Big League Weekly Edition – August 01, 2019

KICKING

OFF

MARIA

TSIALIS

FEATURES

8 TOP8 POSITIONALSWITCHES

10 MICHAELENNIS

16 -17 RAIDERS’REVIVAL

18 DAVIDFUSITU’A

20-21 DALLINWATENE-ZELEZNIAK

22 GARETH WIDDOP

UPFRONT 3-

CLUBNEWS 26-

LITTLELEAGUE 30-

NRLTEAMS 36-

OTHERCOMPS 52-

RESULTS 56-

DRAW 62

COVER PHOTO:GRANT TROUVILLE/NRLPHOTOS

Round 20BIG LEAGUE 2019 3

L

IVINGa balancedlifeisn’talwayseasy.

Andlikelife,beinga rugbyleaguefan

sometimesrequirespatience,calmanda step

backfromthesituationtogainperspective.

Unfortunately,thedesiretolashoutis strong

insportandletmetellyou,thisis something

I alsostrugglewith.Therewasplentyofoutcry

fromallsidesoftheinternet,talkbackradio

andpanelshowsfollowingwhatwasa wild

roundofNRL– withmanyexcitingandclose

games– buttheemphasiswaswithrefereeing.

IfeellikeI getstuckina hamsterwheel

withrugbyleaguesometimes.Wegettothe

timeoftheyearwhenthehigherstakesmean

everysingledecisionisopentocriticism, and

honestly,it canbeexhausting.

Buta balancedcritiqueisn’ta bad

thing.Growingandlearningfromerrorsis

somethingmostpeopledointheirregular

life,andit’ssomethingthatshouldbe

affordedtorefereesintheNRL.Humanerror

willalwayshappenandthingswillbemissed.

NRLheadofofficiatingGrahamAnnesley

stooddownthefouron-fieldofficialsinthe

controversy-filledEelsv Warriorsgame,

soconsequencesareclearlyoccurring.

Let’salltakea deepbreathandmoveonto

thenextroundwitha freshperspective.

I

’VEbeenaccuseda coupleoftimesof

ignoringtheRaiders– whichiscategorically

untrue,asthey’remyback-upbandwagon

teamatalltimes– butinamidallthedrama

andstand-outperformancesthisyear,it’s

beenhardtofinda timetoplonkthemonthe

cover.Asmuchasthey’vebeentravelling

undertheradar,theyareclearlyintheframe

forfinalsandcouldgodeepintoSeptember

ontheircurrentform.Andthisweek,asyou’ll

discoveronpages16-17,fullbackCharnze

Nicoll-Klokstadfulfilsa birthdaywishto

come up against his old club the Warriors.

I

Nanerawhereeverydecision

seeminglyhasaneffectontheresult

ofmatches,therearegrowingcallsfor

theNRLtointroducea captain’schallenge

systemtoensuretheofficialshavethe

besttoolsavailabletomaketherightcall.

FivematchesinRound 19 were

decidedbyfourpointsorless,with

coachesandplayersonthelosing

sideabletopinpointcallsthatcould

haveswungtheresultintheirfavour.

Perhapsthemostcontroversial

rulingoftheweekendcameonSaturday

whentheWarriorshada latetrytoGerard

Bealedisallowedaftertherefereesruledthe

finalpassfromRogerTuivasa-Sheckforward.

It wasa tellingmomentasthevisitors

wentdowntoParramatta24-22,anddrewan

impassionedpleafromcoachStephenKearney

tolookattheforwardpassrule,aswellasthe

newstrippinginterpretationafterfive-eighth

ChanelHarris-Tavitawasincorrectlypenalised.

Onewaytoeliminateerrorswouldbethe

returnofthecaptain’schallenge,whichwas

usedintheHoldenCup,andalsotrialledin

2016 whentheKnightsandDragonsclashed

ina gamethathadnobearingonthefinals.

“Ireckonit’dbegoodtohavea challengein

placesowecanhavea lookatmomentslike

that,”WarriorswingerKenMaumalotoldBig

Leaguewhenaskedaboutthecontentiouscall.

“Thegameissofastsotherefscan’tkeep

upattimes.A challengewouldhelpthemgo

back and check key plays. The game is so fast,

soyou’vegottohavefasteyestokeep

upwiththeplay.

“That’ssomethingtherefshaveto

lookat.I justfeelsorryfortheboys

• weputsomucheffortintothatgame
  anda calllikethatisdeflating.Insaying
  that,wecan’tcontrolwhattherefs
  do.Thatwasthefinalcallandit was
  disappointingthatit didn’tgoourway.
  “Ifeltit workedinthe20s.
  Wehadsomegameswherewe’d
  havecallsgoagainstusbutthen
  we’dgoupstairs,theyreviewedit andthe
  callwasoverturned.I reallylikethat,and
  speakingfroma player’sperspective,I think
  it’ssomethingthatshouldbelookedat.”
  Thesystemwouldseeteamsaffordedone
  incorrectchallengeperhalf,buttherewouldbe
  nolimitonhowmanytimesa captaincancontest
  a rulingif hecontinuestobeprovenrighton
  decisionstheBunkerwouldn’tordinarilyreview.
  Whilesomeplayerssupportit,othersthink
  thechallengesystemwouldonlybringmore
  heatontheofficials.
  “Idon’tthinkit’spartofourgame,”Roosters
  five-eighthLukeKearysaid.
  “Therefereesareundertoomuchscrutiny
  andpeoplebagthemtoomuch.They’re
  humanstryingtodotheirjobsoweshould
  justletthemwithoutcomplicatingit more
  thanit needstobe.Peoplemakemistakes,
  refsmakemistakes,coachesmakemistakes,
  themediaevenmakemistakes,it’spartof
  our game. Let it happen and move on.”

The challenge

facing officials

PHOTO:

Grant Trouville/NRLPhotos.com

ByMARTIN

GABOR

@martinjgabor

HEATINGUP:

Thereweremorefiery

interactionswithrefereesin

the Penrith v Canberra clash.