at the Cowboys. Our former financial controller (Whiting) was a whiz on Excel. He developed this spreadsheet a few years ago and it’s a very good tool for us. 

"That’s how I worked out the Sharks got a seventh tackle.

"If we put the opposition on their backs, we call it a "Brick", so I place a B in the relevant play, and if the opposition wins the play the ball I put an X. 

"When we put Lewis on his back, I went to insert the Brick in play five, then Tagataese made the next run and I had him in as play six. 

"But when the play didn’t end, I moved Lewis back to tackle four and made Tagataese play five.

"I remember thinking we need a replay. They had a seventh tackle.

"The NRL doesn’t need a system as complicated as the one we use, but it might help get the count right."

Despite the embarrassing gaffe, Bowman said it is no excuse for another sub-standard Cowboys campaign.

"At the end of the day, whingeing and blaming the refs gives you an excuse for maybe not looking at what we could have done better in our performance and how we played," he said. 

"The key for everyone moving forward is not so much use this as motivation, but we can blame the loss on this.

"Our year was below expectations, we should have done better and you never know when you will next get an opportunity to win it."