State of Origin 2018: Former referee Bill Harrigan says Matt Cecchin’s Origin axe is “rubbish”
LEGENDARY whistleblower Bill Harrigan has slammed the NRL’s decision to sack referee Matt Cecchin from the opening State of Origin game as “absolute rubbish”.
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THE NRL has sacked referee Matt Cecchin from the opening State of Origin game and dumped him to an assistant role for this weekend’s round of football.
The game’s best ever referee Bill Harrigan has slammed the move as “absolute rubbish.”
Cecchin refereed last year’s Origin series and grand final and players, coaches and fans generally regard him as the No. 1 whistle blower in the game for his ability to get games to flow.
Cecchin’s career has been on a gradual downward trajectory since the appointment of Bernard Sutton as the new boss of the NRL referees this year.
Sutton has appointed his brother Gerard to control the State of Origin game with Ashley Klein.
He has selected his other brother Chris as senior referee for the Parramatta-Newcastle game this weekend while dumping Cecchin to be an assistant for Henry Perenara in the South Sydney-Cronulla game.
The Daily Telegraph understands Cecchin’s axing has created much discussion within the refereeing ranks.
No one was more furious than Harrigan, who holds the record of 393 first grade games and 21 Origins.
“They’ve given Cecchin a double uppercut,” Harrigan said, “To put a referee of his calibre as an assistant is an absolute slap in the face.
“To drop him from Origin in the first place then tell him to go back to being an assistant is absolute rubbish. There’s are no other words. What a joke.
“He’s clearly the number one referee. How they’ve brought Klein in, you’ve got me buggered.
“They’ve definitely got it wrong. If Cecchin’s not better than the two they’ve chosen then I don’t know the game.”
Bernard Sutton tried to explain his baffling decision via the NRL’s media department last night.
“Matt’s form has been down slightly but ultimately this is a good opportunity for him,” Sutton said.
“He has not been an assistant referee for a number of years. There is still certainly the prospect of Matt being a part of the final two Origin matches so having some experience as an assist referee will benefit him.”
Asked by The Daily Telegraph to further explain the problem with his form, the NRL media department went back to Sutton.
“That’s a matter between the coaches and Matt,” he said, “All the coaches have had discussions with Matt. Ultimately, he knows where he’s got to improve in order for him to put himself in contention for Games Two and Three.”