Referees fail to send off Martin Taupau for sickening high shot in Parramatta’s 32-16 win over Manly
Why was he not sent off? The NRL’s incompetent officials are at it again after they failed to send off Martin Taupau for a horror high shot.
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The NRL’s under fire match officials have landed in more controversy after a stunning decision not to send off Manly enforcer Martin Taupau for a shocking high tackle.
On an explosive night at Bankwest Stadium, Taupau and Kane Evans both spent time in the sin bin for sickening high shots while Parramatta’s rookie wrecking ball Maiko Sivo powered over for a sensational second half hat-trick to close out a 32-16 victory.
In front of a terrific Friday night 6pm crowd of 25,034, it handed last year’s wooden spooners a fifth placed finish heading into a home final next week while the Sea Eagles drop back to six with a growing casualty list.
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But it was an ugly incident involving Taupau that will dominant post-match discussion.
Fox League commentators Braith Anasta and Brett Finch led the calls questioning why Taupau escaped with a sin bin after a stiff arm on rookie Eel Ray Stone.
Anasta declared it was “one of the worst we have seen in a long time” while Finch was adamant: “It should have been a send off”.
Losing Taupau to suspension is the last thing Manly needs given they are already without star fullback Tom Trbojevic for the remainder of the season with a pectoral injury, while Joel Thompson has a broken arm.
Adding to their woes Taniela Paseka (knee) and Curtis Sironen (calf) also failed to finish the game while Brad Parker also wore a dangerous high shot from Evans that was also placed on report.
As Finch raised in commentary last night, if this didn’t warrant a send off then what do you have to do to get sent off these days?
Taupau showed immediate remorse and concern as Stone laid motionless on the Bankwest turf.
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But incredibly referee Gerard Sutton determined a sin bin was suffice.
Canberra’s Nick Cotric was the only player sent off so far this year for his spear tackle on St George Illawarra’s Tim Lafai.
Des Hasler conceded: “I am a little bit worried about that one.”
Evans is also in trouble after his shoulder connected with Parker’s head.
Evans would also be a huge loss given he is one of the most improved forwards in the competition.
SIVO V SEMI?
When Semi Radradra left Parramatta most of us thought we’d probably never see another like him.
But what about the rookie year Sivo is having.
Weighing 108kg, he is 7kg heavier than Radradra and his path of destruction is every bit as impressive.
His second half hat trick took Sivo’s season tally to 20 tries, which sees him leap frog Latrell Mitchell (18) as the NRL’s leading try scorer.
Sivo set up the first try of the night for Michael Jennings with a barnstorming run but it was his second half onslaught that had the big Parramatta home crowd chanting Sivo’s name.
DES NOT HAPPY
The Eels looked to be heading for a comfortable win when they took a 14-2 lead to halftime but the wounded Sea Eagles showed courage to pull themselves back in the game despite their growing casualties.
Young dummy half Manese Fainu came off the bench to score both of Manly’s tries but the Sea Eagles would have been ruing a costly first half error from Jorge Taufua when he dropped the ball with the line wide open.
Hasler was not happy with his team’s discipline: “Courage can only take you so far.
“We are not going to make too much impact if we keep turning over possession the way we did.”
ARTHUR WANTS MORE
On their day Brad Arthur would back his team against anyone in the finals. But only when they play for the full 80 minutes.
They played some really terrific attacking football with halves Mitchell Moses and young Dylan Brown dominating for periods.
But the second half again showed some worrying signs.
“I am proud of the boys, I am proud of the staff, the club,” Arthur said. “We’re happy that we finished fifth.
“I think it is a pretty good achievement from where we come from. But now it is a whole new ball game and I think if we play that way, the way we played tonight, I don’t know if that is going to be good enough.”
PARRAMATTA 32 (M Sivo 3 C Gutherson M Jennings tries M Moses 6 goals) bt MANLY 16 (M Fainu 2 tries R Garrick 4 goals) at Bankwest Stadium. Referee: Gerard Sutton, Phil Henderson. Crowd: 25,034.
Originally published as Referees fail to send off Martin Taupau for sickening high shot in Parramatta’s 32-16 win over Manly
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