The Newcastle Knights have thrashed the South Sydney Rabbitohs 29-10 to all but wrap up their place in the NRL top eight.
Having claimed a seventh straight win, the Knights likely need one more win to seal their place in the finals, but seemingly need just one more point to boot their place in the post-season.
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At the same time, it’s left the Rabbitohs battling for the final place in the top eight, continuing the side’s patchy form, which has seen the side fall from the penthouse to almost dropping out of the eight.
Since a six-game winning streak between rounds 6-11, the Rabbitohs have won four, lost eight and had two byes to be barely holding onto their place in the top eight.
With a bye next week and the Roosters playing the last-placed Tigers next week, it sets up a potential shootout for the eight in round 27 — although the Cowboys are also still in the hunt.
It was a tough result for the Rabbitohs to take as the Knights outplayed them throughout — but also had a big call go against them.
The Knights led 18-4 with 20 minutes remaining when Latrell Mitchell defused a grubber, but lost control of the ball.
It saw the ball go to ground and roll straight into referee Grant Atkins’ legs with Knights halfback Adam Clune diving on the ball.
But Fox League commentators Andrew Voss and Shane Flanagan immediately questioned the decision.
“I think it hits Atkins’ legs here?” Voss questioned. “It does — it hits his knee and stops.
“I don’t think the ball was travelling fast enough to go to a Souths player but I think we’ve avoided a major controversy her, it stops the ball.”
Flanagan added: “Cody Walker’s the closest there, but if it doesn’t hit the referee, does Cody get there first?”
“I’m going to say no because of the way it’s travelling and the distance Walker is away,” Voss replied. “But, I’ll say again, if that was moving fast and you lock in a try, boy oh boy, unleash the hounds for controversy.”
Flanagan said: “If the ball touches the referee, it doesn’t matter in my idea, it has to come out and play that play again. It can’t be a try.”
The rule in question is the Mutual Infringement law which, if a play is irregularly affected by a mutual infringement, “Following a play-the-ball, the Referee shall restart play by returning to the point of the previous play the ball and allowing the team which was in possession at that point to play the ball again.
“The play-the-ball to restart the game is not counted as an additional tackle and the player who was previously tackled with the ball immediately prior to the mutual infringement is to play the ball to restart the game.”
However, the discretion is on the referee and the bunker to decide whether the interference impacted the play — and Atkins awarded the try.
Voss added that it would have still been the Knights’ ball.
“I’m with you on that Shane,” Voss said. “But if you argue it from the context from any slight interference from attacking side on defender, try’s disallowed. Well, this is interference from the referee on the defence trying to stop a try.”
“I’m not sure of the rule but common sense would say to me that that play needs to go back out into the field of play, tackle five, start again because the ball has come in contact with the referee,” Flanagan said.
He added that if it didn’t hit the ref, the ball could have done anything.
But the bunker confirmed the try.
After the match, Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou argued the decision as well.
“My understanding is that when the ball hit the ref, it’s a dead ball,” Demetriou said in his press conference.
“I think if it doesn’t hit him, it keeps going and Cody Walker’s a chance at getting to it. But for whatever reason, that wasn’t the case. But that’s where we’re at at the moment, unfortunately we’re not getting luck because we’re not prepared to earn it as well.”
In a follow up, the reporter said that the bunk claimed the balance of probability was that the Rabbitohs wouldn’t have gotten to the ball.
“Is that a rule?” the reporter pointedly asked.
“I suppose … it’s a new one to me,” Demetriou smirked.
“I’ve always played the ball hits the ref, it’s a dead ball. The advantage goes to the attacking team I suppose but I have no idea. It’s hard to say how far that ball keeps going … but whoever’s in the bunker’s got some pretty good vision. Pretty clear decision.”
The try didn’t effect the result however, with the Knights running in six tries to two, although Kalyn Ponga only went two from six in conversions.
With Jackson Hastings on the sideline with an ankle injury, his replacement Clune played with aplomb and set his team’s left edge free, with Ponga particularly potent.
Clune had more than one job on Sunday but his most important one was to do what Hastings had been doing: give the ball to Ponga.
The halfback did just that and the Knights opened the scoring when Clune shifted to Ponga who passed to Bradman Best whose quick hands put Marzhew over out wide.
Marzhew had a double when Ponga laid a monster step on Campbell Graham before Lachlan Fitzgibbon’s offload put Ponga in a hole with only Mitchell to beat.
Clune also landed a 78th minute field goal.
To make matters worse for the Rabbitohs, both Taane Milne and Latrell Mitchell were put on report, with Mitchell sin binned for an elbow on Tyson Frizell in the dying stages of the match.
With Matt Cleary, NCA Newswire