The calls that killed the Warriors
Another week, another controversial display by NRL match officials. It seemed every crucial decision in Saturday’s 24-22 defeat to Parramatta went against the Warriors at Bankwest Stadium, including a forward pass call that rubbed out a potential match-winning try in the dying stages.
The Warriors also finished on the receiving end of a lopsided 9-2 penalty count from referees Chris Sutton and Chris Butler, with the result landing a major blow to their slim finals hopes.
Here’s the critical calls that would have had Warriors fans scratching their heads in disbelief.
46th minute: Chanel HarrisTavita penalised for ball strip
The Warriors had clearly been practising their one-on-one strips, with Agnatius Paasi pulling one off later in the second half to pave the way for Ken Maumalo’s second try. HarrisTavita was just too good for the referees, as the moment his fellow defenders pulled away from the tackle the rookie playmaker stripped the ball, only to be pinged.
While it came early in the half, that was one of threestraight penalties against the Warriors in a couple of minutes that saw the Eels level the scores and swing the momentum.
67th minute – missed ball strip on Gerard Beale
Having spotted that marginal (at best) call against the Warriors, one would have expected the officials to be all over the ball being raked from Gerard Beale’s grasp with three defenders in the tackle. But there was no sight of the whistle as the Eels were gifted possession inside the Warriors’ half.
‘‘If they can’t adjourn on the strip rule properly just leave it alone – go back to the way it was,’’ coach Stephen Kearney said as his frustrations boiled over in the post-match press conference.
‘‘Get rid of it, if you can’t rule on it p... it off. I thought it was ordinary. We need to be better there’s no doubt about that but they [the referees] made it very hard for us.’’
75th minute – missed knockon from Ethan Parry
It appeared the Warriors had forced a golden attacking chance when Eels winger Parry dropped a Blake Green bomb 10m off his try line. With Parry’s body directly facing the Warriors’ ingoal, simple physics would suggest the ball had to have been propelled forward, even if it did subsequently roll back. Yet playon was the call as Mitchell Moses dived on the ball to get the Eels out of trouble.
77th minute – forward pass on Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
Receiving the ball just inside Parramatta’s half, TuivasaSheck brushed off Dylan Brown, beat Brad Takairangi for pace before releasing a superb flick in between the two cover defenders to send Beale away for a sensational match-winner.
Or so it seemed.
In fairness to the officials, it was a line-ball decision. However, the pass did appear to go back out of the hands and we’ve seen plenty of those let go in recent time.
It cancelled out what would have been one of the moments of the season. If anyone deserved the rub of the green it was the Warriors’ captain..
Nine consecutive penalties against Warriors
First things first, the Warriors weren’t hard done by on every call, a point Kearney was quick to emphasise after the match.
But it’s hard to believe that between the ninth minute – when the visitors received their first penalty – and the 80th – when they were finally awarded a second – the Eels were a model of perfection in the discipline department.
Bankwest Stadium has quickly gained a reputation for its cauldron-like atmosphere, but regardless of whether a team is on the road, nine-straight penalties against any side is hard to fathom.
The Warriors have already had a couple of apologies from NRL head of football Graham Annesley this season. It will be interesting to see how he explains this one at his weekly briefing today.