NRL boss Andrew Abdo has questioned whether fans really want more Bunker intervention in the game with calls for officials to overturn forward passes after Warriors fans felt dudded in their finals loss. Warriors supporters were left fuming on Saturday after Luke Garner appeared to get away with a forward pass that led to a try for the Panthers in their 24-8 win.
Garner made a break down field after the Warriors allowed the ball to bounce on a fifth tackle kick. He then went to pass the ball to Blaize Talagi as he was getting tackled and appeared to pass the ball forward.
NRL boss Andrew Abdo (pictured left) has questioned whether fans really want more Bunker intervention in the game with calls for officials to overturn forward passes after Warriors fans feel duded after the Luke Garner (pictured right) drama. (Images: Getty Images/Fox Sports)
Although the referees let it go with the Panthers going on to score from the same play with Casey McLean going over. But fans couldn’t believe the play wasn’t called back with the pass appearing to go forward out of Garner’s hands.
Fox Sports commentator Michael Ennis was adamant the Warriors were dudded in the moment. “Gee whiz. Ball goes forward,” Ennis said during commentary. There are calls for the NRL to use the Bunker to step in for a blatant forward passes with the speed of the game making it very hard for officials to get every call right.
And after plenty of frustration from fans, Abdo has questioned if viewers really want more Bunker intervention. Speaking on ABC NRL Daily, Abdo brought up the use of the Bunker when it comes to forward passes and wondered if fans really want more stops throughout the contest.
“Do we want bunker technology to rule on that? We don’t want to miss a howler but do we want more technology and more interference in the game?” he said on Sunday. “It’s an interesting one that we will have a close look at in the post-season.”
While Abdo put it back on the fans, he also felt it wasn’t taken into account how hard it is to be a referee in today’s game. “There is definitely things we can do to get better. But I believe there is an over-fixation…on criticising referee decisions. Whether it is technology, the Bunker or on-field…it is very easy to criticise things in hindsight. I think an element of respect and element of acknowledging of the role the match officials do will go along way in helping our game all the way to the grassroots.”
Andrew Webster makes no excuses after loss
While the Warriors were in the game when Garner helped set-up the try, coach Andrew Webster didn’t make any excuses for his team. The Warriors were in the top four for a number of weeks throughout the season, but there campaign was derailed with injuries taking its toll. And Webster admitted it was hard to roll out of the finals with the defeat.
“We came here ready to go, we looked like a finals team, but we lost. That’s why it’s heartbreaking,” he said. “You lose a finals game, it should hurt. The moment it doesn’t hurt, you probably shouldn’t be here.”
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Webster admitted it was only a couple of moments that separated his team from the reigning champions. “We were really good at absorbing pressure for so long in that first half then lacked some concentration,” said Webster. “The effort was there, it was just those moments letting us down.”
The Panthers defeated the Warriors after a controversial try.