Whistle blown on Billy debacle

FORMER top referee and match review boss Greg McCallum has sensationally claimed the NRL is “out of control” and needs a dramatic overhaul following the sickening tackle which hospitalised Billy Slater.

McCallum joined ex-high profile whistleblower Bill Harrigan in calling for referees boss Tony Archer to fall on his sword following the debacle which resulted in Canberra’s Sia Soliola being referred straight to the judiciary.

Soliola is facing a suspension of at least a month for the late, high tackle which left Melbourne fullback Slater motionless on the GIO Stadium turf on Saturday night.

Soliola inexplicably stayed on the field, prompting Archer to release a statement after the game saying the forward should have been sent off.

Archer is under mounting pressure to keep his job and McCallum said a change of leadership was clearly needed.

“The game is out of control. It is all over the place,” he said.

“(Archer) is the head coach. He is the most influential person. It’s in his hands.

“He’s been there long enough to understand the game. He was an experienced referee and a good referee.

“He is the leader. He is the boss. Unless it gets reigned back in, it will continue to roll out of control.

“If the game has got to where it’s got to under his con- trol maybe it’s time for someone else to be handed the reins.

“I don’t want to be seen as the person undermining Archer. I’m not doing that. The league knows I’m interested. I’ve always wanted to get back involved in refereeing.”

In Archer’s defence, he was powerless in referee Matt Cecchin’s decision to leave Soliola in the game.

However players are seen to be bending the rules more than ever with referees reluctant to police minor infringements or come down hard on foul play.

A player hasn’t been sent off since David Shillington was marched for a 2015 headbutt.

“There are a whole lot of issues that are not clear-cut,” McCallum said.

“The rules are clear-cut. When you get tackled you play the ball where you get tackled. Now if you move off the mark it doesn’t matter, you get sent back to play it. That’s watering the rules away.

“In my era the rules were the rules. You were coached to apply the rules.”

Harrigan, the most popular referee of the modern era, was sacked as referees boss in 2012 but said he would entertain a return to the NRL.

“It’s time either Tony Archer moves on or they get rid of him,” he said on Triple M.

Slater will miss Sunday’s clash against the Sea Eagles in Melbourne because of concussion protocols and Storm CEO Dave Donaghy said he would be seeking an explanation from the NRL.