{"id":514381,"date":"2026-03-02T18:43:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T18:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/514381\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T18:43:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T18:43:22","slug":"st-george-illawarra-dragons-set-to-approach-nrl-five-rulings-referee-errors-dragons-loss-to-the-bulldogs-news-videos-highlights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/514381\/","title":{"rendered":"St George Illawarra Dragons set to approach NRL, five rulings, referee errors, Dragons loss to the Bulldogs, news, videos, highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>NRL chief Peter V\u2019landys has lept to the defence of the NRL\u2019s senior match officials following a series of controversial decisions in Canterbury\u2019s 15-14 win over St George Illawarra in Las Vegas on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>Watch every game of every round of the Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | <a href=\"https:\/\/kayosports.com.au\/?pg=default&amp;extcamp=fsaeditoriallinkleague-edt-fsp-lnk-awr-grc-nrl-kyo&amp;channel=fsa&amp;campaign=fsacontra&amp;voucher=\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/poster-fallback.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>WHAT&#8217;S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n<p>As the Dragons prepare to formally approach the NRL over five individual decisions they believe referee Grant Atkins got wrong during the clash, V\u2019Landys told Fox Sports News on Monday \u201creferees are human\u201d while also conceding that occasionally match officials do get things wrong.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn every game you\u2019re going to get the rub of the green and referees are human,\u201d V\u2019landys told Fox League. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe thing that everyone\u2019s got to remember is the [Atkins] is calling it at a fraction of a second and they\u2019re going to get things mostly right.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnfortunately they\u2019re going to get 90 to 95 per cent right but everyone just notices the 5 per cent \u2013 not the 95 per cent that they got right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>PVL weigh&#8217;s in on controversial Dogs win | 06:34<\/p>\n<p>V\u2019landy\u2019s remarks following a report from<a href=\"https:\/\/www.codesports.com.au\/nrl\/revealed-the-five-controversial-calls-from-dogs-heartbreaker-that-enraged-the-dragons\/news-story\/790d33e6d06497b9ce6ec12a2dbfd567?using_ew=false&amp;using_ew_noesi=false\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"> Code Sports<\/a> that Dragons coach Shane Flanagan will reach out to the NRL\u2019s general manager of officiating, Jared Maxwell, in the coming days over five separate incidents during the blockbuster match \u2013 including a Ryan Couchman strip which ultimately led to Stephen Crichton\u2019s ice-cool field goal for the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/nrl-premiership\/nrl-2026-shane-flanagan-fumes-at-referees-in-press-conference-video-bulldogs-vs-dragons-highlights\/news-story\/7e537ef7c0db232d06d918923448181a\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">The development came after a fiery press conference in Las Vegas on Sunday,<\/a> in which Flanagan and Dragons captain Damien Cook delicately highlighted some of the calls that went against their side in the golden-point loss to the Dogs.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/kayosports.com.au\/?pg=default&amp;extcamp=fsaeditoriallinkleague-edt-fsp-lnk-awr-grc-nrl-kyo&amp;channel=fsa&amp;campaign=fsacontra&amp;voucher=\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Flanagan alluded to \u201csix or seven\u201d questionable officiating decisions during the press conference. <\/p>\n<p>It has now been revealed that five individual decisions have piqued the Dragons attention, which are as follows:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Ryan Couchman penalised for his golden point strip on Bronson Xerri. Flanagan has said of the decision: \u201cIt\u2019s a loose carry every day of the week. There\u2019s that and there\u2019s a lot of others. We didn\u2019t get the rub of the green, that\u2019s for sure. It\u2019s just disappointing but it wasn\u2019t decided, in my view, in the right way\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The strip in question and major penalty of the contest.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The Dragons reportedly claim a Jacob Kiraz knock-on was not picked up by officials during the match. Connor Tracey retrieved the ball moments later, racing upfield in a 60-metre change in territory and possession.<\/p>\n<p>Jacob Kiraz&#8217;s knock-on in the lead-up to a Connor Tracey run.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The Dragons believe a challenge should be have been overturned when Setu Tu was penalised for running an escort before being pushed in the back by Viliame Kikau.<\/p>\n<p>The Dragons were penalised for an obstruction here.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The Dragons believe Stephen Crichton should have been sin-binned for a tackle on Setu Tu after the winger caught a bomb. Crichton was not charged by the Match Review Committee, which was understood to discover mitigating circumstances with Tu falling and Crichton coming into the tackle with a bent back and aiming low.<\/p>\n<p>Stephen Crichton avoided the sin bin for this high shot.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The Dragons say a Moses Suli error which was ruled a knock-on in fact went backwards.<\/p>\n<p>The Moses Suli error the Dragons believe travelled backwards.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n<p>Get all the latest news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports NRL Sportmail. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/newsletter-sign-up?utm_source=NRLArticle&amp;utm_medium=TextLink&amp;utm_campaign=signup\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Sign up now!!! <\/a><\/p>\n<p>Shane Flanagan\u2019s squad arrives home from Vegas on Tuesday morning, and will reportedly take their concerns to the NRL in the coming days.<\/p>\n<p>An NRL spokesperson declined to comment to questions from foxsports.com.au, while the NRL\u2019s club relationship manager of elite officiating, David Fairleigh, didn\u2019t respond to inquiries.<\/p>\n<p>It was Fairleigh who reportedly sent an email to clubs in recent weeks, according to News Corp, highlighting small changes to the definition of stealing the ball.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStealing the ball will be determined by the defending player(s) actions,\u201d the email read.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese actions may include striking at the ball, gripping and pulling at the ball or pulling a ball carries arm to dislodge the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During Sunday\u2019s press conference, Flanagan said an additional challenge for each side in extra time would add an extra layer of protection for teams during tight finishes.<\/p>\n<p>The NRL declined to speculate on such changes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it would, definitely,\u201d Flanagan told reporters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat decision [strip against Bronson Xerri], and whether it was going to be changed, I\u2019m not quite sure. There was a couple of others that went to the bunker that I found strange.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll try to find a nice word about it. We didn\u2019t get the rub of the green in any of those decisions. Whether we got it in the last 30 seconds I\u2019m not quite sure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to reiterate, the game has been put on a really high pedestal and tonight I just thought that it shouldn\u2019t have been decided the way it was. The NRL has done a great job, our club has done a great job; the fans will decide.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood luck to the Bulldogs, they were good enough to win and to kick the field goal. That skill. But I think we should gone home with one point each.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>45,000 plus takeover Vegas for the NRL | 05:32<\/p>\n<p>Damien Cook added: \u201cI\u2019m always going to have a biased opinion. We are out there in the heat of battle. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut you guys [media] watched it and all the fans watched it\u2026 I\u2019ve been in the heat of it and am probably going to say it should go our way but that\u2019s how competitive we are and right in the battle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere, the NRL\u2019s seven-tackle restart rule has come under scrutiny following Sunday\u2019s game, after it too contributed to the Bulldogs\u2019 fast finish in golden-point time.<\/p>\n<p>An unsuccessful field goal attempt from Daniel Atkinson in the final 90 seconds of golden point gave Canterbury a valuable seven-tackle set advantage.<\/p>\n<p>They started their set from the 20-metre line rather than the Bulldogs goal line, where fullback Connor Tracey had just received the ball.<\/p>\n<p>Moments later, referee Grant Atkins ruled against the Dragons for the illegal steal on Xerri \u2013 buying the Bulldogs crucial field position en route to Crichton\u2019s historic kick. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NRL chief Peter V\u2019landys has lept to the defence of the NRL\u2019s senior match officials following a series&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":514382,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-514381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514381\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}