League greats Gorden Tallis and Benji Marshall accused Penrith halfback Sean O’Sullivan of milking a penalty that led to a controversial sin-binning, inspiring a 14-point turnaround for Penrith in their 20-16 win over the Dragons.
Dragons forward Jaydn Su’A was sent to the sin bin for a late tackle on O’Sullivan, in what match officials deemed a late high hit on the playmaker. O’Sullivan stayed down until the referee came back to the play and ruled it to be against the rules.
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Su’A wrapped his arms in the tackle and didn’t hit O’Sullivan in the head, but the tackle was deemed late enough to result in a penalty and a 10-minute sin-binning.
The tackle proved costly with O’Sullivan sent for an injury assessment, while Penrith put St George-Illawarra to the sword, with the premiers scoring 14 points with the score going from 6-6 to 20-6 to the Panthers, while Su’A was off the field.
O’Sullivan passed his HIA and returned to the field sparking a debate on whether the hit was legal.
Gorden Tallis and Benji Marshall accused O’Sullivan of faking an injury to receive a penalty and the sin bin.
“He was milking it absolutely,” Tallis said on Fox Sports.
“I think the referee would like to have this decision over again. It was a split second. He doesn’t hit him high. He hits him in the shoulder. He makes a play at the playmaker.
“He comes deep into the line so he is taking it right to the line and he hits him.
“You can’t get charged for the force with which you hit someone if it is not an illegal high tackle.”
“It is not high,” Marshall added.
“It is one sixth of a second late. That is not that late, like seriously.
“He stayed down and for that he has had to go off for a HIA. So the lesson is don’t stay down.
“In my opinion Jaydn Su’A should not have been sin-binned in this situation. It is poor form.”
“I reckon the referees are sitting there, all of them collectively,” Tallis added.
“They know they got the decision wrong and so they made O’Sullivan leave the field.
“I reckon they realised he milked it. He turned his head up. He kept on looking to see if he was going to get a penalty.
“They said you have got to go off for a head clash, but it wasn’t a head clash at all. They got that wrong and they would like to have that decision again.”
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