Ezra Mam in contentious moment as coach lodges complaint over Reece Walsh incident
Coach Andrew Webster was steaming after the Warriors' loss to Brisbane on Saturday, claiming his side were dudded by a number of refereeing decisions. The Warriors fell to a 26-12 loss at Suncorp Stadium, and also lost halfback Luke Metcalf to a suspected ACL injury.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Webster complained about a number of calls that went against the Warriors. His main complaint was a penalty that went to the Broncos and allowed them to kick out to a 20-6 lead in the second half.
Jackson Ford was penalised for taking out Reece Walsh without the ball, even though the Broncos fullback was clearly off-side. Replays showed Walsh was well in front of kicker Adam Reynolds, but the penalty still went to the Broncos for Ford's foul play.
Fox League commentator Andrew Voss suggested the call would have been overturned had the Warriors challenged it, because Walsh being off-side was the first infringement. Under NRL rules, serious acts of foul play override any previous infringements, but Ford's actions wouldn't fall under that category.
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Webster was gobsmacked his team conceded the penalty, and pointed out another instance in which he felt Wayde Egan was wrongly pinged. 'I was right in front of that and he was miles off-side, like miles offside,' Webster said of Walsh. 'Wayde Egan in the first half, I ask you to go and pause it when the play-the-ball is and you tell me how he's off-side. He's three metres on-side.
"So it's like they just made that up. Like Reece Walsh was way in front, the first infraction was that. And they probably (will) give me crap that it's foul play or something. That's the first infringement. I don't know how they miss it. I'm not a touchie, I'm not a ref. I was down there and I could see it.'
It wasn't mentioned by Webster, but the Warriors also appeared to be hard done-by late in the game. The Warriors had reduced the margin to 20-12 and launched an attacking raid from inside their own half with five minutes remaining.
They appeared to burst downfield before referee Adam Gee called Leka Halasima for an obstruction that impeded Ezra Mam. The Warriors challenged the call, and the Bunker official was very quick to confirm the decision.
And while Halasima did appear to impede Mam, the Broncos five-eighth went to ground very easily. The NRL stated at the start of the season it would not reward players for taking 'dives' to win penalties or playing up contact during obstructions.
Nicho Hynes wasn't rewarded last weekend when he went to ground too easily on a Broncos try, an incident that Voss labelled "embarrassing" for the Cronulla halfback. Mam's actions appeared very similar to those of Hynes the week before, but this time he did receive the penalty.
Instead of streaming downfield and putting themselves in position to score, the Warriors were forced to do more defending on their own line. It proved too much as Gehamat Shibasaki went over for his second try to seal a 26-12 victory. A number of fans took to social media to suggest Mam had got away with one, and the Broncos were lucky to receive the penalty.
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