‘We’re not playing touch’: NRL’s rules cop heavy press conference criticism
Once again, the officiating in the NRL has copped it with Craig Fitzgibbon, Cameron McInnes and Harry Grant all providing frustrated answers in their press conferences over decisions made in Melbourne’s win over the Sharks.
The match was full of stoppages with 26 errors from both sides, 13 penalties and nine ruck infringements.
Harry Grant in his press conference. Nine
Melbourne was on the bad side of the latter, punished for six ruck infringements and conceding eight penalties too.
As he was being asked about the stoppages, the frustration on Grant’s face was clear before he candidly spoke of the feeling across the whole competition.
“I think everyone in the game’s getting quite frustrated with it. I know I am. I’ve talked to other players in the game and you don’t know what constitutes a quick play-the-ball or what constitutes a slow play-the-ball,” he said.
“We’re playing rugby league, we’re not playing touch out there, and sometimes it just feels like we are, and it’s no wonder why we’re getting so many people on report and all these penalties because the game’s getting to a pace where players are just doing their best.
“For me, I worry about the welfare of all players across the board ... I think we need to collectively look at what that is and what we want. Do we want to play touch football or rugby league? We can stay strong and stay together on that and keep pushing that forward.
“There’s certainly a lot of frustration across the game.”
Opposition captain Cameron McInnes was also asked about the stop-start nature of the match, which had Fitzgibbon smirking next to him.
“You just don’t know what you’re going to get, do you?” McInnes said.
“In a lot of the rucks, I’ve been playing the game a long time and I couldn’t tell you what they’re for. You run the ball and the same thing happens to you and it doesn’t get called.
“I know it’s hard for the ref, but sometimes it just feels like it’s for the sake of it ... it feels like it often goes against us.”
Fitzgibbon appeared to grow more frustrated as McInnes answered, before interjecting.
“Sometimes it’s not the ref either,” he said.
Fitzgibbon’s main complaint then appeared to be around Melbourne’s early try to Hugo Peel which came from a suspect pass by Nick Meaney.
Hugo Peel catches a pass from Nick Meaney. Nine
“If you don’t know what a forward pass looks like at this current point of your career, I don’t know either,” he said.
Then there was the Sua Fa’alogo try where the referee sent the decision upstairs to the Bunker as a no try. Fa’alogo had put his hands on the ball just before it reached the dead-ball line and while replays appeared to suggest the decision was right to be reversed, Fitzgibbon wasn’t happy.
“How many times have you seen a referee call a try and the Bunker overturn a try?” he said.
“I just thought we’d played well enough to win the game today. And then you have that, and that’s two weeks in a row.
“It’s not going to change what happens next week either. So in fact, if I’m sooking about it, it might put pressure on me.
“I don’t want to challenge the integrity of the game, but I’d like to see the integrity of the game remain.
“A forward pass is a forward pass, and if you’re going to back the referee, back the referee. But don’t back him some weeks and then turn around the week after and don’t do it.”
