Round 10
St George Illawarra Dragons 20 d. Bulldogs 18

2009 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

Finch admits blunder as Idris scores the great try that never was
Sat May 16, 2009
Former Kangaroo Joe 'Chimpy' Busch scored the famous try that never was back in 1930 and last night Jamal Idris scored one of the all-time great legitimate tries that never was, which has since been admitted by referees boss Robert Finch as the wrong decision.

The Dragons and Bulldogs played out an absolute 1 v 2 classic at Kogarah Oval that had Grand Final material written all over it only for video referee Steve Clark to steal the limelight and disallow the try to Idris with 33 seconds remaining on the clock.

Fans on the hill threw bottles on the field aimed at match officials and Dragons five-eighth Jamie Soward and winger Wendell Sailor in disgust of the incident, but other than that no incidents of violence broke out, which is a credit to the supporters of both clubs and in particular great credit to the Dragons fans who did nothing to incite trouble out of their opponents.

The Dragons raced to a 14-0 lead in the first half having all the possession as they controlled the ball better and received the crucial penalties late in the tackle count. Michael Weyman crashed over midway through the first half for the opening try of the night and in doing so cemented himself a spot in the NSW side. Ben Creagh crossed for the Dragons second try following a poor read in defence by the Bulldogs.

Brett Kimmorley got the Bulldogs back into the match with a try on the stroke of half-time, but moments into the second half he was sin-binned despite not laying a hand on Matt Cooper at marker after he made a break. Cooper was slow in playing the ball after he bombed a certain try-scoring opportunity and replays confirmed Kimmorley at marker made no contact with Cooper in an extraordinary decision by referee Tony Archer.

The Bulldogs defence held firm with Kimmorley off the field and minutes after his return the Bulldogs scored with Ben Hannant crashing over to bring the margin within two points.

Justin Poore just about sealed a spot in the NSW side alongside Weyman when he all but confirmed Michael Ennis as not being a part of the NSW side when he surged through an attempted tackle by Ennis to score to put the Dragons up 20-12.

Idris was unfairly targeted for carrying too much weight on him when a picture taken by the Daily Telegraph was taken at the wrong moment and he was dropped from the first grade side. Idris nearly scored a great solo try powering through defender after defender only to lose the ball when grounding it. He was denied two tries, one a correct call and one that sunk the game to an almighty low, but he did score one when he showed his great leaping abilities to pluck a bomb from Kimmorley out of the air to score.

The Bulldogs were back within two points heading into the final seven minutes and in the last 50 seconds of the match Luke Patten produced the biggest play of the game where he created a remarkable try for Idris only to be denied by the match officials in one of the most extraordinary and incorrect calls of all-time.

Patten broke through the Dragons defence and in the process of making the break Jamie Soward changed direction to run into Greg Eastwood, who was in support. Clark ruled that Eastwood was off-side, which all players technically were from the Bulldogs under Clark's logic except for Patten, Bryson Goodwin (who offloaded the ball to Patten) and Hazem El Masri, who was also back for the kick return. A dangerous precedent was unfortunately set by Clark in that all players chasing kicks now only have to run into an opposition player running back into position to receive a penalty. Eastwood at no stage changed his direction or made contact with Soward and it's the defenders responsibility to in fact make the right reads and get into position. Eastwood was trailing in support after he was put on-side by Patten passing him during his long run.

The Bulldogs had no right to win the match last night as they at times played dreadful football and should have been down by 24-30 points at half-time. The fact the Bulldogs hung in there for 79 minutes and produced a remarkable play only to be denied by dreadful decision making shows the character and strength in the club, which is now firmly back as a powerhouse in Rugby League.

Todd Greenberg on Thursday night asserted himself as the strongest and most authoritive leader off the field and the best the game has had since Peter Moore quite ironically and in a few minutes sent out the strongest statement for the game when it should have been David Gallop doing that. Last night the Bulldogs players showed their strength and courage to battle against all the odds where they should be today celebrating one of the great victories and great tries of all-time.

Finch has already admitted that Clark got the decision horribly wrong. Finch, who played for St George in their premiership victories in 1977 and 1979 said, "From my review of the video, I am of the opinion it should have been awarded.

"I still need to sit down with the video referees in the proper environment on Monday and that remains an important part of our process, but on what I have seen I can't defend the decision.

"Steve (Clark) said after the game that he felt Soward had been denied the opportunity to defend Luke Patten and he and the rest of the team need the chance to take me through their reasoning in more detail, but I think most people in the game would have seen it as a try and I did as well.

"I can understand the frustration a lot of people may feel today but these things can't be undone and referees and video referees can only call it as they see it at the time.

"Like players and coaches, we work hard at what we do and I don't think anyone in my team works harder than Steve."

Bulldogs legend and current Canterbury League Club director Steve Mortimer has called on the NRL to immediately sack Clark from his position at video referee on Sky News last night and backed up his comments on Fox Sports News moments ago where he said Clark has to go and the NRL should look at former players that had no affiliation with the clubs involved to be video referees.

Mortimer captained the Bulldogs to successive premierships in 1984 and 1985 and came narrowly close in 1986, which Bulldogs coach of the time Warren Ryan said in Tony Adams Masters of the Game book that the referee "got swept up in the emotion of the farewell to Mick Cronin and Ray Price."

The former NSW captain enjoyed a remarkable career with the Bulldogs where he played 272 first grade games from 1976 to 1988. When asked about the direction the Bulldogs towards, Mortimer said that the Bulldogs are back and he's proud to still be associated with the Blue & White's.

Mortimer also added that the Bulldogs are led by an outstanding CEO in Todd Greenberg and is extremely impressed with coach Kevin Moore, who he says is a spitting image of his father and former Canterbury CEO Peter Moore. Mortimer said that 'Bullfrog' was the biggest influence during the Bulldogs great success in the 1980's and believes another great era is on the horizon at Canterbury.

Clark during his refereeing career was the centre of a huge storm in 1998 when the Dragons and Bulldogs ironically met in a semi-final at Kogarah Oval when the Bulldogs won 20-12 and Clark that day apparently had a bucket of spit poured all over him.

Bulldogs coach Kevin Moore was calculated in his attacks on Clark and Soward avoiding a $10,000 fine at this stage, although anything can happen in the NRL.

Moore's first comments in the press conference last night were, "Hands up anyone in this room who thought that was a try?" It's believed that all but two people in the packed room all agreed it was a try.

Moore went on to say, "Greg Eastwood didn't try to obstruct Jamie Soward - what's he supposed to do, dig a hole?

"Jamie Soward conned the referee. He made no attempt to get to Luke Patten. He made a bigger attempt to go towards the referee and complain afterwards.

"I feel my players were really hard done by tonight. They should have won that game. I'm pretty emotional.

"What if that was a Grand Final - I think it's one of the worst decisions I've ever seen. Full-stop."

Soward when hearing of Moore's comments fired back, "I tried to chase Luke Patten and Greg Eastwood had his hand on my shoulder.

"Kevin Moore can say what he likes but I'm not like that. I'm pretty disappointed if coaches view me like that.

"I don't take dives."

Soward produced a performance that would have won him an Oscar and he would have won more respect if he admitted he produced a bit of gamesmanship, which is a part of Rugby League, a part of Sport and a part of the life in general. Soward did an outstanding job conning the match officials and gaining the Dragons a valuable, if tainted two points.

Eastwood, who works at the Washmaster Car Wash & Cafe on the corner of the Hume Hwy and Caldwell Pde in Yagoona when playing and training commitments don't permit, said,

"Jamie's kidding himself. Get him to watch the video and see what he did. He ran into me because he couldn't get a hold of Patten."

The try-scorer Idris said, "I don't even know what it was about. I thought I had it but obviously not. Anything can happen. They got the win so they must be happy."

Idris is expected to sign a contract extension with the Bulldogs keeping him at Belmore until the end of 2011 and last night came of age as a footballer and person.

Bulldogs captain Andrew Ryan said, "From a players' point of view I've got no idea what obstruction is in our game at the moment.

"It's an absolute lotto at the moment."

Dragons coach Wayne Bennett said, "It was an excellent game. I'm pleased for the fans; I'm pleased for the game. The game needed a great game of footy at night, one playing two and they got it all.

"They got a team on top, another team fighting back, a sin-binning, tough calls, tough game of footy, great moments, great attack, great defence and, at the end; it was down to the video ref."

During the week the game came under siege for something that happened off the field seven years ago and many people who aren't serious fans questioned the game and the incident allowed people from various women's groups to get their faces on TV. What happened last night was much more damaging as the people who genuinely love the game are now questioning the game and the integrity of the decisions made within the game.

The Bulldogs lost two competition points for a mistake made by team officials, shouldn't they be handed two points for a blatant monumental blunder by match officials?

Fair is fair. The Bulldogs lost two points for a mistake and now should be handed two points as the Idris try happened with 33 seconds left on the clock and no way would the Dragons have had a chance for a quick kick off.

The integrity of the game and the NRL is now at question and strong leadership is now required and officials who make such mistakes should be sacked immediately and a stand be taken that this type of officiating can not be tolerated under any circumstances.

The last word on the match should go to one of the all-time great wingers, goal kickers, ambassadors and role models the game has produced. Hazem El Masri played his 300th first grade match for the Bulldogs and after the game he said, "Someone should call triple zero because we were robbed."

El Masri's 300th match was over shadowed by disgraceful match officiating and it's a terrible shame as El Masri has been one of the all-time greats for the code. In a season of sex scandals and drunken incidents, El Masri is a rarity in the game where he hasn't had a drop of alcohol in his life and has been a committed and loyal family man.

The integrity and honour of El Masri will never be in question and he has been a great asset for the game and the Bulldogs on and off the field. El Masri's legend status is assured for the years to come.


NRL Round 10 Friday Night Betting Preview
Fri May 15, 2009
Source: www.rleaguebetting.com

It's top of the table time in the NRL, and with the Dragons a typically well backed team, there's better value in taking the Bulldogs.

You can get $2.39 for the Bulldogs at Pinnacle Sports, or take them with 4.5 start at Sportsbet at odds of $1.92.

In the Half Time/Normal Time market it's worth considering a Bulldogs/Dragons double at $8.00, or a Dragons/Bulldogs double at $8.50 - both quotes also from Sportsbet

Consider Ben Roberts to be 1st Try Scorer at $21, there are a few Dragons forwards that are slow lateral movers and Roberts speed could get him over the line.

Click Here to Compare Odds on Dragons vs Bulldogs

Brisbane are deserved favourites for the QLD derby against the Gold Coast, and whilst we wouldn't back the Coast in a tipping comp, their $3.15 odds from Sportsbet are better value than the $1.40 you'd get for the Broncs.

The best value for Brisbane is probably in a Brisbane/Brisbane HT/FT double - you can get $1.91 from Centrebet. Consider also the $2.02 odds from IASBet that the Broncos will open the scoring with a try.

Sportingbet have the top odds on the favourites to be 1st Tryscorer - you can get $10 for Israel Folau, which compares favourably to the $7 available elsewhere. Centrebet have a few quotes well over the odds, paying $26 for Matt Rogers & Scott Prince, and also $34 for Josh Graham.

Click Here to Compare Odds on Broncos vs Titans

* Note all prices are subject to change.

DRAGONS v BULLDOGS
Dragons v Bulldogs Match Preview
Dragons v Bulldogs Discussion Thread
NRL Live Scores & Stats: Dragons v Bulldogs
NYC Live Scores & Stats: Dragons v Bulldogs
Match Sold Out - Junior Pass Information
Hazem El Masri 300 Tribute

BRONCOS v TITANS
Broncos v Titans Match Preview
Broncos v Titans Discussion Thread
NRL Live Scores & Stats: Broncos v Titans
NYC Live Scores & Stats: Broncos v Titans

Click Here to have a bet on the NRL, NYC, State of Origin or Super League

Thu May 14, 2009
• Preview: Dragons v Bulldogs - NRL Round 10
  
Thu May 14, 2009
• El Masri reaches 300 games - a true champion and role model
  
Thu May 14, 2009
• NRL Heritage Round Junior Passes Update
  
Tue May 12, 2009
• No changes for Bulldogs in El Masri's 300th
  

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