Bunker and refs come under fire again as Broncos hold off Sharks
Sharks coach Shane Flanagan has laid the blame for his side's close loss to the Broncos squarely at the feet of referees, saying the officiating 'wasn't up to scratch' and challenging a bunker call that denied them a first-half try.
Flanagan also said he would address some issues behind closed doors with prop Andrew Fifita after questioning his effectiveness in the 12-10 defeat at the hands of Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night.
Last week, the Sharks were the fortunate recipients of two crucial calls in their win against the Raiders. The pair of howlers prompted another week of NRL navel gazing about how to improve the bunker accuracy and overall officiating.
Just a day before the match, Flanagan said he had faith in the bunker and that his side needed to be "good enough to get the win considering the decisions and take the referees out of it".
That was all out the window by the time he arrived for the press conference. He questioned a number of calls but mainly the no-try ruling against centre Ricky Leutele.
Leutele crossed in the corner and the decision was sent upstairs as a try. But the bunker ruled he had planted the ball on the foot of Jamayne Isaako and that had prevented it from being grounded.
"The no try to Ricky Leutele. The bunker has to have sufficient evidence that the ball didn't touch the ground," Flanagan said.
"I watched every replay. Brave call to say that the ball didn't touch the ground. There has to be enough evidence to overturn the on-field decision that the ball didn't touch the ground.
"I think any fair judge would find it hard to find sufficient evidence to overrule that decision.
"Last week we were on the positive end, we were on the negative end this week. It's a concern for the game. And that refereeing standard today wasn't up to scratch."
There was more. Flanagan was also less than impressed with a penalty against Matt Moylan for dangerous play after Isaako was flipped in the air fielding a kick. Moylan looked to have eyes for the ball while Broncos centre James Roberts appeared to make the most contact.
"The Moylan one. The Matt Prior one [a strip]. There was a tackle on Jordan Kahu where he lurched forward in the first half. There's just too many of them.
"We were on the receiving end last week and we were on the opposite this week. Brave, tried really hard. Effort, give them a tick for that. But they are the reasons why we didn't win."
Fifita set up the first try, left the game to reportedly be sick after suffering a bug and ended the night with 51 minutes for 18 runs and 131m, second only to Paul Gallen's 154m.
But Flanagan reacted with surprise when it was suggested to him that Fifita's effort was a brave one considering his apparent health issues during the match.
"Wow, I don't think it was one of Andrew's better games . . . at all. So, if that's your opinion of Andrew's game, that's nice. But at his standard and our standards, it wasn't one of his better ones."
When asked what some of the issues around Fifita's play were, Flanagan replied: "I'll just keep that. I'll work with Andrew on those."
The Sharks looked to have ample opportunity to win the game, with Chad Townsend missing an easy conversion before Brisbane defended three sets on their line in the final five minutes of the match.
It was a brave and telling performance from the Broncos, who lost Alex Glenn to a broken hand in the second half. Bennett praised their effort and ended the press conference by saying he and the Brisbane board had suspended all coaching negotiations until the end of the season.
Wins like that would only help his cause, with the Broncos now a chance of moving nearer the top four with matches against the Bulldogs and Cowboys in the next fortnight.
BRISBANE 12 (M Lodge C Oates tries J Kahu 2 goals) bt CRONULLA 10 (V Holmes 2 tries C Townsend goal) at Suncorp Stadium. Referees: Grant Atkins, Matt Noyen. Crowd: 22,859.