NRL Bunker official Liam Kennedy to be stood down over Stephen Crichton high tackle farce

Stephen Crichton escaped with just a caution despite footage showing his shoulder collecting an opponent in the head on Friday night and the Warriors are fuming.

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - AUGUST 23: Stephen Crichton of the Bulldogs celebrates after scoring a try during the round 25 NRL match between New Zealand Warriors and Brisbane Broncos at Shaun Johnson Stadium, on August 23, 2024, in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Warriors CEO Cameron George fears the NRL final series is in danger of being ruined by a refereeing system “that isn’t working” following Friday night’s sin bin debacle.

George slammed the officiating as “delusional’’ after Warriors star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was left concussed from a high shot by Bulldogs centre Stephen Crichton.

Crichton collected Tuivasa-Sheck in the head with his shoulder early in the second half and the stumbling Warriors star was quickly ruled out of the game with a ‘category one’ concussion.

Tuivasa-Sheck will not play again this season due to a mandatory 11-day stand down and the Warriors having the bye in round 27.

Crichton was allowed to stay on the field, yet he has subsequently been charged by the NRL match review committee with a grade two careless high tackle charge.

He is facing between one to two matches on the sideline.

The incident has angered the NRL with bunker official Liam Kennedy likely to be stood down for the remainder of the season.

Liam Kennedy in the bunker has decided this game by not removing Crichton. What a complete and utter farce.

— BUZZ ROTHFIELD (@BuzzRothfield) August 23, 2024

Kennedy stunned most observers when he recommended referee Wyatt Raymond only put Crichton on report, citing “a high level of mitigation.”

“It’s delusional to think that Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s concussion was caused by mitigation, not by his shoulder,’’ George said.

“It’s just delusional.

“No wonder the fans, coaches and clubs are frustrated and at a loss to explain to our boards, to our owners and sponsors that it’s just a bad call and we have to live with that.

“This wasn’t a bad call, this was a wrong call. You can cop a bad call and work through those, but this is a wrong call.

“We (Warriors) want to win every game. It was a critical time of the game, at 18-16 it was a period of time that momentum can swing towards victory and defeat.

“Let’s stop defending what’s not working before it’s too late for fans of teams in the finals.’’

George’s frustration was echoed by Bulldogs legend James Graham.

“There’s no mitigating factor that Stephen Crichton hit Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in the head,’’ Graham said on Fox League.

“Roger Tuivasa-Sheck stands, stumbles, falls over, can’t come back on, and we’ve seen not too dissimilar instances like this that have resulted in a sin bin.

“We’re lost.

“We’re completely lost. In terms of the high contact, we are completely lost. Max King was placed on report for two incidents today. I believe these occurred because the player stays down and waits.

“We are so lost, and we have two weeks before finals and we’re discussing round 24-25 games that have been decided.

“Manly (last Thursday night) had three players sent to the bin.

“We get frustrated because we’re fans of the game, but also, we know what it takes, to get yourself into opportunities to try and win a premiership.

“We know how hard each and every individual works out there. They deserve better than the inconsistency.’’

Warriors coach Andrew Webster also vented.

“I just think they need to know what they’re doing, personally,’’ Webster said.

“I just don’t think they know. I don’t think they understand because the wording around what they say just isn’t clear. It’s hard.”

Two of the toughest forwards to ever play the game, Martin Lang and Mark Geyer took to Twitter to complain about the decision:

What! Manly had 3 players binned last night for the exact same thing! CONSISTENCY!!

— Mark Geyer (@markMGgeyer) August 23, 2024

Stephen Crichton should be in the sin bin re/contact with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s head. Dreadful decision. #NRLWarriorsBulldogs

— Martin Lang (@Martin_Lang11) August 23, 2024

Both NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo and Head of Football Graeme Annesley are believed to be furious that the Bulldogs skipper escaped sin-binning, particularly in the wake three Sea Eagles players being given 10-minutes in the sin bin against the Wests Tigers on Thursday night.

Both Abdo and Annesley have been staunch in their defence of match officials, but they are at the point where they can no longer defend the indefensible.

Such is the uncertainty from players over what is a sin bin and what isn’t, Graham suggested players are staying down on purpose.

He added that it’s time for the NRL to remove any player from the field who stays down.

“If you allow an environment where players can stop and wait and play that game of cat and mouse, sometimes the referees do react, sometimes they don’t, sometimes the bunker intervenes, sometimes they don’t,’’ Graham said.

“So it’s a complete guessing game.

Stephen Crichton crossed for a try against the Warriors on the night. NRL PHOTOS

“For me, if you’re a player and I want to take head contact seriously, and you stay down, you have to come off.

“If you’re going to play for the penalty and lie down, you’ve got to come.

“The bunker should only intervene if it’s a sin-binnable offence.

“It should be allowed for the referee to make a judgement call. If it’s high contact and if it’s aggressive, he can tell the force.

“He’s not slowing it down and looking at it from different angles.

“At game pace, if the referee sees a penalty, blow the whistle. If the bunker intervenes, it’s for a sin bin only. I don’t understand how the bunker is allowed to come over the top because the players have stayed down.’’

The sin bin controversy comes as the Sea Eagles have elected to take an early guilty plea after a trio of players were charged following their shock loss to the Tigers on Thursday night.

Back-rower Corey Waddell will miss two games while teammates Haumole Olakau’atu and Taniela Paseka have escaped bans but will be fined for their grade one incidents.

Waddell and Paseka were sin-binned for their respective tackles.