Wayne Bennett goes nuclear over NRL refereeing farce

Wayne Bennett has gone rogue to express long-held grievances with the NRL while proposing a radical rule change.

Wayne Bennett. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Wayne Bennett has unloaded on the NRL after watching the sport become a farce in recent weeks.

The state of officiating in the game has left fans up in arms and recent tinkling from NRL headquarters doesn’t appear to have changed anything.

The 74-year-old has now gone rogue in expressing his real thoughts about the state of the game in an interview with foxsports.com.au.

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In a blistering attack on head office, the veteran Dolphins coach has:

— Suggested the inconsistencies in refereeing have resulted in some teams, including his Dolphins, being treated “unfairly”.

— Expressed his frustrations about referees not consulting team doctors when ignoring players they believe are “milking” penalties after high tackles.

— Proposed a new sin bin and send-off system for professional fouls.

— Chastised NRL officials for failing to heed his advice.

Wayne Bennett and Brad Fittler. NRL PHOTOS.

There have been farcical scenes this week with Liam Martin avoiding being sin-binned in State of Origin Game 2 on Wednesday night, despite lifting Maroons forward Reuben Cotter above the horizontal in an ugly lifting spear tackle.

That came just days after Warriors star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was sin-binned for lifting Titans star Jayden Campbell in another tackle that went badly wrong.

Fans have particularly been shaking their heads over the bizarre calls from referee Ashley Klein that saw Martin sent to the bin on Wednesday night for ruffling the hair of a Queensland player.

Broncos star Patrick Carrigan was also sent to the bin for being the third man in before a melee began.

It did not go unnoticed by Bennett that there were also inconsistent calls made regarding high tackles this week.

The master coach said his frustrations about the standard of refereeing have been growing for some time and he has now been compelled to make his thoughts public.

“If I was a punter I couldn’t bet a penny on rugby league at the moment,” the game’s greatest coach said in an exclusive interview with foxsports.com.au.

“Do I need the grief this will cause? No, I don’t.

“But I have to stand up for the players and the game I have spent my whole life being a part of and loving.

“We can’t hide and pretend it is not a problem because it is a problem.

Roger Tuivasa Sheck was sin binned for this tackle on Jayden Campbell

“And it is causing massive frustration, not just with the players and coaches, but the fans.

“People always go on about consistency.

“I know how hard consistency is.

“What I want is fairness for every team.

“I want to know we are all getting a fair shake out there.”

He said he is particularly frustrated by inconsistencies in the system that sees referees ignoring head high tackles in some cases out of a belief that players are staying down to milk penalties.

“I have had four players in the last two weeks hit with contact to the head by the opposition illegally.

“Not one penalty in those four times.

“But I have had two of these players taken out of the game on the advice of the independent doctor, who believed that they were concussed and so they were out of the game for 15 minutes.

“So the doctor, who is the expert, believed they were concussed.

“Yet the referee accused one of the players (Herbie Farnworth) that he was milking it.

“Who is the expert here? The referee, the guy in the Bunker, or the doctor?

“If the doctor believes he has been concussed, how can we leave it up to the referee or Bunker to argue that?

“That is part of the frustration.”

Bennett’s radical proposal to overhaul sin bin

The wily old fox. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Wayne Bennett has described the current model for officiating sin-bin and send-off offences as outdated.

The seven-time premiership-winning coach wants the sin bin to be used exclusively for “professional fouls”.

He also says the use of a send-off should no longer result in teams being reduced to 12 men — as NSW were in the State of Origin series opener when Joseph Sua’ali’i was ejected for his high shot on Reece Walsh.

He says send-offs should now see teams lose three interchanges, but should not result in teams losing a player on the field.

“Let’s just keep it simple and stick to the professional fouls for sin bins, and then let the match review committee take control of the grading and suspensions.”

“And now to the send-off. If you go back to the send-off in the first State of Origin, this is what the game has to look at.

“What I am saying is the decision (to send off Joseph Suaalii) was right. 100 per cent.

“But we have no comeback when it leaves one team with 12 men and the game is done.

“The send-off was created in 1908.”

Originally published as Wayne Bennett goes nuclear over NRL refereeing farce