Former NRL match review committee chairman Greg McCallum calls for consistency on ref contact crackdown

FORMER NRL match review committee chairman Greg McCallum says David Kelmmer should be punished for touching a referee — but called for consistency.

• Junior league player faces life ban after punching ref, own captain
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FORMER top-flight referee and match review committee chairman Greg McCallum said David Klemmer deserved to be punished for making contact with a referee — but there needed to be consistency for the game’s latest crackdown to succeed.

The NRL’s latest blitz involving players touching whistleblowers continued to cause confusion yesterday after Wests Tigers’ playmaker Mitchell Moses escaped sanction for his run-in with referee Chris James on Monday night.

Trent Merrin avoided being charged when he touched referee Ben Cummins on Thursday night — only because the vision was not shown live on Channel 9 — but bad Dog David Klemmer was not as lucky.

David Klemmer will face the NRL judiciary for making contact with a referee.

Klemmer will fight a two-match ban at the NRL judiciary on Wednesday night.

McCallum said crackdowns were common place in rugby league, and the effort to protect referees was first floated around 18 months ago after “players were charging at referees and verballing them’’.

While he felt Klemmer deserved to be punished, McCallum said any player who made contact with a referee needed to be charged for the latest blitz to work.

“That’s the issue here because some players have been charged and some haven’t,’’ McCallum said.

“I think any time there is a crackdown, people will get punished who under the normal circumstances wouldn’t.

“There have been crackdowns on high tackles, lifting tackles, and now making contact with referees. This was a step to keep players away from referees. Referees felt there was intimidation, and that’s why it’s now being enforced.’’

Trent Merrin escaped punishment for this contact.

McCallum said Klemmer was ‘’agitated’’ for three or four tackles before his run-in with Cummins, and his hostility would not have been lost on the match review committee.

While McCallum stopped short of labelling Klemmer an easy target for the match review committee, he did admit perennial offenders ‘’tested the tolerance’’ of the game’s rule enforcers.

‘’As much as you have every other mechanism of the code operating, it doesn’t take much to open your eyes and say, ‘that’s the same bloke again’,’’ McCallum said.

James Roberts took an early plea for his contrary conduct charge.

“That’s the difficulty for a player. Adrian Morley was the same, but Adrian Morley was cleared of just as many things he was charged with.

“I can understand why Klemmer and the Bulldogs would feel he’s targeted, but the issues in which he’s been targeted over — two out of his three charges in less than 12 months have been related to referees — that’s where he needs to change. There’s a perception, and he needs to change that.’’

Cronulla and NSW skipper Paul Gallen has had countless chats with referees on the field, and said Klemmer was unlucky to have been charged and there did not appear to be any malice.

Mitchell Moses escaped sanction.

He said a common sense approach needed to be embraced, and any accidental run-ins not punished.

Teammate Mick Ennis, who spent time as skipper when at the Bulldogs, suggested fines were a more appropriate punishment for a grade one contrary conduct charge, rather than being lumped with demerit points.

Ennis was charged with resting his arm on a referee in round two last year against Brisbane, and those carry-over points almost cost him a chance to play in Origin later in the season when hit with a separate high tackle charge.