Coach Andrew Webster has doubled down on his critique of the NRL’s match officers, suggesting his good nature makes the Warriors simple targets for referees to “decide on”.
Webster was incensed after Canterbury captain Stephen Crichton prevented the sin bin for making shoulder contact with the pinnacle of Warriors veteran Roger Tuivasa-Sheck throughout Friday’s sport.
The shot compelled Tuivasa-Sheck onto the sidelines and left the Warriors to reconfigure their backline, opening the door for the Bulldogs to take the lead and ultimately win 34-18.
Webster was scathing in his evaluation of the non-call after the sport, saying the bunker referees “have to know what they’re doing. I truly don’t suppose they know.
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“I’m struggling to know how a shoulder can go into Roger’s head and the bunker’s acquired ages to see it in a crucial time of the sport,” Webster mentioned.
“We’ve acquired to guard our gamers and I simply don’t see the consistency one little bit round that.”
NRL head of soccer Graham Annesley has since described the choice to not advise the on-field referee to sin-bin Crichton as a “severe error of judgement” from bunker official Liam Kennedy.
Kennedy has been dropped from the bunker for spherical 26 and also will not oversee any video games as head referee.
That can have been chilly consolation for the Warriors, who had been hoping to have a good time Shaun Johnson’s closing residence sport with victory in opposition to Canterbury. Webster was nonetheless annoyed by the refereeing on Wednesday.
“I stand by my evaluation, 100 per cent,” he mentioned.
A former protege of laconic Penrith coach Ivan Cleary, Webster has often opted in opposition to criticising match officers in two years main the Warriors.
Andrew Webster. (Photograph by Hannah Peters/Getty Photos)
He prompt his good nature might have contributed to the 14th-placed Warriors lacking out on calls throughout video games.
“I’m very cautious of not being a sufferer. There’s so many issues I’ve acquired to do higher as a coach, I’ve acquired to organize them higher,” he mentioned.
“However I really feel like we’re simple to select on. ‘They don’t blow up, ‘Webby’ doesn’t say something, he sits there all yr and says it’s okay’. I don’t need the gamers to make use of these items as excuses.
“Different coaches apply stress and I don’t wish to be that man. However that’s simply how I really feel. However why we didn’t make the play-offs is as a result of we didn’t play good footy.”
The NRL was compelled to defend itself in opposition to claims of inconsistency in its policing of excessive tackles following a spate of pictures in spherical 25.
Whereas Crichton prevented the sin bin earlier than receiving a one-game suspension, Manly’s Haumole Olakau’atu was sin-binned for a excessive sort out on Wests Tigers rookie Heath Mason after which escaped a ban from the match evaluate committee.
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Webster felt accountability would result in consistency.
“I simply suppose when a participant makes a mistake, there’s accountability for the participant. If I get issues incorrect, there’s accountability for me,” he mentioned.
“If there’s accountability, this stuff will occur much less. If there’s no accountability and nobody explains it, all it does is result in frustration.
“When there’s readability, individuals can transfer on.”
