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Wests Tigers lose 23-22 to Bulldogs in final minute of extra time
By Wayne Cousins

Friday 17 August 2012 8:12 PM
Wests Tigers lose 23-22 to Bulldogs in final minute of extra time

Wests Tigers suffered a heart breaking 23-22 golden point loss to Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium tonight in round 24 of the Telstra Premiership.

Canterbury-Bankstown centre Josh Morris was denied a try in the 4th minute by video referee Sean Hampstead after it was ruled second-rower Frank Pritchard lost control of the ball in a tackle made by Wests Tigers five-eighth Liam Fulton.

The Bulldogs were not to be denied for a second time in the 8th minute when centre Krisnan Inu made a break down the right flank to link up with five-eighth Josh Reynolds who sent prop Aidan Tolman over for his first try of the season. Inu converted the try for a 6-0 lead.

Wests Tigers winger Marika Koroibete almost crossed for his team’s first try in the 13th minute but he fumbled a high pass from full-back Tim Moltzen.

The Bulldogs went to a 10-0 lead in the 15th minute when five-eighth Josh Reynolds toed through an inside kick by half-back Kris Keating after he received a ball from full-back Ben Barba who beat two Wests Tigers defenders after the Bulldogs let a Benji Marshall bomb to bounce 15 metres from their own tryline. Inu converted the try for a 12-0 lead after 18 minutes.

A crossfield kick by Wests Tigers captain and hooker Robbie Farah saw Koroibete catch the ball to then use his strength to push through three defenders to crash over in the left corner in the 33rd minute.
Marshall converted the try from the sideline to leave Wests Tigers trailing 12-6 after 34 minutes.

2nd Half
Koroibete almost grabbed his second try when he ran off Farah to race downfield only to be ankle tapped inside the Bulldogs quarter.

However the Fijian did get across the line for his second try in the 45th minute when he finished off some crisp passing from Marshall, Moltzen and centre Beau Ryan to score in the left corner. Marshall failed to convert the try to leave Wests Tigers trailing 12-10.

Farah was denied a try next to the posts in the 50th minute when referee Jared Maxwell ruled he was held up by Barba.

The Bulldogs extended their lead in the 55th minute when Barba finished off a 55 metre try after the ball was spread right through several hands. Inu converted the try to give the home side an 18-10 lead.

Wests Tigers got back to 18-14 in the 71st minute when Marshall planted the ball down with one hand from an inside pass by centre Blake Ayshford to score next to the posts. Marshall converted his own try to leave Wests Tigers trailing 18-16.

Unfortunately for Wests Tigers, Moltzen knocked the ball on from the restart 15 metres out from his tryline.

The Bulldogs capitalised on the mistake when winger Johnathan Wright dived over in the left cornet to score. Inu’s conversion attempt hit the upright to leave Wests Tigers trailing 22-16 after 73 minutes.

Wests Tigers then got back to 22-20 when prop Aaron Woods scored next to the posts. Referee Jared Maxwell originally called held up but after protests from nearby Wests Tigers players, went to the video referee who ruled Woods had planted the ball down before Barba got his hand underneath the ball.

Marshall converted the try to make it 22-all and to send the game into extra-time.

Extra-time
Farah had the chance to snatch victory but his field goal attempt from 15 metres out was touched and went left of the posts. The scores remained locked at the end of the first half of extra-time.

2nd Half
Both sides had further field goal attempts with Marshall and Farah’s attempts both going wide of the posts.

Inu then landed a 25 metre field goal on the last tackle with 58 seconds remaining to give the Bulldogs a 23-22 victory.

 

[Guest]

Dessie's Dogs make it a dozen as Tigers hang by a thread
August 18, 2012
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WESTS Tigers coach Tim Sheens said on the eve of last night's game that Canterbury weren't unbeatable, and in a way he was proved right - even though his team lost.

''I'm not in awe of [Canterbury's form]. They're beatable,'' Sheens had said. ''They've got plenty of cracks in their armour as well. We've identified that. But it's about getting it done. You've still got to do it. Brisbane last week exposed them a number of times.''

It took until 58 seconds from the end of golden-point extra time for the Bulldogs to win, with a Krisnan Inu field goal, but that was after the Tigers had been unsuccessful with four shots at field goal. Inu's shot was the third by the Bulldogs.

It is now 12 wins in a row for Canterbury under Des Hasler, the man with the Midas touch. The Bulldogs are flying, on top of the competition table. The eighth-placed Tigers, meanwhile, will have to continue their tightrope walk towards the finals - and hope that they don't fall off.

Before the game was even 20 minutes old, the easy call to make was that Canterbury weren't going to be opposed in running away with the game. They led 12-0, and they had done it in typical Bulldogs fashion - by staying alert, supporting each other to the hilt and being prepared to back themselves from seemingly impossible positions.

The Tigers got slack on marker defence and Canterbury made them pay. Reynolds took off from dummy half and linked with Krisnan Inu, who gave the ball back to Reynolds. Prop Aiden Tolman was the final piece of that puzzle, scoring his first try of the season in what was his 22nd game.

Then the Tigers failed to contest one of their own bombs and the Bulldogs made them pay again. And, of course, it was Barba who started the move, taking the ball on the bounce and actually running backwards to get past a couple of Tigers to start with, before straightening from 95 metres out and eventually finding Kris Keating, who ran and then kicked for Reynolds to score.

Normally, it's the defensive team that is making a mistake by not contesting a bomb, but Canterbury - because of the Barba factor - have become immune to that rule of thumb. That is why the Tigers were taking such a risk by not getting someone to the ball in the air.

But the Tigers got back into the game with a try seven minutes before half-time and another three minutes after the break. Rookie winger Marika Koroibete scored them both, but it was Robbie Farah who was most responsible for making things happen. The NSW hooker kicked across field for the first try and made a run out of dummy half that helped create the necessary field position for the second.

The Tigers had made it game on again, trailing 12-10, but you just can't keep Barba and Reynolds out of the game. It was no surprise they combined for the try that gave the Bulldogs a bit of breathing space again. Barba was the scorer, and Krisnan Inu's conversion made it 18-10.

But there were still 24 minutes to go, and Barba wasn't the only superstar on the field. Benji Marshall scored for the Tigers, and converted it, cutting the deficit back to two points with still nine minutes to go.

Now was the time when the Tigers could most do without a mistake, but instead they came up with a clanger. Tim Moltzen knocked on straight from the kick-off, and the Bulldogs scored off the next set. But Inu couldn't convert Jonathan Wright's try, and the door was still open for the Tigers. Aaron Woods scored next to the posts and Marshall converted to make it 22-22 and force extra time.

The Tigers were nearly there, but in the end they didn't make it.

 

[Guest]

Sheens holds fire but Hasler has no sympathy
August 18, 2012
Michael Chammas
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TIGERS coach Tim Sheens felt ''hard done by'' last night after his side found themselves on the wrong end of a number of dubious refereeing in their one-point loss to the Bulldogs.

Not that Des Hasler had any sympathy for him, complaining about the 7-2 penalty count against his side.

While Sheens was proud of his side's effort against the competition frontrunners, he conceded he wasn't impressed with the match officials, particularly video referee Sean Hampstead's decision to award Jonathan Wright a try despite strong protests for an obstruction by Josh Morris on Blake Ayshford.

''There's obviously going to be some discussion about it but I'd rather talk to [Bill] Harrigan and [Stuart] Raper about it,'' he said.

''The same thing happened in State of Origin. There are some grey areas there that need to be addressed, I suppose.

''[Robbie] sat down in one at the other end because he [would've ran around his own player]. You can't run around [a player] and take advantage of it. I know it was an unusual one, but [Pritchard] ran around the lead runner, and took advantage of it. We'll wait and see what the referees' coordinators come up with.''

Hasler disagreed, arguing his side were playing to the rules.

''Read the rules, my friend,'' he said when asked about the try. ''All the key indicators were met. Do you understand what I mean? All the indicators were met, you should know what they are. It's a try.''

Farah took aim at on-field official Ben Cummins following the decision, saying: ''Since rugby league was created, you can't run around your own player - it's a shepherd.''

The Tigers captain, who was battered and bruised following the gruelling 89-minute encounter, refrained from his post-match media conference commitments in fear of unloading on the referees.

He was also filthy about Hampstead's decision not to award him a try in the 50th minute, ruling he'd been held up in the Ben Barba tackle, despite Farah saying he was ''1000 per cent'' certain he'd grounded the ball which would've seen the Tigers take a 16-12 lead.

While obviously frustrated by what could have been, Sheens, who again reinforced his stance against golden point extra time, opted to take the positives out of the one-point loss that saw the Bulldogs stretch their winning streak to 12 matches.

''The effort was there - we asked for the effort and we worked hard this week in a short week to get the effort … and it was there'' he said.

''It was a tough game and we probably blew a couple of chances in the first half, but the effort was there. We had our chance to win it a couple of times but we didn't hit the field goal well. I'm not going to sit here and whinge about it because I know it's not going to get me anywhere. I'm not going to cost the club any money, and it's not going to change things either. But people would agree we were pretty hard done by, I think.''

While the loss has already come at a huge price for the eighth-placed Tigers, it may get even worse today after the results of the scans to their injured players are released.

Beau Ryan and Tim Moltzen are among the biggest concerns.

''We've got a couple of issues, but I'll wait for the doctors report tomorrow,'' Sheens said.

"But we haven't come out of it unscathed. At this stage, there's ice on every player in there.''

 

[Guest]

Bulldogs pip Tigers in golden point
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A Krisnan Inu field goal with less than a minute remaining in extra-time handed Canterbury a controversial 23-22 victory over Wests Tigers at the Olympic stadium on Friday night.

Inu calmly slotted the point from around 30 metres out as the Bulldogs tightened their grip on the minor premiership with their 12th consecutive win.

But the match, played in front of 29,194 fans, was marred by a video refereeing decision by Sean Hampstead, who awarded a 74th-minute try to Bulldogs winger Jonathan Wright.

The lanky flyer dived over in the left corner after Frank Pritchard ran behind Josh Morris who appeared to have impeded Tigers centre Blake Ayshford.

Tigers captain Robbie Farah exploded after the decision was made.

"Since the day rugby league was created you cannot run behind a player … it's a shepherd," Farah told the referees.

The Tigers did a great job to stay in the contest with prop Aaron Woods' converted try in the 78th minute locking the scores at 22-22.

Canterbury went into the half-time break with a 12-6 lead after two brilliant long-range tries to Aiden Tolman and Josh Reynolds.

The Tigers pegged a try back just before the break through winger Marika Koroibete, before a sensational opening to the second half resulted in the Fijian flyer scoring his second try on 45 minutes.

Soon after, Reynolds put Inu through a hole down the right edge before the centre linked with Ben Barba who scored on 55 minutes with Inu converting to make it 18-10.

The Tigers had raid after raid repelled by the Bulldogs before Blake Ayshford produced a nice inside ball to send Marshall over for a converted try to make it 18-16 but they lost momentum when Tim Moltzen dropped the re-start.

 

[Guest]

The biggest problem is no one can agree what the rules are anymore

Paul Crawley
The Daily Telegraph
August 18, 2012 12:13AM
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HOW do we move forward when the rules are going backwards?

People will come out this week and defend the match officials after another night marred by controversy. Some will say Jonathan Wright scored a fair try, others will say it was a terrible decision.

The problem is no one can agree what the rules are anymore. Des Hasler says one thing. Tim Sheens says another.

Why is it two of the sharpest minds in our game can't agree what is right and what is wrong. And it's not just the coaches, it's the players, the commentators, the fans.

How is it that lifelong supporters no longer understand the rules? And who owns this problem? Is it John Grant or is it Bill Harrigan?

Last night, a vital call costs the Wests Tigers the chance to end Canterbury's winning streak that now stretches to 12 games.

But the real fear is another controversial call on another night could end up costing a team a lot more. Last night's heartbreaking 23-22 loss to the Bulldogs might end up costing the Tigers a spot in the top eight if things go against them over the remainder of this weekend.

But did they deserve to lose?

This is the question we will now spend a week debating, because no one knows the rules. With the Dogs ahead 18-16 with just six minutes of regular time left, Wright scored in the corner to make it 22-16.

But Wright only scored after big Frank Pritchard had run across field and appeared benefit from another Bulldogs' player obstructing the Tigers' Blake Ayshford.

Tigers players waved their arms in frustration at the decision while an angry Robbie Farah challenged the referee.

He had earlier been denied a try with the ruling that he was held up. He was adamant he grounded the ball. He was so furious he didn't even turn up for the press conference after the game.

But on the field, he exploded: "This is a joke, there is a different interpretation every single week - the day rugby league was created, if you run around your own player, it's a shepherd."

Where do we take this from here? You can almost hear the excuses they will be trotting out this week. Every week it is the same old story. It wasn't a mistake by the correct interpretation of the rule, they will tell us.

But again, why is it that people who have watched and played football their entire lives no longer understand the rules?

This is not the first time we have heard screams of protest this year about this obstruction rule.

A couple of weeks ago Geoff Toovey called for a summit after Manly's match in North Queensland. Last night it was the Tigers blowing up.

Who will it be next week? Or the week after that? Or on September 30 - grand final night?

Canterbury probably deserved to get away with the win last night and good luck to them - but did the Tigers and their fans deserve to go home feeling cheated?

Can someone please explain.

 

[Guest]

Robbie Farah refuses to talk to media following golden point loss to the Bulldogs

Nick Walshaw
News Limited Network
August 18, 2012 12:00AM
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EXACTLY when Robbie Farah speaks about the decisions that may have decided Wests Tigers' season is unknown.

Certainly the skipper was so furious last night after a golden-point field-goal to Canterbury winger Krisnan Inu sank his side with only 58 seconds on the clock he refused to speak with media, or even attend the post-match press conference, for fear of being fined $10,000 for abusing the referees.

Farah was convinced he grounded the ball 10 minutes into the second half when, trailing by just two points, the NSW No.9 threw himself at the white stripe with only 90kg of Ben Barba in his way.

Referee Jarrod Maxwell, however, denied it.

And if you reckon Farah appeared filthy at the time appealing to Maxwell that he had scored "1000 per cent" one can only imagine his ire when the Tigers were beaten by a bloke who also bundled them out of last year's finals series, albeit wearing a Warriors jersey.

Robbie Farah complains to referee Ben Cummins after a Jonathan Wright try. Picture: Mark Evans Source: The Daily Telegraph

Incredibly, Bulldogs skipper Mick Ennis and coach Des Hasler were also filthy with Maxwell for the same play. They were questioning why, after calling held up, the whistleblower then allowed the decision to go upstairs where it was given a "Ref's Call" ruling.

"Twice that happened," Ennis said afterwards, revealing Maxwell had also made the same call on a 74th-minute try to Wests Tigers prop Aaron Woods, which then went upstairs and received a green light to take the match into extra-time.

"Twice he called held up and, after argument from the Tigers, went to the video ref."

At which point Hasler interrupted: "Maybe, the captain's call has already come into play."

And all this for one moment in a match which had so many.

Take the two tries to boom Wests Tigers winger Marika Koroibete, the Fijian rookie who now boasts six tries from just four NRL appearances.

Or the one touchdown to Canterbury winger Jono Wright, which had Farah complaining on-field of an obstruction and Sheens furious off-field.

Sheens said he would discuss video referee Sean Hampstead's decision with NRL officials.

Frank Pritchard appears to enjoy the benefit of an obstruction play before offloading to Jono Wright for a try. Source: The Daily Telegraph

"I'd rather talk to Harrigan and Raper (referees' bosses Bill and Stuart) about it. The same thing happened in State of Origin … there's some grey areas that need to be addressed I suppose," he said. "You can't run around (a player) and take advantage of it. I know it was an unusual one but he ran around the man, the lead runner, and took advantage of it."

When Hasler was asked how he saw the same try, he replied: "Read the rulebook my friend ... it's good".

And still we've barely mentioned Barba.

While Sheens may have rightly announced the Canterbury livewire "isn't Superman" before the game, then surely his display last night where he scored one try, saved another - albeit controversially - and brought a crowd of 29,000 to its collective feet with every touch has earned him superhero status.

For while the Tigers must now beat the Roosters and Melbourne to keep their premiership hopes, Canterbury need only to keep their caped crusader free of injury to seriously threaten into September.

For the Tigers, Benji Marshall was everywhere.

Farah fluffed two field-goal attempts, felt he was robbed of a certain try beneath the sticks and generally played his guts out.

Here was a game that had been brilliant when Wright scored to put his side up by six with as many minutes remaining. That got infinitely better when Tigers prop Aaron Woods levelled the scores, with two minutes to go, at 22-22.

In a dozen extra-time games, Wests Tigers have won only four.