The Titans will rue a missed opportunity in their loss to the Raiders after David Fifita was ruled to have pushed Jamal Fogarty before scoring right on half-time.
As the away side celebrated, the Bunker intervened and ruled Fifita’s push denied Fogarty the opportunity to contest for the ball, much to the fury of the Titans.
Canberra went on to win the game 26-22.
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The Bunker’s decision came after the siren sounded with the Raiders going into the break with a 12-6 lead.
Balmain Tigers great Steve ‘Blocker’ Roach was surprised at the call.
“I don’t know about that. He’s allowed to go for the ball. Fogarty stopped his line and turned his back on him. What’s he going to do? He’s right on him,” he said in commentary for Fox League.
At half-time, NRL premiership winner Michael Ennis added the call is consistent with decisions made across the season.
“I thought the moment he put his hands on Jamal Fogarty he was in a little bit of trouble … we’ve seen it in a number of tries with the Bunker where they’ve overturned tries,” he said.
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Ennis conceded Fogarty played his role in the penalty.
“He (Fogarty) did everything he possibly could to block Fifita,” he said.
The Raiders were off to a fast start when they led 10-0 inside the first 20 minutes with tries to Albert Hopoate and Sebastian Kris.
Fifita had his one-and-only try a few minutes later, which was the last four-pointer for the half.
The Titans started with a bang in the second half as Jojo Fifita crashed over in the corner straight away.
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In what proved even more costly than the Fifita no try, the Titans went to sleep in the 49th minute with Matthew Timoko running the length of the field.
As Alofiana Khan-Pereira dropped the ball over the line in a try-scoring attempt, the Titans failed to play to the whistle with Jordan Rapana pouncing and passing to the runaway centre.
Kris flies for a try
Khan-Pereira finally had his try later though, off the back of a brilliant Fifita assist to make it 18-16 with 16 minutes left.
A try to Hudson Young, followed by a penalty goal looked to seal the match at 26-16.
However, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui crashing over close to full-time made it interesting, but the Titans couldn’t find the final blow.
Next Friday, the Raiders play the Dragons at Wollongong while the Titans are up against the Dolphins on Sunday.
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