Tino Fa’asuamaleaui questioned the consistency of officiating in the NRL after Manly‘s Reuben Garrick was controversially awarded a try late in the Titans’ 38-32 win at Cbus Super Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Titans skipper was left stunned with 15 minutes left on the clock on Sunday after Garrick pounced on a loose ball and was awarded a try despite being in a clear offside position when Jamal Fogarty put up the kick for him to chase.
Tino Fa’asuamaleaui fumes over a Bunker ruling Fox League
Garrick’s efforts were sent up to the Bunker for a review and senior official Ashley Klein agreed with the on-field ruling of try – a decision that left everyone stunned.
“He is offside,” Steve Roach said in commentary on Fox League.
Bulldogs great Michael Ennis added: “It is certain that Reuben Garrick was offside. He was well in front.”
Fa’asuamaleaui then stormed towards Gee asking for an explanation on the call, given his Queensland teammate Max Plath was cruelly denied a try late in the State of Origin series decider for being narrowly offside in a similar situation.
“It happened to Max Plath in Origin, that was the call. Are you serious?,” the Titans skipper was heard saying to referee Gee.
“I’m not going to talk about Origin right now. (Klein) agrees that it is tight call, but he is going to support the on-field decision,” Gee replied.
Fa’asuamaleaui added: “It’s so inconsistent. It’s a 10-point game.”
Fox League reporter Jake Duke admitted Garrick’s positioning looked “more offside than Max Plath did in Origin”, but the try still stood.
To add to the controversy of the final 15 minutes, the Titans were reduced to 12 men after Dean Ieremia was pinged for a hip drop on Tolu Koula.
AJ Brimson still managed to set his team up to power over the line despite being down a man, but his effort’s came at the expense of Manly’s Josh Feledy who was given marching orders for a professional foul on the Titans fullback.
Brimson had just played the ball and Feledy was not square at marker when he came running in to slap the ball out of the hands of Jayden Campbell.
Jojo Fifita then crossed the tryline to bring the Titans to 38 points at full-time, while a try by Koula as the full-time siren sounded left Manly with 32 points.
Despite the win, Josh Hannay was far from impressed by his team’s display.
“It was a hard one to process because winning is the business we are in, but that was nearly as bad as we have played all year,” he said post-game.
“We played enough good footy to win but we have played a lot better.
“It is not all doom and gloom … We will celebrate the win today, though.”