Dubious call hurts St George Illawarra and Damien Cook
Updated ,first published
To prove how difficult things have become at St George Illawarra, look at an incident against Penrith before half-time.
Damien Cook, celebrating his 250th game in the NRL, took a chip shot for himself, chased it hard and watched as Brian To’o casually turned around and grabbed the ball, only to knock it out of the winger’s hands and score.
Cook punched the air in celebration, knowing that the effort kept the Dragons in a game that most thought they had zero chance of winning.
Referee Jarrod Cole sent the decision to the dugout and ruled To’o had gained possession of the ball, so Cook’s try was disallowed and the Dragons were penalised.
The normally unflappable Cook vented his frustration on Cole and continued to do so as the players came off the field at halftime. The Dragons’ faithful booed Cole as he headed towards the tunnel.
If the try had been scored the Dragons would have fallen behind 12-6.
The decision to reject Cook and the Dragons sums up the club’s bad luck. The 28-6 defeat was their 10th defeat in as many games. You’ll be hosting the high flying New Zealand Warriors next Saturday, good luck.
“It would have been nice to be up 12-6 at halftime against the best team in the tournament,” Dragons coach Dean Young said.
“Was there a try? They needed evidence to say it wasn’t a try.
“It looks like there were some calls early in the season that could have gone our way and made a difference.
“We’re not shirking the responsibility of sitting where we’re sitting. It’s our responsibility. But we’re not getting 50/50s right now.”
Cook said of the decision: “I’m a bit biased but I thought it was a try. Leading 12-6 at half-time, I felt we deserved to win against the best team in the competition.”
The Dragons had a crack, but they lacked the quality and polish that the competition’s heavyweights had in spades.
Christian Tuipulotu should have scored the first try of the night but panicked and was penalized for a double move. Penrith No.1 Dylan Edwards came through with some excellent try-saving tackles.
Tom Jenkins scored a first-half double to take his career tally to 18 tries. Who knows, maybe Dave Brown’s record of 38 tries in a season set in 1938 may actually be broken. He needs 20 more tries in 13 games. It sounds ridiculous, but so does his current season ranking.
NSW coach Laurie Daley would be relieved that the Blues’ challengers, including Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo, Edwards and To’o, escaped unscathed.
There was a lot going on at the Western Sydney club throughout the week with the announcement that coach Ivan Cleary will complete the job at the end of 2027 and his assistant Peter Wallace will replace him, but they stayed focused and got on with the job to complete the epic weekend.
They will then bid farewell and then host the Warriors in a potential grand final preview on Sunday week.
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