Cowboys finals curse: Ranking the five worst calls in North Queensland finals history
The failure to penalise Mitchell Moses’ forward pass for Parramatta’s opening try was not the first major decision to go against North Queensland in the finals. These were:
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The failure to penalise Mitchell Moses’ forward pass for Parramatta’s opening try was not the first major refereeing decision to go against North Queensland in the finals.
It was handled with grace by coach Todd Payten, who accepted that officials could have believed the pass to be flat.
It was the wrong call, and in a preliminary decided by four points, that six-point swing cost the Cowboys dearly.
It was a pain all too familiar for loyal Cowboys supporters who have fallen foul of key decisions in the finals in five key matches over their history.
5. 2004: No time to scrum
Graham Murray’s men appeared set for one last chance to pinch an amazing win from the Roosters in the dying seconds of the 2004 preliminary final when Anthony Minichiello dropped the ball on the goal line, with North Queensland behind 16-13.
As North Queensland forwards piled in to fill the scrum, the Roosters refused to join.
Despite the furious pleadings of Cowboys skipper Travis Norton to referee Paul Simpkins to stop the clock the siren sounded and the Roosters escaped into the grand final.
“I got pretty angry with that last call,” Cowboys prop Paul Rauhihi said.
“A few of us went up and spoke to him [the referee], but once he’d blown his whistle there was nothing we could do about it. We probably said a few words that weren’t real nice. He didn’t want anything to do with it. He was telling us to go away, I don’t think he was even listening.”
Asked if his side had been ‘stiffed’ by Simpkins, who came under fire for several calls that went against the Cowboys, visibly-frustrated coach Graham Murray said in a diplomatic tone: “You have to earn those stripes I suppose … referees are giving us a bit more respect.”
4. 2022: Can’t check a forward pass
The howl of outrage that swept over Queensland Country Bank Stadium carried all the weight of a fanbase burnt at the stake of a missed whistle before.
In Mitchell Moses’ forward pass for Will Penisini’s opener North Queensland’s faithful were transported instantly to the heartbreaks of a decade ago.
The fans have long memories in Townsville.
A generation of supporters scorched by missed calls felt that familiar pain all over again as the Bunker, powerless to flag forward passes, sent the Cowboys down 6-0 in the sixth minute.
“I was convinced the pass was forward from Parramatta,” Fox Sports commentator Andrew Voss said.
“He’s swung around and the ball has gone forward,” echoed co-caller Greg Alexander.
“They can’t do anything about it. Try confirmed by the Bunker … they can’t check this,” Voss added.
“There is nothing in doubt there.”
It would take another momentous comeback to seal the win for the Cowboys but in the biggest moment of the match it was the Eels who came up trumps as a charged-down kick ended North Queensland’s unbeaten streak in home finals.
It was finals football at its best but as the Cowboys lay defeated on the turf the boos rang out loud and clear from Cape York to the Tweed.
A four-point win to the Sydney-siders. Another Cowboys season of so close, yet so far.
Another refereeing howler for North Queenslanders to add to a torture chamber of finals memories.
3. 2014: Knocked back
IT happened AGAIN. Three years in a row the Cowboys were sent packing from the NRL finals by the referees.
2014’s disallowed last-minute Johnathan Thurston try was yet another incident in a brutal string of bad luck for North Queensland.
Though it appeared there may have been a minuscule knock-on from Robert Lui in the build-up, as referee Gavin Badger ruled, it was an enormously contentious call that could have gone either way.
Certainly it left Thurston, his shattered teammates and their loyal fans feeling robbed and enraged for the third finals series running.
Having overcome a 30-0 deficit, which would have put them on track to score the greatest comeback in NRL history, the Cowboys looked to have sealed the result when captain Johnathan Thurston streaked away to score with less than a minute left on the clock.
Assistant referee Gavin Badger screamed at referee Shayne Hayne to send the decision upstairs, believing that five-eighth Robert Lui had knocked-on in the lead-up.
And replays suggested he had brushed the ball much to the Cowboys’ disgust.
Lui was adamant his controversial knock-on did not travel forwards and the Cowboys were wrongly denied victory.
Lui was “praying to the gods” that the video referees would overrule the decision by referee Gavin Badger that his slight glance of the ball in the dying seconds of a thrilling 31-30 defeat had travelled forward and award Johnathan Thurston the matchwinning try.
NRL referees boss Tony Archer later conceded the Cowboys should have been awarded a potentially matchwinning penalty with scores locked at 30-all in 2014’s 31-30 loss to the Roosters.
Cowboys coach Paul Green received an admission from Archer that the Cowboys should have been awarded a penalty when Roosters’ centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall ran behind fullback Anthony Minichiello in the 71st minute of the eliminator.
Cowboys’ bench rake Ray Thompson was denied a fair opportunity to make the tackle on Kenny-Dowall, leading to what should have been a straightforward penalty.
2. 2013: Seventh tackle try
Like a horror movie on loop, the Cowboys again confronted their worst nightmare after being robbed yet again by the NRL’s referees.
Shattered North Queensland players were left ruing another pathetic officiating bungle after a Cronulla try on the seventh tackle marred the Sharks’ gutsy 20-18 triumph at Allianz Stadium.
In a remarkable finale, Cowboys centre Kane Linnett nearly stole victory with 41 seconds to play, only for his leg to brush the sideline as he dived for the tryline.
It was a moment as cruel as the referees were appalling.
In the lead-up, Johnathan Thurston appealed for a “fair go” from officials after the infamous video-ref “Hand of God” gaffe cost them victory against Manly at the same venue 12 months ago.
Yet, incredibly, the Cowboys were subjected to another screening of Groundhog Day.
The shocking mistake occurred in the eighth minute.
Trailing 6-0, the Sharks advanced upfield and Beau Ryan crossed, but replays later showed the Sharks winger had scored with an extra tackle.
North Queensland players tried to bring the critical seventh-tackle howler to officials’ attentions, but their cries fell on deaf ears.
Winger Wayne Ulugia revealed his teammates had been yelling to referees Matt Cecchin and Henry Perenara that Cronulla were continuing to play when their set of six should have been up.
The rookie even questioned one of the touch judges but he was told he was incorrect.
Co-captain Johnathan Thurston suggested the Cowboys were victims of a Sydney-based conspiracy designed to exact retribution against Queensland for their ongoing dominance in State of Origin.
“Seriously, you are talking about under-10s stuff … count to six. And none of the six blokes could get it right on the game’s biggest stage. I mean, are you serious?’’ Thurston said. “There’s no excuse and it’s the second year in a row that a referee has cost us our season. It’s an embarrassment.
“Two years in a row now we have copped it come finals time.
“The big, powerful blokes behind the scenes down there and the media, they are crying out for something and well … I guess they are getting what they wished for.’’
1. 2012: Hand of Foran
“That’s twice we’ve been robbed mate. That’s twice,” Johnathan Thurston bristled to referee Ben Cummins after Michael Oldfield’s 63rd minute try put North Queensland behind Manly 22-12.
Two video referees - including Paul Simpkins, the referee who presided over 2004’s costly scrum call - missed a Kieran Foran knock-on that Manly regathered to score their matchwinner in one of rugby league’s great controversies.
“My phone’s going off the hook - we’ve been dudded,” coach Neil Henry fumed after the match.
“It leaves a bitter taste in our mouths because both sides deserve better than that. I’m not saying they are biased. I’d say they are incompetent, and I am not on my own there.
“Who are they (referees) accountable to? We’ve said all year they are not up to the mark. They don’t have a feel for the game. We are a bit bitter and twisted about these decisions.”
An ashen-faced Thurston could barely contain his rage as Henry delivered his measured broadside.
“Gutted,” Thurston said when asked to explain how he was feeling. “I can sit here and say we had opportunities to win the game, but those decisions … honestly, I can’t justify them.”.
Referees boss Stuart Raper later admitted the TMO’s decision to award the try - later dubbed the ‘Hand of Foran’ - was wrong.
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Originally published as Cowboys finals curse: Ranking the five worst calls in North Queensland finals history
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