In the final inning, Cleary threw across the field looking for winger Daniel Tupou, who collided with Maroons center Valentine Holmes as he threw himself at the ball.
Klein penalized Holmes for a “listening” following Bunker’s advice, and was questioned by Nine commentator Andrew Johns. The replays, however, clearly show Holmes looking at Tupou before stepping back into his career line and getting in his way.
Felise Kaufusi squeezes Junior Paulo’s head between her legs while Harry Grant stretches to the NSW team. Credit: New
In the next set, Klein restarted the counting of tickets for an offside offense when Paulo charged to the line, passing directly over Kalyn Ponga.
The attempt was coming and Kaufusi knew it. One of the best fighters in the game, he put himself on the scoreboard and subtly leaned on Paulo’s head as the big blue man writhed on the ground wanting to play the ball quickly.
The problem for Paulo was that he had Jai Arrow and Grant resting on his back, and his head was somehow stuck between Kaufusi’s legs. Kaufusi then fell over Paulo for a second and third effort with his torso. Klein blew the penalty and left.
Phil Gould of Nine said in a comment that there should be no containers of sin in Origin, but what other option did Klein have in these circumstances?
Kaufusi’s actions, after three rebounds of seven in three minutes, were the very definition of a professional foul. Why have the rule if you don’t enforce it?
Oh, that’s right … Origin. Origin.
Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans exploded like a schoolboy. I mean, that was Origin!
“That’s at least three ruck penalties,” Klein said. “And an escort penalty.”
“They’re all different!” Cherry-Evans shouted. “They’re all different!”
“There were a lot of things in a very, very short amount of time,” Klein said. “It’s not acceptable.”
“As long as it’s both ways,” Cherry-Evans whistled, before being rejected.
The rugby league has recently been twisted into knots by interpretations and rule changes. You feel like the referees are as confused as the fans.
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There’s an extra layer of confusion for Origin referees, who are expected to use a strong hand with cunning and manipulative players, but they also play such a minor role that we won’t talk about it the next day.
With this premise, they simply cannot win. Don’t enforce the rules, stick. Enforce the rules, get carried away again.
Established reboots for ruck and offside infractions were introduced to speed up the game, to combat the dreaded fight, so why should Origin be any different?
As for the conspiracy that NSW coach Brad Fittler went out of his way after crying for Klein on the mother ship after the first game, that doesn’t align either.
Fittler complained to NRL referee Jared Maxwell before the first game and didn’t seem to help. Before the second game, he publicly stated that Grant Atkins was a better referee than Klein. They are not the actions of someone trying to gain the favor of whistleblowers.
The test for Klein arrives on July 13 for the decisive decision at Suncorp Stadium. Can you be an Origin Referee and enforce the rules? Good luck with that.
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