Refereeing and umpiring is are generally the most thankless job in any sport but NRL official Adam Gee has received widespread praised for a brilliant act during the Panthers 26-6 win over the Storm on Friday night.
The Storm took an early 6-2 lead after scoring the first try of the match in what was billed as the game of the season but in the 22nd minute, eyebrows were raised over a send off.
Although the send off is the harshest penalty in the referee’s arsenal for foul play and had been used twice in the previous 24 hours on the Roosters’ Nathan Brown and Titans’ Mo Fotuaika, Gee gave his marching orders not to a player, but to a trainer.
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Storm blue shirt Ryan Hinchcliffe was loitering behind the play seemingly yelling instructions before Gee snapped.
“Get off, I won’t cop it, get off,” Gee said, as the commentators realised he was talking to the trainer.
Fox League Dan Ginnane said: “Oh, what’s happened here? A trainer, a trainer has been marched.”
“I think it’s Ryan Hinchcliffe who’s been told by the referee to stop talking and get off the field,” Cooper Cronk added.
“Well 2023, we’ve finally seen a trainer given the boot,” Ginnane said. “There’s a sense of shock here.”
Fans were quick to jump on the moment, with plenty of positivity as trainers general spend more time on the field than some of the bench players each and every game.
Some fans also said it was a few years too late after the 2019 grand final when a Raiders charge down struck a Roosters trainer early in the game when Canberra’s Elliott Whitehead appeared certain to get to the ball first. It handed the Roosters the ball back in their own attacking zone.
Probably worse for the Storm, it meant a quick play the ball from Harry Grant was halted and from there, the Panthers piled on three unanswered tries before halftime before another try in the second half to run away with a big result.
Did the send off change the game? Maybe, maybe not.
However, the result continued to show the Panthers’ premiership credentials as the side moved into sole ownership of first on the ladder, pending the Broncos clash with the Cowboys on Saturday, and almost certainly wrapping up a spot in the top four with four rounds remaining.
It’s also the Panthers’ sixth straight win and raises the question once again of who can actually beat the back-to-back defending premiers.