FORGET North Queensland, there is a conspiracy theory happening in Sydney - or at least that's what theyll tell you over on the northern beaches.

Manly supporters will be the first to back up Cowboys skipper Johnathan Thurston's rant regarding referee favouritism towards the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

On two occasions this year the Sea Eagles have been on the wrong end of dubious video referee decisions when playing against the Bunnies.

The two decisions came at very similar points in the match and had almost the exact same detrimental effect on Manly’s hopes.

In round seven, at a packed Brookvale Oval, the Rabbitohs took a 2-0 lead into the break and enjoyed all the possession in the early stages of the second half, posting an unanswered 12 points in 12 minutes to lead 14-0.

But a swing in momentum seemed imminent when Tom Symonds scampered his way to the line.

However, the video referees controversially ruled Roy Asotasi was obstructed in attempting to make the tackle, despite his effort being severely questionable.

So questionable in fact, his coach, sensing how tired and lethargic he was, immediately replaced him after the decision.

The following set, Souths went 100 metres to extend their lead to an insurmountable 20 points.

"I’m dumbfounded about what’s going on in the video box. Who knows?" Sea Eagles coach Geoff Toovey said afterewards.

"Can someone is explain it to me?"

Three and a half months later, Steve Matai planted the ball short of the line before momentum carried him over only for the referees to deny Manly the points that would have given them a 14-6 lead.

The on-field referee, who was in too difficult a position to judge, labelled it a "no try" before sending it for review.

Due to the amount of Souths players scrambling to stop Matai, video replays failed to show the ball on the ground over the line.

Despite common sense suggesting Matai more than likely grounded the ball over the line - considering it was on the turf only six inches out - the try was disallowed.

The try would have put Manly on the path to victory as well as possibly a top-two berth.

As it turned out, Adam Reynolds bought the Rabbits great field position with two pin-point kicks and, within minutes, South Sydney crossed the line through Nathan Merritt.

With momentum on their side, the Bunnies posted two more tries and secured the game, 22-10.

As you may remember, Toovey was once again a little upset, going on the infamous "there's got to be an investigation into this" spray.



Don't discount yet another Toovey blow-up if things go against the Sea Eagles on Friday night.