Look away Raiders fans, NRL admits the Roosters were robbed – three times
In a week where Peter V’landys put the the NRL’s referees in the crosshairs, the great untold story of the grand final has been brought to my attention.
It relates to a discussion between Trent Robinson and referees boss Bernard Sutton.
It won’t please the masses who maintain officials dudded the Raiders in the decider last month.
The NRL says Sia Soliola’s late hit on Luke Keary should have been penalised.CREDIT:NINE
Robinson hit Sutton with a list of half a dozen incidents in the game that he felt the referees got wrong. He clipped the videos in an email and presented them to Sutton on the Wednesday after the Roosters became the first team to win back-to-back comps in the NRL era.
There were three key admissions from the NRL that show the Roosters also got the rough end of the stick during the NRL’s biggest game of the year.
Sutton admitted to Robinson that Cooper Cronk being sent to the sin bin was harsh – hardly what you want to hear. It was a decision that placed huge pressure on the Roosters and it could have cost them the game.
The NRl says the refs should not have awarded the Raiders six again before Jack Wighton’s try.CREDIT:NINE
There was an even more significant moment. Sutton conceded the decision to give Canberra six more tackles after a mid-air contest between James Tedesco and Elliot Whitehead was wrong. That decision was made at the start of the set from which Canberra’s Jack Wighton scored his side’s only try – a massive play.
The other concession that Sutton made was also at a controversial time of the game. He said the Roosters should have received a penalty when Luke Keary was taken out by Sia Soliola when he was attempting a charge down – the charge down which resulted in the ball hitting trainer Travis Touma on the head.
So, whichever team you support, the NRL would have to concede the referees had a shocker. The V’landys comments reflected what fans feel but his baking of the referees is known to have gone down badly with match officials and even those in the wider league circle are warning he will regret his words as things are unlikely to get much better during his reign.
Replies
You are spot on brissyeel. How was this different to any other game during the season.
Yer I agree roosters were the better team on the day and all year.hope we make the top 4
There are several areas that V'Landys needs to get stuck into, problem is that with each one it will just add to the weight on his shoulders which could end up breaking him.
The area's that I see are those that he needs to start on are.
1: Player managers, get this fixed and make them accountable especially in regard to how they are trying to contold clubs and game overall, nothing came of the investigation following the eels scandal and what green dome said.
2: TPA's. These need to be more open and equaled across the clubs along with being registered and monitored by the NRL.
3: Change back to having the contestable play the ball and in scrums. What point in scrums as they are now when the ball is put in the scrum anywhere, if it gets any worse it will be put behind the locks.
4: Referees. Have said this for a while now that the way the set up now especially with the linesmen who have no real say in the refeering of games needs to stop. Go back to when they were there to stand in line with the defence line and call offside and raise their flags and stay stationary on that spot. If crowd noise blocks the linesmens call then the bunker should make contact with the on field ref, and penalty given in line with the linesmans position.
That to me is just as important as when they make calls with tries, touch lines and the like, where they make a call to the ref before try is awarded.
Colin you need to add one more. Getting rid of Tod Greenberg. Once he does that the rest will be a lot easier to roll over. His inaction on a whole list of issues and favouritism to certain clubs is mind blowing.
Agree John, but cannot see it happening in the near future, its possible if next season is the same as this year.
Some good points Col. One referee for me, and yes linesman to assist.
He should also look at the staff in NRL central and see what impact some of them are having....Greenburg talks up grasssroots a lot but it seems the nrl is v top heavy in administration.
The player managers and TPAs for me are big ones to sort and should have been done a while when those managers were in strife.
With you on these areas Mitchy and we're singing the same song.
Cooper cronk getting sent off was not harsh! It was a professional foul in a potential scoring play, it is a sin bin offence. But Roosters did win and were the better team. I highly doubt the refs were making sure roosters won.
The only ones that were truly robbed were the Raiders!!! The 2019 Grand Final was clearly the worst Grand Final in NRL history! It will forever be remembered as the Raiders being robbed by the incompetent and disgraceful refereeing and a corrupt NRL. The only other very clear matter of being robbed is that other members on this site have to continually read your dribble, nonsensical posts! Fong, you should just go and join the Roosters site ( on that's right they don't have one) as Uncle Nick spends all his money cheating the salary cap and buying referees!
Ah Monto it's good to see that your mental illness is alive and well . One day when you take your proper dose of 1600mg Prozac , 1200mg effexeor , 2500mg Seroquel and 3300mg of Zannax you can perhaps post a blog about your life so we can all have a chuckle .
Monto the best thing anyone who has ever met you can say about you is thst they would rather meet death than meet such a shit man like you again .
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