RUGBY league refereeing lurched into its greatest crisis last night following an admission from the NRL of another catastrophic blunder over the weekend.
Referees boss Robert Finch has conceded Manly were potentially robbed of victory against the Roosters on Sunday when two referees, two touch judges and the video official all missed a blatant foul on Sea Eagles centre Steve Matai before Shaun Kenny-Dowall scored his match-turning eight-point try.
"I wouldn't have awarded a try," Finch said, "that's my honest opinion."
The try was effectively a 10-point turnaround because Manly should have been awarded a penalty in kicking range when Roosters winger Sam Perrett took Matai out without the football. It is the latest in a litany of glaring bungles that has sunk confidence in referees to an all-time low.
Asked if video referee Sean Hampstead would be sacked over the mistake, Finch refused to rule it out, saying: "We'll have a look at it tomorrow when the appointments are made for the weekend."
The match referee Tony Archer will survive because he did his job properly by asking the video ref to adjudicate on the incident. A furious Manly coach Des Hasler was left to lament his team being on the receiving end of its second major stuff-up in three weeks following the Mark Gasnier "try" against the Sea Eagles which led to Bill Harrigan's sacking for one week.
While he refused to comment at his press conference after Sunday's game, Hasler last night told The Daily Telegraph it was a blatant obstruction.
"After talking to Steve Matai and looking at the video there is no doubt he was blatantly taken out of the play by Roosters winger Sam Perrett," Hasler said.
"Then Ben Farrar was prevented from getting to Shaun Kenny-Dowall because Matai was falling in his path. It was clearly obvious on the replay but two on-field referees, two touch judges and a video referee all missed it.
"Our on-field captain Jamie Lyon brought it to the attention of referee Tony Archer immediately behind the tryline. It's refreshing that the referees boss Robert Finch has admitted the error." Manly are also furious over the awarding of the eight-point try when video clearly shows nothing seriously wrong with Lyon's contact on Kenny-Dowall as he was scoring.
Sea Eagles chief executive Graham Lowe said Manly should have received the penalty after Matai was tackled without the ball - a moment which turned the match.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...t-it-wrong-again/story-e6frexnr-1225912087585