‘My goodness’: NRL fans blast ‘terrible’ bunker call in Manly’s win over Titans

NRL fans have slammed the bunker after it needlessly intervened during Manly's win over the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday.

A try was disallowed for this push in the back.

The NRL bunker is once again under fire after a controversial call during Manly’s 26-18 win over the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday night.

The Sea Eagles got off to a flyer with two tries in the first 20 minutes and they looked to have crossed for a third before the bunker intervened and disallowed the try.

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Titans fullback Jamayne Isaako leapt high to catch a towering bomb but the ball came loose when he was tackled and it was scooped up by Manly’s Jason Saab who dove over for a try.

But it was immediately reviewed by the bunker, who for some reason decided to look at whether Saab had pushed Gold Coast’s AJ Brimson in the back in the lead-up to the play, even though it had no bearing on Isaako losing the ball.

The bunker concluded Saab had pushed Brimson in the back and made the surprising decision to disallow the try, to the disbelief of viewers.

Fox League’s Warren Smith said: “They were both going towards the ball. No fault there I would have thought on either of them.

“He may have done (pushed Brimson) but it’s inconsequential to what happens with Jamayne Isaako. If we’re going to pull this up we’ll pull up everything.

The push in the back penalty has made its way into the NRL. Photo: Fox Sports.

“Brimson gets a little hand in the back but it’s not a shove.

“They’re going to get out of this with a get out of jail free card but my goodness that’s an interesting call”.

Former Cronulla Sharks coach Shane Flanagan was just as confused by the call.

He said: “They’ve run shoulder to shoulder. I think the first contact is OK.”

“You can’t push the player in the back, I understand that, but did Brimson play any part in the next part of the situation, which was Jamayne Isaako catching the football and then losing it on contact? Not quite sure.

“But if we start looking at all these different things in the game we’re going to be here for a long time.”

You cannot be serious ref. Photo: Fox Sports.

NRL fans slammed the decision and said it was another example of the bunker needlessly meddling in the game.

Sports journalist Adrian Arciuli tweeted: “Add that to the Bunker’s highlight reel.”

The Daily Telegraph’s Dean Ritchie said: “I wish the bunker would stay out of our lives …”

AAP’s Scott Bailey said: “That is a terrible call.”

This is becoming a joke #NRLManlyTitans

— Mitch Brown (@mitchrebrown) April 16, 2022

The bunker’s call didn’t affect the result as Manly held on for an important win despite a nervous second half.

The Titans came to life after halftime and scored three tries but it was too little too late.