Former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke and veteran Daily Telegraph reporter Phil ‘Buzz’ Rothfield have clashed in a heated live radio discussion over the dramatic South Sydney vs Sydney Roosters finals clash.
Big Sports Breakfast radio host Clarke is fuming over Ashley Klein’s performance in a match featuring seven sin binnings, calling for the referee to be stood down for the rest of the finals.
But Rothfield said it was the players who should be blamed over what he considered a “really bad advertisement for rugby league”.
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Rothfield clashed with both Clarke and co-host Laurie Daley in his regular Monday morning segment, with both hosts critical of the officiating in Sunday’s clash, won 30-14 by the Rabbitohs.
Phil Rothfield: “That game was a really, really bad advertisement for rugby league, that’s my view. Do you agree with me with that?
Michael Clarke: “God, I feel like it’s under 10s. Yeah there were some head highs, I agree with that Buzz but please, it’s not touch footy give me a break.
PR: “Clarkey, There were players on the football field that weren’t there to play rugby league.
MC: “Well you set a standard at the start of the game as well.
PR: They did set a standard!
MC: They sent someone off for flicking his ear, give me a break.
PR: Listen, I’ll tell you what the problem is and I’ve been banging on about it for a couple of years is that we have the world’s softest judiciary.
So players will go out there and do these head-high tackles, they’ll risk going to the sin bin, but they know they’ll be fine and they won’t get a decent suspension like what used to happen in the old days.
Even sin bins now mean bugger-all. Souths were reduced to 11 players for 10 minutes and they won that section of the game six-nil.
So until they get serious and put players out of these games for that shocking bloody head slam that (Jared) Waerea-Hargreaves did on Tom Burgess and all those high tackles … Clarkey don’t play them down , until players start getting suspended for their actions, nothing will change. The sin bin doesn’t work anymore.
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Rothfield acknowledged the early sin-binning of Roosters star Victor Radley may have been on “overreaction” as Clarke hit out at Taane Milne being matched for 10 for “touching a cheek”
PR: How many sin bins should there have been?
MC: Two? I’ll give you three max.
PR: Did you actually watch this game?
MC: Mate, it’s the NRL. It’s at the highest level. That’s the sport. It’s like you know what? Don’t bowl bouncers in cricket. Because if it hits you in the head it hurts … you have to pitch the ball up only. That’s what we’re trying to create in rugby league.
PR: You know Trent Robinson wasn’t dirty? He blamed his players …. if you guys want to watch rugby league like that, go and watch UFC — it was rubbish that game.”
MC: I watch that (UFC) as well . The referring was rubbish
PR: Give me Cronulla, Canberra and the skills we saw…
MC: Give me State of Origin any day of the week
PR: Give me some skill out of yesterday’s game. Seriously…
Things got especially heated when Rothfield took issue with Clarke saying Tom Burgess should have been sent off over his high shot that rubbed out Roosters star James Tedesco for the match.
PR: Now you’re getting serious Clarkey? It should have been a send-off? Right OK.
MC: Good refereeing. If that’s not inconsistency right in front of you I don’t know what is
PR: If you knew more about rugby league, right…
MC: Oh here we go. Here we go.
PR: You know nothing about it.
MC: You know everything because you played 100 Test matches? Continue. You watch the same TV I watch. I’ve watched it for 41 years, you’ve watched it for 80. You’ve played the exact same amount of Origin games as me
PR: Clarkey, not one decision in a send-off these days, is made by the on-field referee. Not one of them.
MC: Then you know what buzz? Take the on-field referee away then . If we’re just going to go with the bunker to rule the game, don’t have anyone out there. The on-field ref has to have control. Yes he gets advised by the bunker but it must be his decision, otherwise get him off the field! It’s not different to a DRS made in cricket
PR: Isn’t it? OK
Did you enjoy yesterday’s game? If you enjoyed it seriously, it was a shocking advertisement for rugby league and for you blokes seriously to be blaming the referee …
To blame Ashley Klein for the debacle yesterday, he would not have sent one of those guys off to the sin bin, without backing from the bunker
All I know is the feud between Souths and Easts has now got out of control and the there were that many cheap shots out there yesterday, it was not good for rugby league. It was not.
I can only remember one or two skillful moments in that game … it was all about bashing people and that’s not right.
Listen to the full interview here.
