Warriors coach Andrew Webster could be set to cop a warning from the NRL after teeing off over a Gerard Sutton incident that saw the Sharks earn a penalty in front of goal in his team’s two-point loss. The Sharks ambushed the Warriors in Auckland with Will Kennedy and Braydon Trindall coming up with huge plays to secure a gritty 10-8 win.
However, coach Webster was left fuming at Sutton over an incident that cost his team two points and put them behind. In the 26th minute the Warriors were taking a drop-out from their own in-goal.
Andrew Webster (pictured left) could find himself in hot water after teeing off on the situation where Gerard Sutton handed the Sharks (pictured left) a penalty. (Images: Fox Sports)
(Fox Sports)
Chanel Harris-Tavita asked Sutton how long was left on the clock to take the kick before he was penalised. Sutton apparently said there was five seconds left.
However, after two seconds the buzzer went during Harris-Tavita’s kick and Sutton blew a penalty for the Sharks. This gifted the Sharks two points in front, which proved to be crucial points in a very close game.
And this didn’t sit well with Webster. After the game, Webster made a rare move to unleash on the ‘unprofessionalism’ of the incident after his team conceded two vital points.
“It was a dropout. Chanel says to the referee there was an advertisement on the screen. He says, ‘Ref, how long have I got? I can’t see the clock’. He says, ‘You’ve got five seconds’,” Webster said in his press conference. “He kicks it in two and as he’s kicking it, the siren goes off, blows his whistle, gives a penalty, two points straight in front. And then they question, and he says, ‘Not my fault’.
“So (it) gifted them two points because professionalism around…they don’t even know how long to go.” Webster added the referee should have used common sense when the players couldn’t see the shot clock.
“When you ask the question, because you can’t see it on the clock, and the response is, ‘You’ve got five seconds’, and you kick it in two … I never blow up. That’s embarrassing,” he added.
“If the referee tells you you’ve got five seconds and you kick it in two. Five minus two is three. They’ve got three seconds left … when the referee tells you that, and then he’s the one that penalises you, surely common sense is let’s do a re-do there. Something’s gone wrong, or you say just play on. Common sense.”
He added: “But when we can’t even get the game clock right, I don’t know, that’s just the most unprofessional thing for the game I’ve ever seen.” Webster’s comments could land him in trouble with the NRL.
Braydon Trindall (pictured) slotted the match-winning field goal. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
(Phil Walter via Getty Images)Sharks move into fifth after epic victory
Regardless of the move, it was two instrumental plays from Trindall and Kennedy that won the Sharks the game. Fullback Kennedy made a charge down with a few moments left to smother the ball and hold onto it in a sensational pla.y
Trindall then slotted a field goal in the final moments to give the Sharks a 10-8 win. “I don’t even know how he caught that. That was crazy but, yeah, unbelievable win and full credit to the boys,” Trindall said. “It’s amazing, unreal feeling,” he added.