Referees blow 33 penalties as Cronulla Sharks beat Melbourne Storm in ill-tempered match

YOU know the referees have officially lost the plot when they start sending Cameron Smith to the sin bin.

The Sharks v Storm match descends into a melee at the end of the game.

• Sharks 14 Storm 4

YOU know the referees have officially lost the plot when they start sending Cameron Smith to the sin bin.

The same bloke who was labelled ‘Referee Smith’ the last time he ventured to the Shire was sensationally given a 10-minute spell for back-chatting by the official whistleblower, Matt Cecchin, on Friday night.

In yet another embarrassing advertisement for the NRL, a staggering 33 penalties were blown as Cronulla triumphed 14-4 over the Melbourne Storm.

Frustrations reached fever pitch at full-time as a mass melee broke out, with Paul Gallen and Nelson Asofa-Solomona and several other players coming close to trading actual blows.

Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan and his Storm counterpart Craig Bellamy were mindful not to bag the referees, and maintained they were only doing what NRL HQ had instructed them to do.

“We’ve talked about this for a month now,’’ Flanagan said afterwards.

The game descended into a melee at the final whistle.

“What we saw at the end of the game (the melee) was because of the 19-14 penalty count. Players are getting frustrated.

“I heard Ricky (Stuart) say last week it’s not the ref’s fault, they’re only doing what they’re told to do.’’

Bellamy added: “At the end of the day, I’m really disappointed in our performance, and that’s all I can control.

“That will be my focus. The other stuff there’s been a lot of talk about, and there will be a lot of talk about it after tonight, but I’m more concerned about the way we’re playing at the moment.’’

The NRL have made no apologies about the penalty blitz in the opening rounds, and well known it’s the players who need to get on board, especially with staying onside.

But some of the decisions were embarrassing.

History was created with Cameron Smith on Friday night.

Sharks skipper Paul Gallen said the refs were giving zero leeway when it came to getting the players back 10m in defence.

“They’re picking everything up. There’s no flow to the game at the moment, and if you’re half a metre off side, they’re penalising you,’’ Gallen said.

Both teams failed to build any momentum because of the continual stoppages.

Tension exploded at the end of the game.

Even the 13,196 Sharks faithful moaned when their own team got a penalty because it meant another restart.

The biggest moment was when Smith was given 10 minutes in the 53rd minute for back-chatting Cecchin. He had clearly had enough. Bellamy said it was out of character for several Storm players to pipe up at the referees’ decisions, which they did on Friday night.

Andrew Fifita charges at Cameron Smith.

When told it was impossible to remember the last time he was sin-binned, Smith said: “Neither can I’’.

“We were our own worst enemy tonight,’’ Smith said.

“We were very poor with our handling, that has plagued our season so far, we’re only four rounds into it, but it’s been an issue every game.’’

Edrick Lee, who was drafted on to the wing for Valentine Holmes who switched to fullback, scored the only try midway through the first half when he got on the outside of Josh Addo-Carr.

The Sharks defence wrap up Josh Addo-Carr.

The remainder of the points came via the boot.

Just like it helped in the opening half a few weeks ago in the derby, Cronulla enjoyed a strong first-half southerly behind their back.

CRONULLA 14 (E Lee try C Townsend 5 goals) bt MELBOURNE 4 (J Stimson 2 goals) at Southern Cross Group Stadium. Referee: Matt Cecchin, Alan Shortall. Crowd: 13,196.