Josh Aloiai of Manly should have been sent to the naughty bin for a trip that was “at the higher end of that type of offence,” according to NRL head of football Graham Annesley. However, he also acknowledges that Chanel Harris-Tavita was unlucky to be marched for a small altercation on Saturday night.
After sticking out his foot to trip Penrith’s Daine Laurie while he was pursuing teammate Izack Tago, who had made a break late in the game, Aloiai accepted a two-match punishment for a grade 2 infraction.
“There’s no doubt it was a trip, and it should have resulted in a sin bin,” Annesley stated during his weekly briefing.
“Since the match officials missed it, the incident was reviewed by the Bunker. Play continued for quite a while without a stoppage, but it should have led to a sin bin.
“It happened very late in the game, so by the time play stopped, there was very little time left.
“Even though play continues, it doesn’t prevent a player from being sent to the sin bin, so the timing shouldn’t matter.
“If this had occurred earlier in the game, despite the officials missing it in real-time, the player could still have been sin binned at the next stoppage.”
Tripping has been a recurring issue this season, with several players fined but allowed to remain on the field.
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According to Annesley, the suspension ought to serve as a warning to players that breaking the rules will result in harsh consequences.
He declared, “We don’t want these kinds of incidents to happen.”
It’s very different from the ones we’ve seen previously, where the player would typically try to make a tackle while also putting out their foot.
“I wouldn’t say there’s a high need for deterrence because we don’t see these every week in the competition.”
While Annesley notes that Warriors five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita should have avoided a time in the sin bin after an argument with Chad Townsend, who was also marched for ten minutes, Aloiai was fortunate to remain on the field.
During the game, there had been a few small altercations, and the referee had grown impatient with the two after Harris-Tavita threw the ball at Townsend.
Annesley stated that Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski did not clearly explain why he decided to sin bin the players, and that the incident itself did not justify such an action.
“I don’t believe it necessarily met the threshold for a sin bin if you consider that incident alone,” he said, acknowledging that Dragons five-eighth Kyle Flanagan shouldn’t have been penalized for a double movement last week.
“There were several incidents leading up to that point where players were testing the referee’s patience. At that moment, the referee decided to take a stand.
“However, I don’t think the referee made it clear enough to the public why the player was being sin binned, and I question whether that incident was sufficient to warrant that decision.
“I think he could have waited for a more serious incident to justify using the sin bin.”