A fresh twist has emerged following the drama sparked by the controversial finish in the Wests Tigers last gasp loss to the Cowboys.
As the Wests Tigers await a response from the NRL, it’s understood the struggling club was the victim of another oversight at the hands of the officials from the match, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
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Cowboys centre Valentine Holmes should have been penalised for an illegal kick-off in the moments leading up to the controversial obstruction that decided the game.
Adding weight to the claim, Wests Tigers skipper James Tamou tried to use their captain’s challenge to highlight the infringement but referee Chris Butler did not allow him to continue on that line of investigation.
After the Cowboys were successful with their dubious challenge, Tamou approached the referee.
“Can I challenge that?” Tamou asks.
“You can’t challenge the Bunker,” Butler responds.
“Challenge offside, I have a spare challenge,” Tamou said.
“They already cleared that, mate,” Butler then says.
The Rugby League Laws of the Game state: “A player who kicks off or drops-out shall be penalised if he advances in front of the appropriate line before kicking the ball”.
The NRL admitted the Bunker got it wrong with the contentious escort call that denied the Wests Tigers a huge upset win.
NRL head of football Graham Annesley has stood firm in the belief the Cowboys were within their rights to issue a captain’s challenge on the last play of the game, but conceded the final call made by the Bunker was incorrect.
“We’re just not satisfied there is enough in that incident to warrant the decision of the bunker to award a penalty,” Annesley said.
“Yes, there was contact, yes, there was a collision. We believe the Wests Tigers players involved was heading towards the ball, he didn’t look over his shoulder to see who was coming behind him. Yes, he ran a slightly strange line to head towards the ball but he was heading towards the ball.
“These are matters of judgement for the officials, but on review this morning we just don’t believe there was enough in that to award a penalty. The captain’s challenge, at that point, should have been dismissed by the bunker as an unsuccessful challenge.”
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