An incredulous Trent Robinson has taken aim at a “completely laughable” penalty that helped Melbourne chase the game against his Sydney Roosters.
Roosters veteran Nat Butcher was penalised for a high shot on Alec MacDonald midway through the second half of the Roosters’ 14-6 win on Friday night.
But replays showed Butcher had only tousled the hair of a falling MacDonald, who then dropped the ball in the slippery conditions.
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Referee Gerard Sutton blew a penalty that marched the Storm deep into Roosters territory, where Stefano Utoikamanu’s try brought the visitors back to 8-6 down.
The call flummoxed Roosters coach Robinson.
“Honestly. How do you find that? Like, honestly,” he said.
Nat Butcher was penalised for this high shot on Alec MacDonald. Credit: @FoxSports/NRL.com
“Why would a referee even look at that?
“It was laughable, it was completely laughable. (The Roosters) have got to defend it, there were some things that went our way against it.
“But if they have an error on that, and you’re looking at that, then you’re looking at the wrong thing.”
Broadcast microphones captured Butcher questioning the penalty, with the second-rower declining written press interviews after full-time.
“Nat was blowing up at the time,” said teammate Victor Radley.
“I was thinking, ‘Oh, mate, be quiet Nat until I’ve seen it on the big screen,’ and I said, ‘He’s probably got a right to blow up’.”
Storm coach Craig Bellamy said he “probably will” seek clarity about the officiating in the loss, which further dents 10th-placed Melbourne’s finals hopes.
With 13 minutes to play, the shot clock sounded before Roosters halfback Sam Walker had the chance to kick his goal line dropout.
But rather than award a penalty that could have allowed the Storm to kick for goal and equalise at 8-8, the match officials let play continue.
“There were a fair few things that didn’t go our way today, I thought,” Bellamy said.
“But I couldn’t be more happy with the effort that we put in.”
