‘We need to do better’: NRL referee boss apologises for officiating howler
Related Story: 'We get treated differently here': Ricky Stuart says Raiders singled out by NRL officials
The NRL's senior referees manager Bernard Sutton says the league's officiating needs to improve following the latest high-profile refereeing blunder during the Canberra Raiders' 28-24 loss to the Cronulla Sharks.
Canberra was trailing by 16 points early in the second period and managed to cut the Sharks' lead to just four points before the Raiders comeback was interrupted by a mix-up between the touch judge and the referee.
Touch judge Ricky McFarlane raised his flag during a Sharks set, prompting referee Gerard Sutton to put his whistle to his lips without blowing it, distracting the Raiders players and allowing Sione Katoa to score an uninhibited try.
The try was referred to the video referee to look at a knock-on in the build-up, but the bunker failed to notice McFarlane raising his flag and the try stood.
External Link: The incident sparking so much controversy
Referee boss Bernard Sutton told ABC Grandstand it was an unfortunate miscommunication between the match officials.
"Where the process really broke down was when the touch judge should have advised the referee that he raised his flag and play should have stopped there and then" said Sutton.
"I certainly understand why the Canberra players stopped, it's a very disappointing situation.
"I'm here today to say we did get that wrong and we do need to be better around our process and we'll work hard to make sure we are."
External Link: Bernard Sutton speaks to Grandstand
He said it is important that match officials are held accountable for their mistakes.
"Officials are often criticised for not being accountable, and that was a situation where I felt I'm at the ground and this is an instance where I can be accountable for the officiating department, and answer any questions they have before they walk into that press conference," he said.
NRL's double standards?
Raiders Coach Ricky Stuart slammed the "monumental" mistake, claiming the video referee system is flawed and makes too many mistakes.
He said the incident is also indicative of the NRL's double standards towards Canberra.
In a scathing interview, Stuart fell short of saying the league is biased against the Raiders but the former coach of the Roosters, Sharks and Eels says that since moving to the capital, he's noticed a difference in the way the club is treated.
"I've been at a number of other clubs [and] this club gets treated differently to other clubs I've been involved in" said Stuart.
External Link: Ricky Stuart speaks to ABC Grandstand
But Sutton strongly disagreed that Canberra was held to a different standard than other clubs and denied that there was a rift between the NRL and the Canberra club.
"I've got a solid working relationship with Ricky, I've been in contact with him again this morning to discuss what happened last night," Sutton said.
He said the officials were their own harshest critics and was confident they would learn from their mistakes.
"Our guys mark themselves extremely hard and hold themselves to some pretty high standards which the game expects from them and so do I," he said.
"What I do know is that our guys are working extremely hard, we're working physically, we're working on the training paddock, we're working back in the office on our own game and how we can improve and I'm really confident we can improve over the coming weeks."
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