NRL Boss Praises Officials' Cool Heads During Origin Fracas

There have been suggestions the Blues shouldn’t have had to play with 12 men after Cam Murray was sent to the sin bin. Picture: NRL Photos

LeagueNews.co | Jess Malloy

The NRL has given a thumbs up to the way officials handled the fiery State of Origin melee last week, with football boss Graham Annesley praising their decisions on sin-bins.

The controversial incident, which saw NSW's Cameron Murray and Queensland's Jeremiah Nanai sent to the bin, resulted in nine charges from the match review officer.

Queensland skipper Daly Cherry-Evans argued that Murray, who received a two-game suspension, should have been sent off instead.

However, Annesley quickly put that idea to bed, stating that removing a player and still having a full team on the field is not how the game works.

The melee, which spilled onto the Maroons bench, was the talking point of the series, with some suggesting that NSW shouldn't have had to substitute Mitch Barnett to balance the sin-bin count.

But Annesley made it clear that tough calls must be made in rugby league, and sometimes that means playing a player down.

Overall, it seems the dust has settled on the incident, with Annesley praising the officials for their handling of the situation.

It's just another chapter in the rich history of State of Origin clashes, where emotions run high and tempers flare.

Menu
LeagueNews.co | Contact Us
All rights are owned by their respective owners
Terms & Conditions of Use