Advertisement
Annesley on Bunker fail – “It is going to happen from time to time”
26/07/2020
NRL Head of Football Graham Annesley responds to the dropping of two bunker officials after a howler potentially cost the Dragons victory against the Sharks.
Video referee Steve Clark incorrectly gave Cronulla forward Jack Williams a try in their four-point win over St. George-Illawarra, despite replays showing Matt Dufty beat him to the ball.
“It’s part of the game. We still have humans controlling and making these decisions, it is going to happen from time to time”.
Questioned as to why Clark and Ben Galea were dropped while Jared Maxwell and Steve Chiddy have held onto their spots despite similar poor decisions, Annesley highlighted a couple of differences.
“In the case of the decisions a couple of weeks ago that were deemed to be wrong, they were matters of judgement. They saw all of the information available, they applied their judgement and most people didn’t agree with their judgement.
“In the case of last night, they had all the information again at their disposal, but this was a matter of fact. It was either touched down by one person or the other. They just didn’t take the required amount of time and care to do that (rule on the try).
“The other factor that played into the decision of standing them down last night was that they were both due to officiate again today and I just think in their interest and the interest of the game I have a responsibility to take some of that pressure off them.