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AFTER putting his hand down almost a minute early yesterday, timekeeper John Hayes was quick to raise it afterwards, admitting he had erred in winding up the first half, a mistake South Sydney coach Jason Taylor described as "astronomical".
Experienced timekeeper Hayes was yesterday said to be "extremely embarrassed" after pushing the button with still 55 seconds remaining, sounding the siren to end the first half in a controversial moment NRL officials described as "unfortunate and regrettable".
At the time, the Rabbitohs were down 12-6 but were deep in attack after receiving a penalty close to the St George Illawarra line. The siren was sounded before the completion of the first tackle, forcing the Rabbitohs into a speculative kick which was cleaned up by Dragons winger Jason Nightingale.
"Astronomical error," Taylor said afterwards. "We had time to play an entire set of six, and for the hooter to go and us to have to kick the ball, it changes the whole game. It was embarrassing, I thought."
The NRL's chief operating officer, Graham Annesley, said Hayes - a timekeeper in grand finals and State of Origins - had acknowledged he had erred.
"I haven't spoken to the timekeeper but I have spoken to one of my staff who has," Annesley said. "He's put his hand up. He's made a mistake, and it's the first mistake that's been made since the NRL took over the timekeeping three or four years ago.
"We took it over because of a Wests Tigers game when the two timekeepers [one from each club] didn't know the extra time rule, and this is the first incident since then. He admits he made a mistake, it's human error. It's just one of those things that's unacceptable."
But Annesley said Souths had no grounds for appeal.
"Our rules don't provide for that," he said. "The decisions made by the timekeepers are final. They fall into the same category as refereeing mistakes. It's never good when they happen and they have an impact on the game. It's just unfortunate and regrettable."
Dragons coach Nathan Brown maintained the Rabbitohs rode their luck.
"Hard done by?" Brown said. "I thought they were lucky. I thought a lot of things went their way. They had a 7-2 penalty count and we dominated the game. I didn't think the referee was very good."
Asked about the timekeeping error, Brown said: "I thought the Phantom Siren was back. That's what my initial feeling was. And then when he kicked it, and we caught the ball, it was obviously luck our way, but we'd had some things go against us before that where we were good enough to hang out."
The error compounded the Rabbitohs' woes after a week in which Peter Holmes a Court stood down from the executive chairman position after a falling out with his co-owner, Hollywood star Russell Crowe, and the club was forced to bring in former premiership-winning coach John Lang in a consulting role in a bid to wrest their slide.
Taylor admitted the off-field turmoil may have played a role in yesterday's 10th loss of the season.
"I'd like to say it didn't," Taylor said. "We had a good week of training, and if you asked me before the game I would have said it had no effect. It's one of those things that might be sneaking into the players' minds."
Crowe, who bought the first timekeeping bell from the first ever game of rugby league and rang it when the Rabbitohs re-entered the competition in 2002, attended yesterday's game. He may have wished he kept it.
http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/news/nrl-timekeeper-in-the-spotlight/2008/06/01/1212258648831.html
Experienced timekeeper Hayes was yesterday said to be "extremely embarrassed" after pushing the button with still 55 seconds remaining, sounding the siren to end the first half in a controversial moment NRL officials described as "unfortunate and regrettable".
At the time, the Rabbitohs were down 12-6 but were deep in attack after receiving a penalty close to the St George Illawarra line. The siren was sounded before the completion of the first tackle, forcing the Rabbitohs into a speculative kick which was cleaned up by Dragons winger Jason Nightingale.
"Astronomical error," Taylor said afterwards. "We had time to play an entire set of six, and for the hooter to go and us to have to kick the ball, it changes the whole game. It was embarrassing, I thought."
The NRL's chief operating officer, Graham Annesley, said Hayes - a timekeeper in grand finals and State of Origins - had acknowledged he had erred.
"I haven't spoken to the timekeeper but I have spoken to one of my staff who has," Annesley said. "He's put his hand up. He's made a mistake, and it's the first mistake that's been made since the NRL took over the timekeeping three or four years ago.
"We took it over because of a Wests Tigers game when the two timekeepers [one from each club] didn't know the extra time rule, and this is the first incident since then. He admits he made a mistake, it's human error. It's just one of those things that's unacceptable."
But Annesley said Souths had no grounds for appeal.
"Our rules don't provide for that," he said. "The decisions made by the timekeepers are final. They fall into the same category as refereeing mistakes. It's never good when they happen and they have an impact on the game. It's just unfortunate and regrettable."
Dragons coach Nathan Brown maintained the Rabbitohs rode their luck.
"Hard done by?" Brown said. "I thought they were lucky. I thought a lot of things went their way. They had a 7-2 penalty count and we dominated the game. I didn't think the referee was very good."
Asked about the timekeeping error, Brown said: "I thought the Phantom Siren was back. That's what my initial feeling was. And then when he kicked it, and we caught the ball, it was obviously luck our way, but we'd had some things go against us before that where we were good enough to hang out."
The error compounded the Rabbitohs' woes after a week in which Peter Holmes a Court stood down from the executive chairman position after a falling out with his co-owner, Hollywood star Russell Crowe, and the club was forced to bring in former premiership-winning coach John Lang in a consulting role in a bid to wrest their slide.
Taylor admitted the off-field turmoil may have played a role in yesterday's 10th loss of the season.
"I'd like to say it didn't," Taylor said. "We had a good week of training, and if you asked me before the game I would have said it had no effect. It's one of those things that might be sneaking into the players' minds."
Crowe, who bought the first timekeeping bell from the first ever game of rugby league and rang it when the Rabbitohs re-entered the competition in 2002, attended yesterday's game. He may have wished he kept it.
http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/news/nrl-timekeeper-in-the-spotlight/2008/06/01/1212258648831.html
