‘Needs to stop’: New low in NRL farce

The Newcastle Knights were left a player down just before halftime against the New Zealand Warriors in a fresh sign the NRL crackdown is jumping the shark.

There were just over six minutes remaining in the first half with the Warriors attacking midfield.

A pass from halfback Sean O’Sullivan was fumbled by his halves partner Kodi Nikorima, who had fallen to knee height when Fitzgibbon made contact.

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“Here it is, Nikorima has to bend down to pick the ball up, Fitzgibbon comes in with the tackle ball and all, I don’t understand what you’re meant to do there,” rugby league great Steve Roach said before voicing fears that Fitzgibbon would be sent to the sin bin.

Voss was less confident the Knights would lose a player, saying “It’s a little bit different to some of the more controversial ones from the weekend”, but adding that “At Magic Round it would certainly would be sent to the bin, whether it’s the same case six weeks on”.

Roach added: “I know it was a little bit higher and there was a swinging arm there, but what are you supposed to do? He’s fallen on the ground.”

But referee Chris Butler didn’t even say anything to Fitzgibbon when sending him for 10 minutes in the naughty corner.

Chris Butler sent Liam Fitzgibbon off without saying a word.Source:FOX SPORTS

Wests Tigers media boss Dan Talintyre said the lack of an explanation is more telling than anything.

“The fact the on-field referees won’t explain the decision — because they didn’t believe it was a sin bin in the first place until the Bunker intervened — says everything we need to know,” he tweeted.

That was not worthy of a sin bin

At halftime, Braith Anasta was pleading for some common sense to come into the game when there are mitigating circumstances.

“I don’t think this is unavoidable but there are some mitigating circumstances, there is no intent there whatsoever,” Anasta said. “ We’ve got to get to a stage now where if that is the case, if there is no intent or mitigating circumstances that players should not be sent for 10 minutes in the sin bin. I just think we’ve had some really ordinary calls in the last 24 hours and it needs to stop. We can’t get to Grand Finals, Origin, semi-finals and have this happen, it’ll just impact our game too much.”

Cooper Cronk added: “I think we’re all confused — players, coaches, commentators, fans, and we’re a little lost around the directive of how it’s been officiated. It’s not the referees, it’s coming from above. They’ve got to fix this and fix this quickly.”

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