Could the NRL Bunker please explain something?
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At what point is a player adjudged to have obstructed an opponent, and thus robbed said opponent of his ability to make a defensive decision?
Twenty-nine minutes into Canberra's 34-20 win over Canterbury, Bulldogs centre Marcelo Montoya ran into his Raiders counterpart Curtis Scott in the lead up to a Raymond Faitala-Mariner try.
Scott then bumped into George Williams, who was momentarily disrupted in his cover defence duties and was unable to sufficiently influence the play.
Kieran Foran orchestrated the try, using Montoya as a decoy and allowing Faitala-Mariner a shot at the line. After momentarily wrestling with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Williams and John Bateman, the Bulldogs back rower grounded the ball.
Enter the Bunker, who decided Montoya's collision with Scott was perfectly legal.
Really?
Scott had no time to make a decision - contact with Montoya came before Faitala-Mariner even had the ball in his hands.
Montoya's impact on Scott left Faitala-Mariner just enough room to squeeze through the Raiders' defensive line, and he touched down for one of four first-half Canterbury tries.
What is Scott meant to do?
He had no time to make a defensive decision, and hence was unable to make a play at Faitala-Mariner.
Refer to section 1 (b) of the NRL's 2020 laws on obstruction, which states:
"'Block' or 'Flat' runner[s] (who do not receive the ball) must not run at (chest or outside shoulder of) defender[s] and initiate contact."
Look at the replay. Montoya was chest to chest with Scott as Faitala-Mariner caught the football. Again, what could the Canberra centre possibly do?
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"I will have to have a look at it again....there's always calls in games that are going to be 50 50s," Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said.
"You don't want it in a big game, one that's going to decide a result because I know how much it hurts."
What must be so frustrating for Stuart is that this incident was referred to the Bunker, and they ruled in favour of the attacking side.
On-field referee Chris Butler ruled a try before sending it upstairs. Such was the speed of the play, he was unable to discern a possible obstruction on Scott in the lead up.
As it turned out, the Bunker was also unable to discern a possible obstruction, and after satisfying themselves with Faitala-Mariner's grounding, they confirmed Butler's on-field decision.
In the end it didn't affect the result. Despite trailing by eight points at half-time, the Raiders responded to a surprisingly measured team talk from Stuart and notched a third-straight win.
Stuart would do well to phone NRL head of football Graham Annesley on Monday and seek clarification on the ruling because this grey area is becoming exceedingly more murky and needs to be ironed out before the finals.
Otherwise, defenders will continue to be ironed out by opposition decoy runners.
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
