LeagueNews.co | Jason Patrick
The Bunker official who dropped the ball on sending Stephen Crichton to the sin bin is facing the repercussions this weekend as the NRL shines a light on a concerning trend leading up to the finals.
NRL head honcho Graham Annesley has pretty much confirmed that Bunker official Liam Kennedy will be benched this week after his puzzling decision to let Bulldogs captain Stephen Crichton off the hook, despite a tackle that will now see him sidelined for a game.
Annesley chalked up the missed call to a "judgment error" after Crichton's hit on Roger Tuivasa-Sheck left the Warriors star sidelined.
The fallout from this one mistake set off a chain reaction throughout the weekend, with every high contact penalty or sin binning coming under intense scrutiny.
Annesley couldn't even comment on Cameron Murray's hit on Tyson Frizell, as the Rabbitohs skipper is trying to dodge a season-ending ban with a downgrade appeal.
"We've listened to the audio, and it's clear that it was just a judgment error," Annesley explained.
"The Bunker official in question simply didn't assess the impact of the tackle properly.
They have their guidelines to follow, but they need to weigh up how serious each incident really is."