We messed up: Annesley
THE NRL admits it was unacceptable for play to continue while Nene Macdonald was down with a fractured ankle and dropped the refs in charge.
The governing body came under fire after play continued for almost a minute while two North Queensland players were injured against Melbourne on Friday.
NRL head of elite football Graham Annesley yesterday confirmed whistleblowers Grant Atkins and Gavin Badger had been demoted.
“It’s important for me to say that, as an administration, we didn’t find that acceptable that it took as long as it did for the game to stop,” Annesley said. “There were any number of eyes across that through the on-field officials and the match-day coach who was also watching the game.”
Cowboys coach Paul Green labelled the incident a “debacle” and “disgrace”, and claimed the referees failed in their duty of care.