NRL weekly briefing: Graham Annesley blasts critics of the Bunker following disallowed David Fifita try

Mark Molyneux

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NRL weekly briefing: Graham Annesley blasts critics of the Bunker following disallowed David Fifita try image

NRL Head of Football Graham Annesley has blasted certain members of the media and general public for their criticism of a decision to disallow a David Fifita try last weekend.  

The Titans controversially had a four-pointer chalked off after an intervention from the Bunker ruled that the backrower had illegally made contact with Canberra halfback Jamal Fogarty before scoring.

Graham Annesley blasts critics of the Bunker following David Fifita disallowed try

"All the outrage about this is just so over the top," Annesley fumed.

"To be frank, it brings our game into disrepute - the people who do this - because they don’t take the time to examine things properly."

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Bunker official Kasey Badger ruled Fifita had impeded Fogarty on his way to collecting a grubber from Kieran Foran into the in-goal and touching down on the stroke of half time.

On-field referee Todd Smith awarded the try but this was eventually overturned when the Bunker deemed Fifita had denied the Raiders’ No.7 an opportunity to compete for the loose ball.

"The amount of derogatory comments publicly about this decision is so out of kilter with what actually happened," Annesley continued.  

"You would think this decision by the Bunker was the greatest injustice ever perpetrated on a team since we’ve had video assistance on the field.

"I’ve read and heard things like ‘diabolical’, ‘unbelievable’ and ‘the worst call of the year’.

"To say that Fogarty is not contesting or that he’s stopped in the line - I just don’t know what people are watching, I really don’t."

"Jamal Fogarty had the lead, he was in front of Fifita in the chase for the ball, plants himself trying to block out the ball like he was playing basketball and defending the hoop and Fifita goes past him and scores," Warren Smith said in commentary on Fox League after the try had been disallowed. 

"That’s hard to believe. That’s honestly hard to believe."

Post-match, Gold Coast's interim coach Jim Lenihan was left baffled by the call but refused to single it out as the reason why his side lost to Ricky Stuart's men in a tight affair.  

"It is a silly situation where if David runs into the back of Jamal and falls over, we get a penalty," he said.

"But if David is trying to contest for the ball and get people out of his way that are trying to stop him from getting to the ball, he gets penalised.

"I’m certainly disappointed we put ourselves in a position where we allowed bad luck to walk into the room and dance around," Lenihan added. 

Meanwhile, Annesley claimed the outrage at the decision may act as a deterrent for young referees with each and every call they make being unfairly placed under the microscope.

"Why would anyone want to work in the Bunker?" Annesley asked.

"Why would anyone want to be a referee when they’re subjected to this sort of attack over something which is perfectly defendable?"

Mark Molyneux

Mark Molyneux Photo

Mark Molyneux is a freelance writer covering the NRL and UFC for Sporting News Australia. He has previously worked in the music industry and as a teacher around the world.