Graham Annesley had defended the number of sin bins in the opening seven rounds, putting the onus back on the players to stop breaching the rules if they want to stay on the field.
There have been 44 sin bins already this season, up from 28 at the same stage last year, with six players marched for 10 minutes in the two games on Friday night.
There must have been something in the water at Cronulla and Brookvale because three players in each game were sent from the field at different stages because of hip-drops, high tackles, ruck infringements and late hits to vulnerable playmakers.
Data released by the NRL shows that we’ve seen the most games decided by 0-6 and 7-12 points since 1908, highlighting how one brain snap by a player can cost his side two competition points.
Of the 44 sin bins this year, 29 were for foul play, with 26 of those charged by the match review committee.
The penalties have played a huge role with 35 tries scored by the team with 13 players, while the team reduced to 12 men has scored 14 tries.
“The players have to comply, and there are standards that they all understand that they need to comply with,” Annesley said.
“One of the frustrating things from our point of view in the administration of the game is that we still see players making decisions that are not necessarily in their best interests or the best interests of their team in the hope they’ll get away with something.”
It was a big weekend of talking points, with Annesley urging players to make better decisions after Newcastle’s Lachlan Fitzgibbon was lucky not to be penalised for a needless late hit on Nathan Cleary that could have resulted in a three-point field goal.
The NRL’s head of football was happy with the officiating, including the decision to not award Lindsay Collins a try even though the Roosters were adamant the ball had scraped the line against the Sharks.
He also had no issue with Campbell Graham’s try against the Dolphins, even though replays showed he may have pushed Euan Aitken off the ball.
“Although Campbell Graham is coming from the back of Aitken, it’s legitimate for a player from the kicker’s side to do everything he can to get to the ball,” Annesley said.
“You’re entitled to get through defensive players to try to get to the ball, and there will at times be contact and collisions when they’re doing that.
“In a collision like that where there’s no deliberate action to take a player out, then I think it’s perfectly legitimate for the try to be awarded.”
Annesley also defended Peter Gough for his decision to penalise Tyson Frizell for pulling Jarome Luai’s hair, saying the referee was in a no win scenario no matter what he did.
Frizell argued that he had grabbed the five-eighth’s jersey, with the Knights furious that Penrith marched down the field and scored a converted try to tie things up.
The NRLW has had issues with hair pulls in the past, while Waqa Blake was placed on report but not charged for a similar incident against the Cowboys in last year’s grand final qualifier.
“The referee has been quite heavily criticised for this decision, but I just don’t know what else the referee could have done,” Annesley said.
“There have been 15 players in five years who have been charged by the match review committee for pulling hair. I understand the argument that it’s long hair, but we can’t have a rule that says ‘if you’ve got long hair then it’s okay to pull the hair’.
“If the referee doesn’t act on it, then there are complaints about a player getting his hair pulled.”
