The referee at the centre of controversy which marred this year’s NRL Grand Final has insisted he made the right decision.
The Sydney Roosters scored the deciding try to make it 14-8 almost immediately after official Ben Cummins waved six more tackles to the Canberra Raiders only to then change his mind.
Replays caught him putting his hand up to signal a new set for the Raiders and shouting ‘six again’ before yelling ‘last, it’s still last’ repeatedly.
Ben Cummins, (pictured) the referee at the centre of controversy which marred this year’s NRL Grand Final, has insisted he made the right decision
The league’s head of football has already defended the reverse of call – saying Cummins shouted the correction multiple times after being alerted to his mistake by his assistant referee and a touch judge.
Canberra’s captain Josh Hodgson has now revealed he asked the veteran official straight after the incident whether he had signalled for a new set.
‘I asked him about that. He said he said “five and last”. He kept five and last in the air. That’s what he told me,’ the English forward told The Sydney Morning Herald.
‘I said to him “did you not call six again” and he said ‘no, I called “five and last”.’
But rather than ruing refereeing decisions, the Raiders captain instead focused on how his side failed to make the most of their second-half superiority.
‘With the amount of possession we had in the second half – we couldn’t capitalise. To lose it when it was so close, it’s hard to take,’ he said.
Replays show him (in yellow) putting his hand up to signal a new set for the Raiders before yelling ‘last, it’s still last’ repeatedly
Speaking to Channel 9 after the match, Mr Annesley said he had a ‘closer look’ at the moment, observed four different camera angles and determined the ball did come off the shoulder of a Raiders player.
‘The referee does call six more but immediately gets a call from the assistant referee and one of the touch judges that it was off a Raiders player. He immediately corrected that call and called last tackle, and called last tackle four more times before the play actually broke down,’ Mr Annesley said.
‘It’s very disappointing that the game has been marred in controversy after that initial six again call, but ultimately I believe the decision not to give six more tackles was correct.
Canberra’s captain Josh Hodgson has now revealed he asked the veteran official straight after the incident whether he had signalled for a new set – to which he replied ‘no, I called ‘five and last’
‘Had they not corrected that decision, I’d probably be standing here talking to you now about the fact that a try may have been scored in the next set off an incorrect decision where the six tackles shouldn’t have been awarded.’
Mr Annesley said the incident was one of the reasons the NRL uses ‘multiple officials’, in a bid to get decisions right.
‘If we’d had one referee tonight we would have got the decision wrong,’ he said.
The ‘six again’ moment was one of several controversial decisions that went against the Raiders in their first Grand Final appearance in 25 years.
In the opening stages, a charged down kick which could have led to a Canberra Raiders try hit the Sydney Roosters physio on the field at the time in the head.
The Raiders were also denied a penalty try when Josh Papalii was tackled without the ball metres from the try-line, which resulted in the sin-binning of retiring Roosters star Cooper Cronk.
Fans and former players erupted with outrage after the full-time siren over the incident in the final moments which gave the Roosters victory.
The Sydney Roosters rule the roost once again after claiming back to back NRL premierships in a controversial grand final
‘Signalling six again & then changing their mind is the biggest referring blunder in grand final history… Absolute disgrace,’ former Cronulla Sharks and Penrith Panthers star Martin Lang tweeted.
Actor Russell Crowe added: Horses**t result in the Grand Final. Yet another rugby League embarrassment. Raiders ripped off.’
Mr Annesley did accept the decision ‘created confusion among the Canberra players’.
A shattered Raiders coach Ricky Stuart refused to comment on the controversy in his post-match press conference.
‘It’s not the time to talk about it,’ Stuart said.
‘You know, the Roosters achieved something very special tonight in winning two grand finals in a row. I don’t want to take the spotlight off that.
Stuart was also tight-lipped over the incident involving the Roosters physio in the opening stages.
‘It ricocheted off their trainer and we lose the advantage. You write what you want,’ Stuart told reporters.
The Roosters led the Raiders 8-6 at half-time in front of a sell-out crowd of more than 80,000 fans at ANZ Stadium in Sydney.
The Raiders refused to give up without a fight and had the upper hand for much of the second half as the Roosters fought hard to survive to stay in the game
The Raiders hit back with a penalty goal equaliser to tie the game up at 8-all in the 50th minute after Roosters half-back Cooper Cronk was controversially sin-binned by referee Ben Cummins for a professional foul in his 375th and final NRL game.
But the Raiders were unable to capitalise on the one-man advantage with scores still tied at 8-all when Cronk returned to the field with 20 minutes to play.
It was a heartbreaking loss for the brave Canberra Raiders after a number of refereeing blunders went against them
The game erupted into controversy in the 50th minute when referee Ben Cummins sin-binned retiring NRL star Cooper Cronk
The Raiders hit back with a penalty goal equaliser to tie the game up at 8-all in the 50th minute after Roosters half-back Cooper Cronk was controversially sin-binned by referee Ben Cummins for a professional foul in his 375th and final NRL game.
But the Raiders were unable to capitalise on the one-man advantage with scores still tied at 8-all when Cronk returned to the field with 20 minutes to play.
The Roosters had a golden opportunity to regain the lead with 12 minutes to go but missed a penalty goal right in front.
All was forgiven by Roosters fans five minutes later when fullback James Tedesco raced away for their second try.
The try was converted for 14-8 Roosters lead with six minutes remaining.
The Canberra Raiders celebrate after they hit back in the 30th minute with a try to five-eighth Jack Wighton in the grand final
The Roosters drew first blood in the opening minutes after hooker Sam Verrills found his way to the try-line with a scurrying dash from dummy-half for a 6-0 lead after seven minutes.
A penalty conversion from Latrell Mitchell increased the Roosters’ lead to 8-0 halfway through the first half.
The Green Machine brought Raiders fans to their feet when they hit back in the 30th minute with a try to five-eighth Jack Wighton, which was then converted to trail 8-6.
The Roosters had a chance to increase their lead to 10-6 on the stroke of half-time but the long range penalty conversion attempt from Mitchell was waved away.
The Roosters played most of the match with 16 men after Mitchell Aubusson was carried from the field after injuring his knee while making a try-saving tackle on the Raiders’ try-line.
Cooper Cronk reacts to his sin-binning which left the Roosters one man down during a crucial period of the grand final