logo
NRL baffled by Sandon Smith's sin bin in Roosters' win over the Dragons

NRL baffled by Sandon Smith's sin bin in Roosters' win over the Dragons

News.com.au25-04-2025

The NRL world has reacted with more confusion after the latest ruling on a high tackle in the Roosters' 46-18 thrashing of St George Illawarra on Anzac Day.
The inconsistencies from the referees and the NRL's Bunker are plaguing the sport and baffling those watching on, with vastly different calls being made on similar incidents on a weekly and even daily basis.
FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE in 4K with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer.
Part of the problem stems from the NRL head office issuing a 'crackdown' on high shots that only seemed to last for a week or two.
But it's deeper than that, with incident such as Bulldogs star Matt Burton's high shot on Brisbane's Billy Walters on Thursday night leading to plenty of confusion.
Burton was placed on report and handed a one-match ban by the judiciary for his high tackle, but allowed to stay on the field.
Fast forward to Anzac Day and just over four minutes into the second half at Allianz Stadium, Dragon Lachlan Ilias took off for a run on the fifth tackle and was brought down by Sandon Smith and Egan Butcher
No one picked up any issues with the play and the Dragons were handed a penalty for a separate infringement before referee Todd Smith appeared to receive a message in his ear about a swinging arm.
'OK earlier in this set, it's Sandon's contact on Lachlan Ilias, it's direct contact and moderate force,' Smith said.
'On report, in the bin.'
It left the Fox Footy commentators stunned before they saw a replay.
'Oh wow, let's go back and see this on Ilias,' Andrew Voss said.
Greg Alexander then commented: '(Ilias) just drops his head fractionally and that's enough. The arm swinging from Sandon Smith.
'Slow motion it looks terrible, but it happens in a split second.
'I've got no problem with it (the sin bin), there was force in it, contact was unintentional but there we go.'
It was the only low point on a stunning day for 22-year-old Smith, who scored a double and nailed a series of conversions and penalty goals.
But the lack of refereeing consistency left fans baffled as they took to X to comment.
After the sin bin ruling, Matt Baseley asked: 'Then why didn't Burton get sent to the bin retrospectively last night?
'This game is so hard to be a fan of.'
Account Eels Guru wrote: 'Last night they couldn't go back on the play to send Burto off tho.
'No rules in this sport, just all made up s**t by the ref.'
Brandon Ryan offered: 'Sandon Smith binned. I get that it's contact to the head but does any genuine rugby league fan want to see that being sin binned? I know it's the current standard but it is so s**t.'
The MRC on Friday morning announced Josh Curran, Burton and Sitili Tupouniua are facing suspensions after several ugly moments in the team's 42-18 loss to the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night.
Canterbury had a night to forget with three players sent to the sin bin — but they were lucky Tupouniua wasn't sent from the field for a second time.
Tupouniua has been hit hardest, receiving a three-match ban for his first half shoulder charge high tackle on Broncos defender Brendan Piakura.
He has been hit with an additional two match ban for a second foul act where he raised his knees while running at Piakura in the second half.
It is Tupouniua's dangerous knee lift that got most people talking on Thursday night.
Replays showed the Bulldogs' second-rower collected Piakura in the head with his knee and then followed up with another kicking motion that also collected Piakura again as he slumped in the tackle attempt.
Referee Gerard Sutton spotted Tupouniua's act and immediately awarded the Broncos a penalty and put Tupouniua on report. After reviewing the incident the video match official in the Bunker informed Sutton that the incident warranted no further action.
The NRL's much maligned video referee system is under fire again with the MRC's punishments showing just how wrong the call was that allowed Tupouniua to remain on the field.
Leading rugby league journalist Phil Rothfield posted on X: 'How the f*** is Tupouniua not in the sin bin. Kneed a bloke in the head.'
He went on to write: 'This actually could have been a send off. Sin bin at very least. The NRL has completely lost the plot with the bunker.'
Roosters legend Brad Fittler said on Nine: 'You can't have that.'
Bulldogs cult hero Michael Ennis also said Tupouniua was 'lucky to stay on the field'.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

'I won't flinch' - Sharks coach seeks derby turnaround
'I won't flinch' - Sharks coach seeks derby turnaround

West Australian

timean hour ago

  • West Australian

'I won't flinch' - Sharks coach seeks derby turnaround

Preparing for a fierce local derby off the back of two heavy losses isn't ideal for any NRL coach. But Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon is confident his fifth-placed team can return to the consistent footy they showed earlier in the season when they play St George Illawarra on Thursday. Defensive lapses have cruelled the Sharks in heavy losses to the Roosters and Warriors in the last two rounds and the coach wants to see improvement when the Dragons come to Shark Park. Now in his fourth year as Cronulla coach, Fitzgibbon believes similar experience in dealing with form slumps has helped set him up to lead the Sharks out of their hole. "I won't flinch, I believe in what I believe in," Fitzgibbon said on Wednesday. "The game leaves clues and you are constantly learning, constantly trying to stay consistent in what you believe in so the team can stay consistent. "Over the course of the last three seasons there's always been a period where we've had this and managed to take the outcome out of it." The back line in particular has been a merry-go-round for Fitzgibbon this season and now centre KL Iro (pec) is set for another lengthy sideline stint just as winger Ronaldo Mulitalo returns from suspension. Fitzgibbon has not once been able to call upon his five first-choice backs in 2025 but says utility Mawene Hiroti is the man to fill the gap once again. "Mawene, when he played he's had a number of weeks with (Mulitalo) when KL was out earlier in the year so they've got a decent combination there," Fitzgibbon said. "Having some familiarity when you lose a player to be able to bring in someone that's got a good relationship with that guy keeps your cohesion together." The Sharks are one of the few NRL clubs not to lose any players to State of Origin duty but it hasn't stopped their worst two performances coming in the Origin period. Fitzgibbon says capitalising on the Origin period isn't a focus for his team, he just wants them to return to the form that beat top four teams Canberra and Melbourne earlier in the year. "Prior to the last two weeks, we've been in every game we've played," Fitzgibbon said. "There's not been a single performance prior to that where we weren't competitive and playing the way I wanted to play. "Consistency is the thing, not the period, we want to be a consistent team and the last two weeks haven't been."

'I won't flinch' - Sharks coach seeks derby turnaround
'I won't flinch' - Sharks coach seeks derby turnaround

Perth Now

timean hour ago

  • Perth Now

'I won't flinch' - Sharks coach seeks derby turnaround

Preparing for a fierce local derby off the back of two heavy losses isn't ideal for any NRL coach. But Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon is confident his fifth-placed team can return to the consistent footy they showed earlier in the season when they play St George Illawarra on Thursday. Defensive lapses have cruelled the Sharks in heavy losses to the Roosters and Warriors in the last two rounds and the coach wants to see improvement when the Dragons come to Shark Park. Now in his fourth year as Cronulla coach, Fitzgibbon believes similar experience in dealing with form slumps has helped set him up to lead the Sharks out of their hole. "I won't flinch, I believe in what I believe in," Fitzgibbon said on Wednesday. "The game leaves clues and you are constantly learning, constantly trying to stay consistent in what you believe in so the team can stay consistent. "Over the course of the last three seasons there's always been a period where we've had this and managed to take the outcome out of it." The back line in particular has been a merry-go-round for Fitzgibbon this season and now centre KL Iro (pec) is set for another lengthy sideline stint just as winger Ronaldo Mulitalo returns from suspension. Fitzgibbon has not once been able to call upon his five first-choice backs in 2025 but says utility Mawene Hiroti is the man to fill the gap once again. "Mawene, when he played he's had a number of weeks with (Mulitalo) when KL was out earlier in the year so they've got a decent combination there," Fitzgibbon said. "Having some familiarity when you lose a player to be able to bring in someone that's got a good relationship with that guy keeps your cohesion together." The Sharks are one of the few NRL clubs not to lose any players to State of Origin duty but it hasn't stopped their worst two performances coming in the Origin period. Fitzgibbon says capitalising on the Origin period isn't a focus for his team, he just wants them to return to the form that beat top four teams Canberra and Melbourne earlier in the year. "Prior to the last two weeks, we've been in every game we've played," Fitzgibbon said. "There's not been a single performance prior to that where we weren't competitive and playing the way I wanted to play. "Consistency is the thing, not the period, we want to be a consistent team and the last two weeks haven't been."

Queensland debutant Kurt Mann addresses ‘nose full of tumeric' story
Queensland debutant Kurt Mann addresses ‘nose full of tumeric' story

7NEWS

timean hour ago

  • 7NEWS

Queensland debutant Kurt Mann addresses ‘nose full of tumeric' story

Queensland debutant Kurt Mann is one of the NRL's toughest players and it all goes back to the day he played a game and ran a cross-country with turmeric powder stuffed up his nose. Mann, 32, will play No.14 for the Maroons in Perth as they attempt to square the State of Origin series. The Canterbury utility grew up tough in Winton and attended St Brendan's College in Yeppoon, where he was coached by Terry Hansen, one of the greatest ever schoolboy mentors. Hansen never went to any game without a can of turmeric powder, a noted cure-all, in his back pocket. Mann was in Grade 11 and playing for the A side when his nose was smashed all over his face and he had blood squirting everywhere. Hansen grabbed Mann, stuffed the powder up his schnoz and the youngster went back out and played a blinder. Hansen knew he had found a player and always rated Mann one of the hardest-nosed players to lace up a boot. 'The turmeric thing is a true story. 'Hanso' put the turmeric up my nose because I broke it,' Mann said with a grin. 'We had the school cross-country the next day and he made me run in it with a broken nose too. I couldn't breathe out of it because I had a turmeric pack up my nose. 'He has done a couple of strange things to me, Hanso. 'I got a cork another time and he got a cup and lit a bit of paper. He put the paper in the cup while it was on fire and stuck it on my leg and sucked my leg into the cup like a vacuum. He reckoned that old wives' tale is how you fixed corks. 'Hanso was a great coach and a great mentor to me at St Brendan's. He taught me a lot about footy and toughness as well.' Mann will become Queensland's second oldest Origin debutant behind the great Arthur Beetson in 1980. 'At the start of the year, I probably would have thought all this was kind of past me being the age I am, but it's a credit to the team we have at the Bulldogs,' he said. 'I probably wouldn't have been a look-in if it wasn't for the way we've started the year there, so really excited, especially being a boy from Winton. 'It's a lifelong dream to represent my state.' Mann is the ultimate utility. 'I've actually started a game in every position bar front-row,' he grinned. 'I've played a little bit of front-row as well, a couple of weeks back against the Roosters. 'I've played enough footy now that I think I can get the job done wherever.' Mann's head can look a bit rough at times, but that's because he puts it in places others don't. 'I'll put it wherever I need to put it, especially for my state and for my family and community,' he said with a grin. Winton will be abuzz for his Origin debut. 'Oh, massive, it'll be huge,' Mann said. 'When they found out I was 18th man last game … there's a big water tower in town and it's usually white, but they turned it all maroon. 'I don't know how they managed that, so I think it'll be a pretty good atmosphere in Winton.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store