NRL head of football Graham Annesley has admitted the league does not have a blanket send-off rule over alleged biting incidents, after Raiders star Jack Wighton was allowed to remain on the field on Sunday.
Wighton was referred directly to the judiciary on Monday morning after Knights five-eighth Tyson Gamble told referee Ashley Klein he’d been bitten by the departing Raiders star during Sunday’s elimination final.
Annesley was quizzed over why Wighton was allowed to remain on the field, while NRLW star Ashleigh Werner was sent off for a similar incident in July, and clarified the league’s position.
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“Some high tackles are sent off, some aren’t. Some high tackles are sent to the sin bin, some aren’t,” he said during his weekly briefing.
“The officials have to make a decision based on what evidence they believe they have in which to make that decision.
“Obviously the officials yesterday made the decision based on the evidence they thought they had. Now that doesn’t mean they were right or wrong, and ultimately whether the player will be guilty or not guilty. A player could go through a hearing and be found not guilty.
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“For any incident in our game, there is no predetermined outcome. It’s a matter for the match officials to take what they believe to be the appropriate action based on the information they have at that time.”
While Wighton was allowed to remain on the field, Annesley said that doesn’t mean referees erred by sending Werner off when they did.
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“No (it wasn’t wrong for there to be a send-off), but that doesn’t mean every time you have an incident like that it will result in the same outcome because it depends (on) what information they believe they (the referees) have available to them,” he said.
“If they think they have the information that warrants a particular course of action being taken, they will take that. If they think they perhaps haven’t got all the information, then they may take a different course. It’s entirely in the hands of the match officials.
“But we do have a tiered process where we have on-field action, the Bunker in real time assisting with any decision, and the match review afterwards. Then we have a judicial process as well, so we’re going through that process.
“Until we know the outcome, players are entitled to be given the benefit of the doubt in terms of guilt – just as we are in the justice system – until proven otherwise.”
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Hasibur Rahaman is a passionate sports journalist. He covers everything from cricket to field hockey, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis of sporting events, both within India and on the international stage.
