The first week of the 2023 NRL finals was mercifully free of officiating controversy for the most part, aside perhaps from the failure to send Jack Wighton off for apparently biting Tyson Gamble – a decision that would have garnered more attention if Newcastle hadn’t pipped Canberra in extra-time.
With the stakes rising and every contentious call magnified, referees have inevitably found themselves in an unwelcome spotlight during the post-season – often inadvertently boosting or halting hopeful teams’ quests for a grand final berth.
Hartley thwarts Eels in dramatic replay (1978)
Flamboyant referee Greg Hartley’s catalogue of wildly controversial calls in the infamous 1978 minor semi replay between Manly and Parramatta could have filled this entire list.
‘Hollywood’ sent the Eels’ star lock Ray Price off after a scrap late in the first half (he was later cleared by the judiciary), while Sea Eagles half Steve Martin scored a critical try on an erroneous seventh tackle.
Manly also received the benefit of two more seven-tackle sets, and Parramatta was further disadvantaged by three five-tackle sets in possession.
The Eels’ appeal to have the 17-11 result annulled was turned down by the NSWRL, while a few days later Hartley contentiously disallowed two Western Suburbs tries as Manly took out the preliminary final 14-7.
The Sea Eagles surged to an incredible premiership triumph by defeating Cronulla in the grand final replay after the initial decider was drawn – with Hartley’s refereeing constantly in the spotlight.
Fenech marched for gouging (1986)
South Sydney captain Mario Fenech’s hotheaded reputation reached its zenith in the 1986 minor semi against Balmain.
Referee Kevin Roberts sensationally sent off the tempestuous hooker for allegedly gouging bitter rival Ben Elias in a scrum just after halftime – a charge Fenech vehemently denied – and the Tigers turned an 8-all scoreline into a 36-11 shellacking.
Meanwhile, Balmain firebrand Steve Roach remained on the field despite a head-butting incident midway through the second half that he was subsequently suspended for.
Forward pass calls stall Steelers’ shot at history (1992)
St George ousted Illawarra 4-0 in an extraordinary preliminary final in 1992, with the Steelers – participating in their maiden post-season campaign – contentiously denied three second-half tries.
Centre Brett Rodwell was called back twice after forward-pass calls by Greg McCallum, while veteran winger Alan McIndoe had his claims of a late score-levelling try quashed by the in-goal judge’s knock-on ruling. The Steelers were fated never to appear in a grand final as a single entity.
Bears square-up swings prelim (1994)
North Sydney’s 51-year grand final drought looked to be over when referee Greg McCallum gave Canberra enforcer John Lomax an early shower for an ugly high tackle during the first half of the 1994 preliminary final.
The long-suffering Bears led 6-2 at the time, but their one-man advantage was nullified just four minutes later as Gary Larson received his marching orders for a spear tackle on David Furner.
Teammate Tony Hearn’s involvement in the tackle contributed heavily to the dangerous position Furner ended up in, while Larson became the first player sent off for that offence all season. The Raiders capitalised on the extra space to romp home 22-9.
Bulldogs boosted by forward-pass shocker (1998)
St George raced to an early 12-0 lead in its 1998 elimination final against Canterbury, but the Bulldogs engineered a stirring comeback that began with a comically forward pass from hooker Jason Hetherington to put winger Daryl Halligan over in the corner.
Tensions at a simmering Kogarah Oval boiled over with 19 minutes to go when the Dragons, trailing by two, were denied a try to Jeff Hardy by the video ref. The Bulldogs scored a late try to advance 20-12, while referee Steve Clark required a police escort to leave the ground amid ugly post-match scenes.
Fulltime drama finishes Cowboys’ fairytale run (2004)
North Queensland carved out arguably the finest September campaign ever by a finals debutant, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in seventh and defeating the Bulldogs and Brisbane.
Rank outsiders against Sydney Roosters in the preliminary final, the Cowboys produced another heroic performance and were level at 16-all with six minutes left before the heavyweights edged in front with a field goal and penalty goal.
The Cowboys launched one last desperate raid in the dying seconds, bombing to the corner where Anthony Minichiello knocked the ball on. The underdogs should have had one last chance from a scrum 10 metres out after getting in scrum formation – but referee Paul Simpkins blew fulltime.
Incredulous Cowboys duo David Myles and Paul Rauhihi exploded at Simpkins as the Roosters celebrated their narrow, controversial escape.
Decoy drama halts Broncos’ comeback (2005)
Sixth-placed Melbourne ambushed third-placed Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium in week one of the 2005 finals, charging to an 18-4 halftime lead.
The Broncos rallied after the break and were looking ominous when video ref Chris Ward disallowed a Brent Tate try due a head-scratching obstruction call, with Darren Smith pinged for taking out Matt Orford.
The Storm held on for a 24-18 win – and Wayne Bennett wasn’t happy. “Sadly they all got conned,” the Broncos coach said post-match, before accusing Orford of taking a dive.
Hand of Foran (2012)
A highly debatable benefit-of-the-doubt ruling in favour of Manly winger Jorge Taufua broke a 12-all deadlock in the 51st minute of the 2012 semi-final showdown with North Queensland, but that decision paled in comparison to one of the all-time great video ref howlers 10 minutes later.
Michael Oldfield claimed a try after a mad scramble for a Daly Cherry-Evans bomb in front of the Cowboys’ posts – but replays clearly showed Kieran Foran knocking the ball forward in the lead-up.
Steve Clark and Paul Simpkins somehow found cause to push the green button, though, and the Sea Eagles bundled the Cowboys out of the playoffs 22-12.
Sharks awarded seventh-tackle try (2013)
Still brooding from their exit 12 months earlier, the Cowboys were brought undone by substandard officiating again in their sudden-death qualifying final against the Sharks in 2013.
The Cowboys led 6-0 early, but the Sharks levelled almost immediately courtesy of a Beau Ryan try that came on the seventh tackle after a miscount from whistleblower Matt Cecchin.
The northerners ultimately went down 20-18 in one of the most dramatic post-season clashes of the modern era. NRL boss Dave Smith offered his apologies to the Cowboys straight after the match and all six match officials were axed.
Hairline decision completes Cowboys’ trilogy of heartbreak (2014)
Johnathan Thurston scampered away to score in the dying stages of the 2014 sudden-death semi to seemingly complete what would have been statistically the biggest – and arguably the greatest – comeback in the history of the premiership after North Queensland had trailed Sydney Roosters 30-0.
But the referees deferred it to the video officials as a no-try due to a touch in the lead-up from Cowboys half Robert Lui. A desperately tight call, the men in the box backed up the on-field decision of a knock-on and the Roosters’ 31-30 victory was confirmed.
Sin-bin Sunday (2022)
Bitter rivals South Sydney and Sydney Roosters produced quite possibly the most wild and explosive finals match of the NRL record – and earned a record for ill-discipline in the process.
An unprecedented seven players were sin-binned, beginning with the contentious call to sit down Roosters firebrand Victor Radley for a punch.
High tackles, head slams and scuffles were subsequently deemed sin-bin sufficient by referee Ashley Klein, with Radley and Rabbitohs winger Taane Milne both spending two stints in the naughty chair.
Souths prevailed 30-14 (despite finishing on the wrong side of the sin-bin count 4-3) in one of the most extraordinary September showdowns of all time. The previous record for most sin-binnings in a match was five in a regular-season encounter between Norths and Manly in 1986.