'Completely correct': NRL world fooled by James Tedesco optical illusion
NRL fans and commentators were blowing up on Thursday night in the belief the Roosters had been wrongly awarded a try that nearly cost the Melbourne Storm dearly. But a camera angle that the Bunker wasn't actually privy to shows they got the call completely correct.
Tedesco looked way off-side when he streamed through in chase of a Sam Walker kick in the 64th minute. Tedesco's presence helped Mark Nawaqanitawase tap the ball back in the face of Storm fullback Nick Meaney, before Zach Dockar-Clay picked it up and scored under the posts.
The Bunker ticked off the on-field call of try, which gave the Roosters a 30-28 lead before the Storm salvaged a 34-30 victory at the death. The Bunker's decision to confirm the Dockar-Clay try caused uproar, with everyone convinced Tedesco was in front of Walker when he kicked it.
Under NRL rules, chasers must have both feet behind the ball when it's kicked, and the camera angles used by the Bunker official looked very sketchy for the Roosters captain. Because they weren't in line with the play, it looked like Tedesco was way off-side.
Channel 9 then showed an angle that the Bunker didn't have access to, and many thought that confirmed the decision was wrong. But in actual fact it showed they got it 100 per cent right.
The overhead angle, which is only used at Allianz Stadium and not shown to the Bunker because it's not available for every game, wasn't perfectly in line with the play either. In the overhead shot, the 20m line can be seen at a slight angle, and there's also a faint white line just in front of where Walker and Tedesco were.
If you follow the same trajectory as those lines from where the ball left Walker's boot, you can draw the conclusion that Tedesco did in fact have both feet behind. Tedesco's head and left hand were in front of the ball, but that's not the rule. Both of his feet were behind the point at which Walker kicked the ball, meaning the Bunker nailed the decision.
NRL greats didn't agree with decision
However not many agreed. Andrew Johns said on Channel 9: "Is Teddy on-side here? We'll have a look at this one, I think he might be off-side. He normally never gets that wrong either."
Johnathan Thurston added: "I think he is off-side the skipper - you just can't get that wrong Teddy." When the call was confirmed, Thurston simply said: "Wow."
On Fox League after the game, Roosters great Bryan Fletcher highlighted how 'karma' caught up with his former team when Daniel Tupou butchered a try but dropping the ball over the line. Fletcher said it was a slice of justice for the Storm for the Tedesco decision.
"This is what the karma gods do because James Tedesco was off-side," Fletcher said on the 'Late Show with Matty Johns'. "This game has a funny way of evening itself up."
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But Fletcher, Johns and Thurston were all fooled by the optical illusion. There have been plenty of howlers made by NRL referees and Bunker officials this year, but this wasn't one of them.
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