Sharks skipper Wade Graham rips into the referees, then tips a late Cowboys surge
WADE Graham branded NRL referees as poor as the Sharks after yet another loss — then tipped the Cowboys to make a late title charge.
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CRONULLA captain Wade Graham branded NRL referees as poor as the hapless Sharks after his bottom-placed side handed North Queensland their first away win of the season on Friday night — then tipped the Cowboys to make a late title charge.
A 20-point haul from champion playmaker Johnathan Thurston lifted the Cowboys to a 36-18 victory and into the top eight in Arctic conditions at Remondis Stadium.
But Graham reluctantly stole the spotlight from the Golden Boot winner with his post-match attack on the league’s standard of refereeing in 2014.
After a stop-start affair blighted by 19 penalties — including 11 to the Sharks — Graham was left bewildered by some of the decisions.
“I hate to say it. Like, there’s no shying away from the fact that we’re struggling as a team — we’ve had not the best season — but, mate, the men in the middle are on par with us,” he said. “The ruck was all over the shop. It was very frustrating.
“We can’t use that as an excuse. Ww weren’t good enough. We didn’t win, but I tell you what, we’re struggling and so are they (the referees).”
Deputising for injured captain Paul Gallen, Graham was most frustrated by Thurston being awarded his second try of the night after he stripped Cronulla fullback Michael Gordon in an apparent two-man tackle.
“We see that decision [in this game] and we’ll probably see it maybe in another game over the weekend when the same thing will come up and it will be a different decision come up,” he said.
“There’s no use harping on it because what’s happened has happened. But we review ourselves every week and for it to be round 20 and (the referees are) still struggling ... it happens in every game. Every game, you hear a captain talking about it.
“It’s just frustrating and the game deserves better than talking about this.
“We should be talking about JT playing well, or something else about the game.”
Traditionally slow starters to NRL seasons, the Cowboys have a history of hitting their straps in the countdown to the finals and reeled off six straight sudden-death wins last year to scrape into the playoffs.
“Any team with JT in it can make a run,” Graham said. “He’s a world-class player and he steers them around well.
“They’ve still got Matty Scott to come back — he’s a big leader for them — and Jimmy (Tamou) is going well too so they can definitely make a run.
“Any team, if they get a run, can threaten in this comp. That’s how close it is.” Graham’s endorsement of the Cowboys came after he branded the league’s referees this season as bad as the hapless Sharks and said “the game deserves better”.
“There’s no shying away from the fact that we’re struggling as a team — we’ve had not the best season — but, mate, the men in the middle are on par with us,” he said.
“The ruck was all over the shop. It was very frustrating ... it happens in every game.”
His side’s finals fate back in their own hands following a long overdue first road win of the season, the Cowboys play away again next week against Canterbury but finish with four games out of their last five in Townsville.
“It’s important for us to play well, play consistently,” said Cowboys coach Paul Green.
“We’ve got Origin out of the way now. We’ve got everyone back on deck and it’s about getting back to playing earlier in the year and finishing the year off well.” Thurston said: “The challenge for us now is to back it up next week”.
The Sharks, though, remain anchored to the bottom of the ladder with just four wins all year.
But caretaker coach James Shepherd insists he won’t be jumping ship like Peter Sharp did three weeks ago.
“I just go about my business, doing my job, until he bosses, the board tell me what next,” Shepherd said.
“So I’m happy to keep doing it. I’ll just knuckle down and do a review of this game. What happens on Monday is out of my control.”
Originally published as Sharks skipper Wade Graham rips into the referees, then tips a late Cowboys surge
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