NRL 2021: How ‘blockers’ could ruin Grand Final | Paul Kent

There’s always some drama that threatens to ruin the NRL Grand Final and teams have already found a way to bend the rules for the worse these finals, writes PAUL KENT.

Like all of us, I would hate to see a grand final decided on that.

What that is, exactly, remains open for interpretation. Simply fill in the blanks, according to who you support and what happened and what today’s particular narrative might be.

This week, the topic is kick blockers.

For Gold Coast fans, eliminated at the weekend, it was the sight of Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Victor Radley standing in line with the play-the-ball, in the path the markers would need to take to get to Sam Walker, who was lined up for a field goal.

Mitch Rein shot out from first marker and had to go around Waerea-Hargreaves, who pushed out his hip to make the arc slightly greater, and ultimately Rein got there too late.

The field goal sailed over and the Roosters won 25-24.

Watch every 2021 NRL Telstra Finals Series match before Grand Final. Live & Ad-Break Free on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-days free >

Two blocking attempts were missed.

NRL football boss Graham Annesley claimed on Monday the ploy was legal because Rein was given the chance to “move directly towards the ball”, as it says in the rules, which we all know Rein did not. He moved in an arc.

So it was a Titans penalty, as per those rules, and as the Titans head towards their off-season their final lament comes as a soft wail, you would hate to see a grand final decided on that …

The version Roosters fans are sticking to is that Warea-Hargreaves might have impeded Rein, but even if he did it was only at the lighter end, and so therefore certainly not worth a penalty, as this would change the result.

And if a penalty was given for such a light offence, well, you would certainly hate to see a grand final decided on that …

As every one-eyed fan has already observed, it is a convenient argument that can be spun any way you like.

And it is a narrative now tolerated because the game has put the rule book in the bottom drawer and pulled back from adjudicating as the good book says and more or less begun interpreting the rules all in the name of a good game.

The Roosters form a wall as Sam Walker kicks a field goal.

This latest hiccup did not really matter because it mostly went unseen, right up until last weekend where it now threatens to go berserk after blockers defending markers emerged as weekend’s big topic.

It actually began before the weekend when Penrith coach Ivan Cleary fired off at Souths for calling out their illegal blockers late in the season, who were there to protect kicker Nathan Cleary, and Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett fired back.

And while the referees might claim they do not read the newspapers or that any commentary around the game does not impact their thinking, it certainly seemed to be the case in the Penrith game. If not the Roosters game.

Suddenly, we were noticing it everywhere.

It happened again a day later when Sauaso Sue saw Mitch Moses primed to chase out of marker and, armed with that early intelligence, Sue changed his line so dramatically he went after Moses like a Green Bay Packer.

He turned left and took out Moses who, sensing an opportunity in the wake of such a clear foul, went down so dramatically to draw a penalty it appeared he was shot from the stands.

Sue went down equally as swift, hoping to confuse the whistleblower.

But either the referee missed it, which you can accept, or didn’t deem it worthy of a penalty, which you cannot, or really did get confused, which is a strong possibility.

South Sydney's Jai Arrow holds back Mitch Kenny. Fox Sports

So now the fans react like we always react, which is to stack it up against the other incidents over the weekend, particularly in the wake of the Cleary crackdown, and wonder where is the consistency?

When the game leaves rules to the referee’s interpretation it immediately angers half its audience, because the interpretation cannot suit everybody.

So they claim there is no consistency, which sounds very legitimate.

On any week it can be penalty tries, escorts, markers drifting, the middles off-side, the outside backs off-side, blockers interfering with the kick-pressure, and on it goes …

All because the game has too much emphasis on interpreting the rules rather than adjudicating them, as the good book says.

As everybody knows, there is only one universal law in the game that we all agree upon, and that is when the referee decides benefit of the doubt goes the way of our team.

Of course, you would hate to see a grand final decided on that …