In almost two decades of covering rugby league, being told by an NRL head coach – in a live, televised press conference – that “you are barking up the wrong tree” is a definite moment to remember.
The context was the post-match media call after the Eels’ 26-22 win over the Warriors on Friday night, which probably ended the Auckland club’s hopes of a top-four playoff spot. The Warriors were sketchy and underwhelming, continuing a recent pattern on home soil, but threatened to grab an unlikely victory late after a storming fourth quarter.
The flashpoint came in the 75th minute after centre Adam Pompey dotted down near the posts. The try was awarded but rubbed out following an extended bunker check, which decided Warriors forward Demetric Vaimauga had knocked on as he contested a high kick.
The evidence was far from conclusive that the ball had travelled forward – as Vaimauga was almost facing his own tryline – and it will be debated for days.
Eels head coach Jason Ryles brushed off an initial question about the decision – “there’s no dispute” – before the Herald returned to the subject towards the end of the press conference.
“Coach just going back to the final call,” I asked. “Whether he touched it or not, do you think there’s definitive proof that the ball went forward?”.
To his credit, Ryles gave an expansive answer. Hats off to him because that’s rare, as NRL coaches often default to a variation of the below options when asked about controversial moments.
1) “I didn’t see it”
2) “I’ll have to watch it again”
3) “I’m not going to comment…”
4) “I think everyone saw it…”
5) “I’ll let you make up your own minds…”
It was refreshing from Ryles, in his first season as an NRL head coach.
“For me, yeah, that’s a knock on every day of the week, but who am I to say?” said Ryles. “But, you know, sometimes you get the calls and sometimes you don’t, and we’ve had a lot of times where we haven’t got the calls and that’s the reality, they’re human in the middle and they’re human in the bunker. But if you are asking my pure opinion, yeah, that went forward – every day of the week. I don’t even know why you’re asking the question.”
I tried to explain that it was a big moment, before Eels captain Mitch Moses interjected: “They had a 12-4 penalty [penalties and set restarts] count – [we are] not going off one play, bruz.”
NRL press conferences can be funny beasts. There is a considerable power imbalance, as coaches know far more about their subject than the assembled scribes, and they know they know. They also have control of the proceedings and the microphone and there is not much comeback if they don’t like the question, which often leads to cautious inquiries that skirt around the edges.
But at least Ryles was honest and candid, even if he couldn’t resist a couple of gentle digs at the Herald.
“There’s a whole heap of other things that I’m sure the Warriors would look at and go, ‘geez, if we did that different or that better, it might have been a different result’,” he said, after Moses had interrupted again. “But if it’s going to come down to one finger touch, which went forward, then yeah, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
Of course, Ryles is partly right. The Warriors were masters of their own downfall with loose defence, loose concentration and loose attack. It was an insidious pattern; they worked so hard to build pressure – mainly through aggressive defence – only to release with constant lapses, while much of their offensive play was one-dimensional.
But – and here is the big but – the late bunker call did effectively decide the result. For that reason, at that stage of the match, it had to be right. The crucial aspect is there needed to be conclusive, indisputable proof to overturn the on-field decision, which there surely was not, while also remembering that the benefit of the doubt traditionally sits with the attacking team.
But decision-making via the NRL bunker has become so complex in a job no one would want, as they are expected to forensically comb through footage to find any reason not to award a try, and do it at express pace. Meanwhile, a truckload of infringements are missed in general play – as it is impossible to track everything, especially with one referee – and defensive lines are constantly offside.
That leaves us in a perpetual cycle – decision, debate, delight, disgust – which helps no one. That used to happen in the pre-technology days as well but somehow things felt more logical and it was easier to accept human error.
But Ryles had the last word on Friday – and as the victor he is entitled to.
Press conference transcript:
Herald: Coach just going back to the final call, which was a massive call in the context. Whether he touched it or not, do you think there’s definitive proof that the ball went forward?
Ryles: Ah, ah, hmmm… you want me to respond to that. So, I think the referee and the bunker – they had a lot of decisions to make and for me, yeah, that’s a knock on every day of the week, but who am I to say?
But, you know, sometimes you get the calls and sometimes you don’t, and we’ve had a lot of times where we haven’t got the calls and that’s the reality, they’re human in the middle and they’re human in the bunker. But if you are asking my pure opinion, yeah, that went forward – every day of the week. I don’t even know why you’re asking the question.
Herald: Because it’s a pretty big moment…
Moses: (Interjects) They had a 12-4 penalty count – not going off one play. bruz.
Herald: It’s a big play…
Ryles: Yeah, so we are not going near that.
Moses: (Laughing) One play…
Ryles: I know you need to ask the questions but at the end of the day, the referees are out there to do a job and it is not easy.
Moses: (to Herald) You are talking in the wrong area…
Ryles: Yeah, there’s a whole heap of other things that I’m sure the Warriors would look at and go ‘geez, if we did that different or that better, it might have been a different result’.
But if it’s going to come down to one finger touch, which went forward, then yeah, you’re barking up the wrong tree.
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.