League great slams NRL as Benji Marshall spray lands Tigers coach in hot water
League great Greg Alexander has leapt to the defence of Benji Marshall after the Wests Tigers coach's criticism of officials looks set to land him in hot water with the NRL. Marshall blew up over two controversial calls against Jarome Luai during Sunday's loss to Penrith, with the penalty for a late tackle on Panthers kicker Blaize Talagi particularly baffling.
Luai was also pinged for an escort penalty during the second half of the 18-14 defeat that Marshall thought the officials also got wrong. But the NRL's head of football Graham Annesley insisted on Tuesday that both incidents were reviewed and the right calls were made.
'It's clear from the vision that Jarome Luai props on his left foot and turns his back to initiate contact with Liam Martin,' Annesley said about the escort penalty. 'Regarding the contact on kicker Blaize Talagi, the rules are very clear, and have been reinforced with clubs on multiple occasions over recent seasons.
"Players have a duty of care to avoid dangerous contact with kickers who are in the process of kicking and in a vulnerable position. This is a player safety policy which has been in place for a number of years.'
But a frustrated Alexander wasn't having a bar of that explanation and echoed the fan backlash by insisting that Luai made the tackle on Talagi as he was kicking the footy. Luai's shot was not late, high or dangerous and the former premiership winner lamented the fact that current rules tend to penalise defenders for what has long been celebrated as exemplary kick pressure.
"The tackle wasn't late, it wasn't high. He was within his rights to make that tackle," Alexander said about the penalty against Luai. "Please tell me that we haven't ruled that out of the game.
"Do we just allow a kicker to take all the time in the world to kick the ball? As long as he hasn't made contact with the legs of the kicker - which he didn't - then I think it's gotta be alright.
Veteran NRL commentator Andrew Voss agreed it did not warrant a penalty. "If he was passing the ball, then there's no dramas," he added. With the scores locked at 10-10 at the time, the decision proved costly as Nathan Cleary's ensuing penalty goal put the defending premiers up by two, before Thomas Jenkins completed his hat-trick late on to help get Penrith home.
Marshall was clearly infuriated in his post-match press conference and suggested the officials decided the outcome, in comments that look to have landed him in hot water. 'The game is so hard and demanding. And I actually feel sorry for our players because they didn't actually get to decide tonight," the Wests Tigers coach said.
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'It was a wrong call. I agree with protecting the kickers, but he didn't take his legs out. They didn't put him in a dangerous position. It was simultaneous when he kicked it and he made contact there. Like, that's not a penalty.
"And I thought it actually cost us because we're in a cycle there where they got field position, kicked the goal, got the ball back, went down, got a penalty and then scored, so anyway, I've had my rant.' And it could prove costly for Marshall and the Tigers, with CODE Sports reporting that the NRL is reviewing the comments to determine whether any form of sanction will be handed down.
That's two horrible calls by officials this week when it's come to putting pressure on the kicker. You want Luai to do that every 5th tackle play if he could #NRLTigersPanthers
— Jay Keegan (@JayMK1994) June 8, 2025
Free 2 points there because of a perfect tackle by luai, game is so far gone. #NRLTigersPanthers
— Tiger96🐅 (@tiger959505) June 8, 2025
Jarome Luai has done absolutely nothing wrong then 🤦♂️ #nrltigerspanthers
— Alex Sutton (@TosBetting) June 8, 2025
This game is unwatchable. Nothing wrong with that tackle from Luai.#NRLTigersPanthers
— Rewster (@Rewster7) June 8, 2025
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