The NRL has cleared the most controversial moment from Sunday’s elimination final thriller in which Parramatta rolled Newcastle 28-20.
The Eels and Knights were locked in a down-to-the-wire contest as the former held a slender two-point lead with three and a half minutes remaining on the clock and Newcastle desperately hunting late points.
Parramatta captain Clint Gutherson put a grubber kick through the defensive line and his right centre Will Penisini looked to pounce on the ball and take it to the tryline, only to lose it as he was tackled illegally by Knights player Enari Tuala.
The incident was sent up to the bunker to dissect. A penalty try was eventually awarded to Penisini as the bunker official deemed he would have definitely scored if not for Tuala dragging him down without the ball.
But it was the kick from Gutherson which had the NRL world in disbelief, as the replays seemed to show the ball hit the ground before the player’s boot, deeming what most fans would believe to be a knock on.
Scores of experts and fans took to Twitter to vent their anger and question how the bunker could clear the Gutherson kick, which gave the Eels a 28-20 lead and effectively killed any chance of a Newcastle victory.
The outcry was led by ex-Knights players Kurt Gidley and Alex McKinnon.
https://twitter.com/kurt_gidley/status/1436962962195894276?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfwhttps://twitter.com/mckinnon92/status/1436963026356215809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
But NRL’s head of football Graham Annesley on Monday fronted media and explained why the bunker actually made the correct call.
“You can see (Gutherson’s) foot is moving towards the ball so he’s definitely trying to kick it,” Annesley said.
“I don’t think there’s any suggestion the ball accidentally hit his foot. Does the ball hit the ground before it hits the boot? I mean it’s arguable.
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“But although it’s arguable whether the ball hit the ground before the boot hit the ball, it actually makes no difference.”
Annesley explained the laws of the game state a drop kick is, “a kick whereby the ball is dropped from the hands (or hand) and is kicked immediately after it rebounds from the ground”.
He said a drop kick is permitted under the laws at any point during general play in a game.
“People tend to only think of drop kicks as field goal attempts, but any player can drop kick the ball in any position on the field,” he said.
“A drop kick by definition is kicking the ball after it rebounds from the ground, and as long as he’s always attempting to kick it, as oppose to his foot accidentally coming into contact with the ball… it’s not a knock on.”
This is not the first time the rule has confused fans and experts alike.
Melbourne champion Billy Slater made headlines in 2018 when he also drop-kicked the ball and then scored a try against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.
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