LeagueNews.co | Cooper McEnroe
Wayne Bennett humorously remarked that the referees "weren't game to take it off him" after Alex Johnston inched closer to breaking the all-time try-scoring record, following a controversial forward pass incident during Thursday night's match. The moment drew backlash from NRL fans, who described it as "embarrassing" and "terrible."
Johnston marked his 210th career try during Souths' dominant 40-0 victory over the Dragons, bringing him just two tries shy of Ken Irvine's long-standing record of 212, set in 1973. With the Rabbitohs having a bye next week, Johnston will need to score at least two tries in the final round to match Irvine's tally or achieve a hat-trick to surpass it this year. However, the significant moment was tainted by controversy surrounding a clear forward pass.
The last pass from Tallis Duncan to Johnston was unmistakably forward, yet the referee and touch judge failed to notice it. The touch judge had moved back to observe a possible put-down in the corner, which compromised their view of the pass.
During the Fox League commentary, Warren Smith expressed disbelief that the try was permitted. Bennett commented in the post-match press conference: "I don't think the ref was game to take it off him to be honest with you. Yeah it was marginal that pass."
While Dragons coach Shane Flanagan did not attribute the loss to controversial calls, captain Damien Cook noted: "I know it didn't decide the result, but it looked pretty blatant." Cook further stated: "You've been an expert for a long time and I reckon you're right."
The forward pass pushed Souths to a 16-0 lead, and further controversy arose when the Rabbitohs evaded a player being sent to the sin-bin for a professional foul following a Dragons line-break. Commentator Michael Ennis criticized Gerard Sutton for not enforcing the sin-bin, labeling the decision as "awful."