The Bunker is largely butting out of foul play from now on and whinging still gets things done in the NRL. These were the two most glaring things we got out of St George Illawarra’s golden point win over Canberra last night.

The Jubilee Oval contest was a dour one with a gripping finish – and an intriguing aftermath.

On May 4, the NRL issued a media release after a coaches meeting that read, in part: “The meeting debated the merits of using technology to pick up on-field incidents of foul play.

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“There was support among the coaches for referees to make more decisions rather than relying on video evidence in real time.

“Their views will now go to the next meeting of the Competition Committee for consideration.”

Last night when Canberra’s Blake Austin was clocked around the nose by Dragon Joel Thompson, the referees took no action. Thompson implored Austin to get up, at which stage the Canberra five-eighth pointed to his bleeding and clearly broken nose.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart was widely expected to blow a head gasket at the lack of action. But he didn’t.

Here’s what he said: “We spoke about it at the coaches meeting. The Bunker shouldn’t come down to foul play like that. If the referees miss it … he (Thompson) will go for that, he broke his nose.

“But I think it will stop diving so I agree with it, that the bunker shouldn’t come down and adjudicate on foul play.



“I don’t know if it’s now or it’s not. Obviously it us. I haven’t got a memo on it.”

What we understand is that the coaches favoured a system under which The Bunker can still intervene in extreme circumstances but the test of “is it reportable?” before Eveleigh intervenes has been made ever harsher. Not ‘did someone lose a limb?’ – but something in that general direction.

On the surface, it’s a tweak that seems fair enough. We’re not going easy on foul play, we’re just asking referees to bear the weight of vigilance.

But the intrigue lies in how these decisions and subsequent changes of interpretation were arrived at. Firstly, has the competitions committee approved the coaches’ recommendations, and if so, why weren’t we told?

Then there are the personalities.

After he complained about diving following the Anzac Day game against the Dragons, Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson was fined $40,000.

At the time, St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor suggested there was value in complaining as penalty counts seem to favour the clubs who do so.

So, how’s this for a kicker? Literally, a kicker.



Stuart claimed after the Raiders’ last game that Penrith’s winning field goal should never have been awarded as the Panthers had erected a human ‘wall’ to stop defenders getting to the kicker.

Referees’ boss Tony Archer agreed. Stuart was vindicated.

So when Gareth Widdop lined up a field goal in extra time last night, what happens? The Dragons are penalised for forming a wall.

Imagine what McGregor would have said had the joint venture lost.

The NRL bans criticism of referees after games, but such criticism still seems to utterly set the agenda for changes to how the sport is played.

And those changes don’t happen after an end-of-season review. They can happen in a fortnight.