Paul Crawley and Paul Kent back Manly legend Max Krilich’s stance on Cameron Smith

The Daily Telegraph’s Paul Crawley and Paul Kent have backed former Kangaroo Max Krilich’s belief that Cameron Smith gets favourable treatment from the referees.

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Cameron Smith gets away with more than any other player in the competition and the referees just won’t do anything about it.

That’s what former Kangaroos captain Max Krilich said in the lead up to this weekend’s blockbuster between the Storm and the Sea Eagles and The Daily Telegraph’s Paul Kent and Paul Crawley agree.

“What Max Krilich has said will resonate with fans around the game,” Kent said on NRL 360 on Tuesday night.

“The rules don’t permit it, it’s the discretion applied to the rules.

““The argument is not if it’s permitted, the argument is there’s discretion as to how long you can lay on a player and keep him down.

“The argument is that Cameron Smith is allowed to get away with more than other players in the game.”

Smith is the competition’s most experienced player. Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images.

Crawley conceded Smith and the Storm got away with more than any other team when it came to penalties but acknowledged this sort of talk was common as the semi-finals approached.

“They’ll say at this time of the year this sort of story gets written, every year,” Crawley said.

“They get away with seven, eight, nine, ten second tackles. You think, ‘where’s the fairness?’

“I don’t think it will heighten the awareness of the referees because the referees aren’t fools, they see this happen every week.”

Kent shot back – “I disagree, I think they get fooled every week,”

“They (Melbourne) just do it better than anybody else.”

Krilich, a Manly legend of the 1970s and 80s, fired a broadside at Smith earlier this week claiming referees were afraid of the former Kangaroos skipper.

“Cameron comes in as the third tackler and is then the last man up. He slows it up to perfection — he’s the master,” Krilich said.

Does Smith get away with too much? AAP Image/Dave Hunt.

“He is third man in, rolling all over the ball. This has gone on for many years.

“Melbourne lay all over the ball and the players but it’s ruled play on because it’s Cameron,” he said.

“He will stand there and complain and the referees will say: ‘Oh, c’mon, Cameron’. It’s just not on. They’ve got to be tough.

“What he does isn’t in the spirit of the game — it’s not right — and he is getting away with it.

“The referees are scared to penalise him and it seems everything he does is squeaky clean. We need the referees to toughen up. I have no doubt the referees are very intimidated by him.

“They are scared of him and it’s a disgrace.”

Krilich captained Manly and Australia. Picture by Phil Hillyard.

“There are 15 other teams in the competition but every time they go to Melbourne they are behind the eight-ball,” Krilich said.

“To be brutally honest, Melbourne are the kings of wrestle. They strangle games and have made it an art form and they are ruining the game of rugby league by wrestling.

“For many years, Melbourne has had a leg-up and we have to put a stop to it. People ask me how he is allowed to get away with it and I say ‘Because he’s Cameron Smith.’ He is allowed to do whatever he wants.

“But, look, Cameron is doing the best for his side and he’s getting away with it. That’s the sad fact and the NRL have let it happen. They need referees to stand up. Melbourne always has three in tackles and Smith is always last man up, flop tackles.

“Smith is a fantastic player and he is doing his best for the team. He is as good as any other player in the competition so if he can get away with it, then good on him.”