Melbourne Storm half Jahrome Hughes — and most of the NRL world — was left in disbelief after being placed on report in Friday night’s 32-14 win over Parramatta.
Hughes has been a standout for the ladder-leading Storm this season to put himself firmly in the conversation for the Dally M player of the year award.
And while he made a couple of unusual errors in Friday’s victory, the 29-year-old halfback still delivered an excellent performance on both sides of the ball.
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Yet one seemingly innocuous moment in defence early in the second half saw Hughes placed on report in a moment that left commentators stunned.
With the Storm defending their own line fiercely amid repeat Eels sets, Hughes raced out of the defensive line to pressure his opposite number Asi, delivering a fierce shot that had the young Eel slow to get back to his feet.
Ennis said: “It was Jahrome Hughes, really physical with Daejarn Asi…
“Asi tried to crab across field. Hughes just accelerates for him and cracks him from the inside. That’s great work from the Melbourne halfback.”
But when play was called back after a whistle from the referee, Ennis was left totally nonplussed, believing the only possible explanation was that Hughes had knocked the ball on in the process.
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“(Hughes) must have just got a hand to it, it’s hard to see with that replay… Hold on!”
Referee Liam Kennedy told Melbourne’s captain Harry Grant: “It’s head-to-head contact but he rushes out of the line, so he has the onus (to avoid it),” before doubling down as he told Hughes directly: “You rush out of the line and make head-to-head contact.”
Hughes couldn’t believe his ears, trying to defend himself to the referee to no avail.
It was just one of a host of calls that Melbourne felt went against them on the night, with Ennis saying: “There’s some real frustration between Melbourne and Kennedy tonight.”
“You leave the line and advance, the onus is on you not to make contact with the head,” commentator Warren Smith said on Fox League — but even he was stunned by the Storm star being penalised for the incident.
Source Agencies
