Annesley blows whistle on refs
NRL head of football Graham Annesley has taken referees Adam Gee and Gavin Badger to task over their handling of the Warriors’ controversial clash against Newcastle on Saturday.
The Warriors managed to keep their finals hopes alive with a last-gasp 24-20 win over the Knights, despite three crucial calls going against the Auckland club which Annesley admitted were wrong.
He was particularly disappointed with the decision to allow play to continue after Warriors centre Peta Hiku was left on the ground with a head knock.
Badger was standing just metres away from a dazed Hiku, and Annesley said the assistant referee recognised he was struggling. But play was still not stopped until Sione Mata’utia scored moments later, which put the Knights in front with 10 minutes to go.
‘‘They were aware that he had suffered a head knock, they were aware that he was on the ground and they should have stopped play at that tackle before the playthe-ball. They had time to do that,’’ Annesley said during his weekly football briefing.
The referees were reminded to stop play for serious injuries in round five after Badger and fellow whistle-blower Grant Atkins allowed play to continue while former Cowboys winger Nene
Adding to the Warriors’ frustration, Mata’utia’s try came shortly after Ken Maumalo had one of his own overturned by bunker officials, despite replays showing the winger cleanly planting the ball.
Annesley said the first camera angle confirmed Gee’s on-field decision that Maumalo had scored in the corner – and that was all the video referees needed to see.
‘‘The other angle cast doubt in their mind about their initial thoughts and they didn’t need to do that,’’ Annesley said. ‘‘That’s a training issue that management of the bunker have to deal with.’’
The referees also missed a knock-on from former Warriors playmaker Mason Lino in the lead-up to the Knights’ opening try in the first half.
Match officials were already in the spotlight after Annesley described the officiating as ‘‘sloppy’’ the week before and he planned to meet with the referees coaches to ensure ‘‘they have this under control’’.
‘‘I need to get comfort from the people I have to hold responsible for the performances of match officials,’’ Annesley said.
‘‘The one thing we can’t stop is mistakes but some of mistakes over the last couple of weeks simply aren’t good enough. They are mistakes that shouldn’t have been made so we need to try to find out why and what they are doing to hopefully ensure it doesn’t happen again.’’