NRL head of football elite competitions Graham Annesley has admitted to a costly refereeing mistake in Penrith’s win over the Dragons, stating “it’s clearly an incorrect decision”.
The incident in question occurred midway through the second half on Sunday night, when Dragons winger Mathew Feagai was ruled to have knocked the ball on after a Jack Cogger kick.
Originally the referee ruled that the ball went backwards but Tyrell Sloan giving up on the play and the touch judge’s call resulted in it being reversed.
READ MORE: Pair under fire for classless act amid ball girl controversy
READ MORE: Star spared axe in Gal’s NSW side for Origin II
READ MORE: Scans confirm Origin fears for injured Cleary
The Panthers went on to score in the next set through Sunia Turuva.
On Fox League’s commentary, former Sharks coach Shane Flanagan was shocked by Sloan’s actions and disagreed with the call.
“Why didn’t Sloan just play to the whistle? It’s definitely knocked back – the Dragons gave themselves up with Sloan not attacking when he picks the ball up,” he said.
In his weekly media briefing, Annesley explained referee Chris Sutton was right the first time.
Stream the NRL premiership 2023 live and free on 9Now
“It’s clearly an incorrect decision, the irony of this and the disappointing thing about this, not only for the NRL and the certainly for the Dragons, for the referee himself, he made the right decision … and was talked out of it by someone else,” he said.
“Had he stuck with his initial reaction to this incident and the ruling he already made then I wouldn’t be standing here talking about it unfortunately.”
Round 14: Panthers v Dragons highlights
Annesley went on to state the disappointment from the NRL to see these sorts of decisions made.
“I know he (Sutton) will be gutted by that as are the Dragons and certainly the NRL, we don’t want to see these things happening, they can’t be undone once they’re done.”
The head of football further explained he believed the decision by the referee was based solely on the touch judge’s call and not the reaction of Sloan.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
The Mole’s Team of the Week: Fiery Bulldog Tevita Pangai Junior’s nod after State of Origin blooding
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
