Graham Annesley, Graham Annesley,the head of football for the NRL, has acknowledged that it was a mistake to overrule the Sydney Roosters’ try on Thursday.

After witnessing the Panthers get off to a quick start with two early tries, Joseph Manu appeared to score the Roosters’ first try of the game during the first half play.

In the end, though, the obstruction call made on the field would be overruled by the bunker.Running as a decoy, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves eventually cleared the defensive line but was later judged to have hindered Dylan Edwards, the fullback for Penrith, as he attempted to make a covering and perhaps game-saving tackle.

 

Edwards was well out of the play and not in the defensive line when he made contact with the Roosters forward, leaving commentators perplexed.

 

Speaking to News Corp on Friday morning, Annesley did not take long to confirm that the decision made from the bunker was erroneous.

 

I backed two of the Bunker’s obstruction findings last week,” Annesley told the newspaper.

“I discussed how the play must not be turned back through the opening left by a defender’s tackle. Instead, the lead runner must proceed through the defensive line.

“The choice (for the Manu no-try) made last night did not take into account either of these factors.”

“Given the situation, the Bunker is free to assess if a defender might have stopped the attempt.

“I think the on-field call shouldn’t have been overturned and the try would have been scored regardless.”

In the circumstances, the Bunker does have discretion to consider whether a defender could have prevented the try.

“In my opinion, the try would have been scored regardless and the on-field decision should not have been overturned”.

The obstruction rule has long been a grey area for the NRL, with the competition often struggling for consistency on rulings from week to week.