NRL Head of Football admits huge decision in semi-final was wrong

After the brilliance of the Super League semi-final between St Helens and Leeds Rhinos, eyes will turn to the NRL Grand Final which sees reigning Premiers Penrith take on rivals Parramatta.

However it was very nearly the North Queensland Cowboys meeting the Panthers in this weekend’s final. The Cowboys finished third in the regular season one place above Parramatta. They beat Cronulla in week one of the play-offs giving them the week off until Parramatta arrived having lost to Penrith in week one but beaten Canberra in week two.

The Cowboys led 20-12 with just over 20 minutes to go in their semi-final clash with the Eels this meant that two tries from Eels, which they delivered, would send them to the final.

However, Cowboys fans will argue that their lead should have been bigger considering Parramatta’s first try, which opened the deadlock in the game, seemed to come from a forward pass from Mitchell Moses.

Now, NRL Head of Football Graham Annesley has come out to say that a mistake was made but stated that it wasn’t a “howler” as both referee and touch judge missed it with the video referee unable to get involved.

According to Nine News, he said in his weekly press briefing: “We think it comes out of his hands forward.

“I’m standing here saying it’s a forward pass. But it’s not the howler it’s been made out to be.

“Most of the discussion has been about the ball and where it travels and where it’s caught, which is basically irrelevant, to be honest.

“The rule, as the rule always has been, is about how the ball leaves the hands.

“Some of the claims about how far this ball has travelled forward I think are exaggerated. There have been all sorts of claims about this being metres forward.

“I think some of the claims have been grossly exaggerated.”