Cameron Ciraldo meets with referees boss to save Penrith from penalty mess

INTERIM Penrith coach Cameron Ciraldo will meet with NRL referees boss Bernard Sutton in a bid to save the Panthers’ finals series from being punished by penalties.

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CAMERON Ciraldo will meet with NRL referees boss Bernard Sutton in a bid to save Penrith’s finals series from being punished by penalties.

Desperate to rectify the Panthers’ concerning status as the most penalised team in the NRL, Ciraldo will seek answers from Sutton ahead of Penrith’s must-win elimination final against New Zealand at ANZ Stadium on Saturday.

And in an additional measure to ensure the Panthers reduce the amount of penalties they concede against the Warriors, Ciraldo has invited NRL match referees Gavin Badger and Gavin Reynolds to officiate his side’s on-field training session on Thursday.

Penrith are the most penalised team in the competition. AAP Image/Julian Smith.

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“It’s not the first time we’ve had referees at training this year,’’ Ciraldo said.

“But I just want to learn from them and also with a chat with Bernard what we’re doing wrong.

“Because every time they come out and officiate our opposed sessions, they tell us what a good job we’re doing.

“Something doesn’t add up, so hopefully it will give some clarity work with.’’

Ciraldo doesn’t want ill discipline ruining the season. (AAP Image/Brendan Esposito)

Hammered 13-6 in the penalty count against Melbourne last weekend, the Panthers also controversially lost Josh Mansour and James Tamou to the sin bin.

Despite the lopsided penalty count and pressure from a Storm side with 13-men against 11, Penrith produced a season-defining 22-16 victory.

However, the victory did little to appease Ciraldo’s bigger-picture concern that the Panthers have won just one of the last four penalties counts.

Giving away 9.4 penalties per game, the Panthers sit at the bottom of the NRL for infringements conceded.

It’s a tough ask for Ciraldo at this stage of the year. (Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Canberra (9.2) and the Gold Coast (9.1), who missed the finals, are marginally above the fifth-placed Panthers.

Adding more cause for alarm for Penrith fans is that under Matt Cecchin — who is the lead referee in Saturday afternoon’s elimination final — the Panthers have won just four of the past 14 penalty counts.

The Warriors have won six of 13 penalty counts under Cecchin during the same period.

Sutton will drive to Penrith for the meeting as part of an extension of Ciraldo’s discourse with the referees boss over the past fortnight.

The Sutton brothers have come under heavy criticism this season. Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images.

The rookie coach forwarded more than 20 refereeing calls to Sutton which he identified in Penrith’s 36-16 loss to the Warriors in round 24.

Sutton replied by admitting that more than half of the calls which Ciraldo highlighted shouldn’t have gone against the Panthers.

Ciraldo, ahead of his fifth game as an NRL coach, is loath to be perceived as an antagonist or whinger at such an early stage of his career.

He’s aware that he must continue to educate his players, including the club’s biggest offenders, Tyrone Peachey (22 penalties), James Maloney and Trent Merrin (18 each) and Sione Katoa (eight penalties conceded in his last five matches).

And part of that education is why Ciraldo has called the meeting with Sutton.

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Originally published as Cameron Ciraldo meets with referees boss to save Penrith from penalty mess