Debate has erupted in the wake of Storm hooker Harry Grant’s controversial sin binning with the light being shined on a strikingly similar incident which went unpunished.
Reaction towards Grant’s sin binning has essentially been unanimous, with nearly all pundits believing the Storm star was hard done by.
Grant made slight contact with the leg of Daniel Atkinson when attempting to charge down the Cronulla playmaker’s kick late in the first half of the Sharks’ 28-18 win over the Storm.
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There have been a raft of incidents in a similar vein this season, with some more serious than others. It’s fair to say though that Grant’s contact on Atkinson was on the lighter end.
The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield couldn’t comprehend how both the on-field referee and the Bunker came to the conclusion that Grant should be sin binned.
“I tell you what stuns me about that sin binning Laurie. I look at the referee and the Bunker official who were in operation on Saturday night,” Rothfield said on the Big Sports Breakfast radio show.
“The referee was Grant Atkins who is a very, very good referee.
“I don’t think referees send players off these days no matter what happens without a quick opinion from the Bunker. But you know who was in the Bunker? Adam Gee, who is a Grand Final ref.
“That’s as good as you can get, yet we had Atkins and Gee stuff this up. All we want is consistency.
“You saw Josh Aloiai for Manly. Cost his team against the Warriors when he bumped Shaun Johnson. He was penalised and no sin bin.
“It’s been a penalty- all year, and good on them for cracking down, but to send him to the sin bin … I’m a Sharks fan and I felt ordinary about him leaving the field of play. It was absolutely farcical. And for those two guys to stuff it up, what a joke!”
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On Fox League’s Sunday Ticket, NRL great Cooper Cronk pleaded to the NRL for consistency around the type of contact to the leg.
Cronk brought up another incident from a game between the Cowboys and Dolphins in Round 9, which was very similar in nature to Grant’s contact on Atkinson.
However, this one went unpunished, and it happened at a critical point of the game and potentially cost North Queensland a win.
Drinkwater was attempting a game-tying two-point field goal in the dying seconds when Nikorima made contact.
“The issue with any rule interpretation is consistency. There’s been multiple examples where this hasn’t applied to charging,” Cronk said.
“Here’s one from last week. Nikorima makes contact with Drinkwater. This is for a match-tying play and it could have been a penalty as he made contact with the leg. It’s not as dramatic but it’s still contact.
Braith Anasta chimed in: “You know the only difference? Atkinson played up whereas Drinkwater didn’t. There’s contact with his leg but he doesn’t react to it so there’s no penalty, no charge, no ten in the bin.
“We go a week later, Harry Grant does the same thing on Atkinson. Atkinson reacts to it and then we’ve got a completely different outcome.”
Source Agencies
