NRL coach Shane Flanagan lashes out at officials over 'outrageous' call that may have cost Dragons finals
Flanagan was as angry as any coach in a post-match press conference this season on Saturday night, taking particular aim at two calls from the final minutes of the 20-18 defeat in Homebush.
'I was really proud of the effort they put in and the way they played, but the game was taken away from us from I believe wrong decisions,' the Dragons coach said.
Flanagan was incensed that the Bulldogs used their captain's challenge to earn a penalty with five minutes left after the bunker ruled Luciano Leilua had interfered in the ruck as Jacob Kiraz played the ball.
The coach accused Kiraz of ball-planting, an illegal move when a player puts the ball on the ground and attempts to play it without regaining their footing.
'The Luciano Leilua decision was outrageous,' Flanagan said.
'He's got to get to his feet before he plants the ball.
'You can't be falling sideways. You can't ball-plant ... but tonight we ball-planted and we lost the game because of it.'
As the Bulldogs attacked the line on the back of their penalty, Flanagan thought Viliame Kikau batted the ball into Tyrell Sloan as he attempted a quick pass on the left edge.
But the possible knock-on was missed and the Bulldogs continued to attack the line, with Lachlan Galvin throwing the match-winning pass for Jethro Rinakama to score moments later.
'Kikau passes the ball, hit Sloan and goes forward, so in the collision that's a knock-on. Ever since 100 years, that's a knock-on and that was at the 78-minute mark,' he said.
The Saints are set to finish the weekend three wins behind eighth spot, their NRL finals hopes now relying on mathematical possibilities.
To finish the season with a winning record, they must claim victory in all of their last seven games - and they face Penrith, Canberra, Cronulla and the Warriors in that stretch.
'They're trying so hard,' Flanagan said.
'They're a good side the Bulldogs, they compete hard, but it was some decisions tonight that cost us two competition points and could cost us an opportunity to play semi-finals.'
Flanagan confirmed he would seek clarity from the NRL about the decisions.
'I'll go through those channels, but in the end we don't get these two competition points,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
20 minutes ago
- The Sun
Irish rugby legend Ronan O'Gara gets POOED ON live on Sky Sports after Lions' epic comeback win over Australia
RONAN O'GARA was given an unwelcome gift by a bird while LIVE on air. Irish rugby legend O'Gara was working as a pundit for Sky Sports during the British and Irish Lions clash with Australia earlier today. 5 5 5 5 5 However, a winged viewer flying by decided that the 48-year-old's coat needed some extra decoration. And while he stood alongside colleagues discussing Hugo Keenan's last-gasp winning try, Will Greenwood spotted that O'Gara had been POOED on. He said: "Oh a bird has just pooed on Ronan." The group then shared a laugh at O'Gara's expense as he frantically tried to find where Greenwood had pointed it out. A voice can then be heard saying: "That's lucky for some but not for Ronan." Fans behind the panel also poked fun at O'Gara for the unfortunate incident. Greenwood then adds: "La Rochelle are going to win the European Cup." O'Gara eventually laughs off the incident, though we expect his coat to receive some TLC to remove the poo. And while the unusual present might not be seen as too lucky by O'Gara, the Lions certainly did find some luck in their match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. They moved 2-0 over Australia in the series, but only after coming back from 26-17 down in the 53rd minute. Keenan's late winner has now set the scene for a potential clean sweep when the sides clash again at the weekend.
Rhyl Journal
22 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Andy Farrell and Joe Schmidt disagree over ref call as Lions clinch series win
The Lions clinched a 29-26 victory in the second Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground but there was high drama in the closing seconds as the match officials examined a potentially-dangerous clearout by Jac Morgan earlier in the move. Captains Harry Wilson and Maro Itoje attempted to influence referee Andrea Piardi during the decision-making process before it was eventually judged that Morgan's contact with Carlo Tizzano was legal. Full time scenes in Melbourne 🥹🦁#Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 26, 2025 If Keenan's try had been chalked off, the series would have gone to a decider in Sydney next Saturday. Instead, the Lions have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead. 'It was a brilliant clearout. I couldn't understand what they were going back for,' Lions head coach Farrell said. 'They seem to go back for absolutely everything these days, don't they? I'm so pleased that the referee held his nerve. The right decision in my opinion.' Furious Australia boss Schmidt felt the outcome reached by Piardi was at odds with the game's push to improve player safety and accused the Italian of failing to implement the laws. 'Just watch the footage,' said Schmidt, who insisted the incident taking place in the final minute influenced the verdict. 'You just have to read law 9.20 and you just have to listen to the description from the referee and then watch the footage when two players are described as arriving at the same time. 'You cannot hit someone above the levels of the shoulders and there's no bind with the left arm, his hand is on the ground. That's what we have seen. 'We have watched a number of replays from different angles so it is what it is. We just have to accept it. 'Players make errors. Match officials make errors. Our perspective is we felt it was a decision that doesn't really live up to the big player safety push that they are talking about. Schmidt also placed a spotlight on Dan Sheehan's 16th-minute try when he took a quick tap penalty and crossed the whitewash by launching himself into the air. The try was allowed to stand because he dived while in the act of scoring, but Schmidt insisted the fact he was airborne made him virtually impossible to stop. 'World Rugby are trying to make sure that we are tackling lower and so we had two tacklers going in to tackle low – and he dived and scored,' the Kiwi said. 'He is pretty much head first so what do we do to stop him scoring apart from stopping his head? There's not much else you can do.' History made 🦁#Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 26, 2025 Farrell declared that winning the series is 'what dreams are made of', while Itoje targeted a whitewash of the Wallabies. 'When we first met, big Faz made the call. He wanted us to come here and win everything,' Itoje said. 'So don't get me wrong, we're absolutely delighted with the result, but we want to go again next weekend.'
Leader Live
22 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Andy Farrell and Joe Schmidt disagree over ref call as Lions clinch series win
The Lions clinched a 29-26 victory in the second Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground but there was high drama in the closing seconds as the match officials examined a potentially-dangerous clearout by Jac Morgan earlier in the move. Captains Harry Wilson and Maro Itoje attempted to influence referee Andrea Piardi during the decision-making process before it was eventually judged that Morgan's contact with Carlo Tizzano was legal. Full time scenes in Melbourne 🥹🦁#Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 26, 2025 If Keenan's try had been chalked off, the series would have gone to a decider in Sydney next Saturday. Instead, the Lions have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead. 'It was a brilliant clearout. I couldn't understand what they were going back for,' Lions head coach Farrell said. 'They seem to go back for absolutely everything these days, don't they? I'm so pleased that the referee held his nerve. The right decision in my opinion.' Furious Australia boss Schmidt felt the outcome reached by Piardi was at odds with the game's push to improve player safety and accused the Italian of failing to implement the laws. 'Just watch the footage,' said Schmidt, who insisted the incident taking place in the final minute influenced the verdict. 'You just have to read law 9.20 and you just have to listen to the description from the referee and then watch the footage when two players are described as arriving at the same time. 'You cannot hit someone above the levels of the shoulders and there's no bind with the left arm, his hand is on the ground. That's what we have seen. 'We have watched a number of replays from different angles so it is what it is. We just have to accept it. 'Players make errors. Match officials make errors. Our perspective is we felt it was a decision that doesn't really live up to the big player safety push that they are talking about. Schmidt also placed a spotlight on Dan Sheehan's 16th-minute try when he took a quick tap penalty and crossed the whitewash by launching himself into the air. The try was allowed to stand because he dived while in the act of scoring, but Schmidt insisted the fact he was airborne made him virtually impossible to stop. 'World Rugby are trying to make sure that we are tackling lower and so we had two tacklers going in to tackle low – and he dived and scored,' the Kiwi said. 'He is pretty much head first so what do we do to stop him scoring apart from stopping his head? There's not much else you can do.' History made 🦁#Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 26, 2025 Farrell declared that winning the series is 'what dreams are made of', while Itoje targeted a whitewash of the Wallabies. 'When we first met, big Faz made the call. He wanted us to come here and win everything,' Itoje said. 'So don't get me wrong, we're absolutely delighted with the result, but we want to go again next weekend.'
