NRL head of football Graham Annesley says there was "mass confusion" between the bunker and on-field referee Chris Sutton after the Raiders were awarded possession following a controversial captain's challenge.
The bunker was called on by a captain's challenge to determine whether or not Jack Wighton had knocked on but as the official reviewed the footage he found a different indiscretion entirely.
While Wighton hadn't knocked the ball on, it was clear that he was in an offside position at marker when he played at dummy half Jake Turpin as he attempted to pass the ball.
According to Annesley, the bunker had every right to rule on the offside even though captains are not entitled to send offside rulings upstairs.
Annesley said the "confusing" saga would have arrived at the correct outcome if not for the overzealous officiating from the on-field referee.
"This was mass confusion," he said.
"This was a little tricky. The rules around captain's challenges are – Jack Wighton, if he's considered to be offside, that's not a decision the player on the field can challenge in a ruck situation. Only the bunker can.
"The challenge was okay. But in the process of reviewing the footage, the bunker saw Wighton was in an offside position that caused Jake to drop the ball.
"The bunker indicated to the referee that Wighton was offside and should be penalised. The bunker can rule on that, it's okay.
"It should have been a penalty to the Broncos for that interference. Unfortunately, the referee gets involved and he brings to the attention to the bunker, that the bunker can't rule on markers.
"That's incorrect. While there can't be a challenge on the marker, the bunker can rule on the marker. So, the bunker then changes the decision and gives the ball back to the Raiders to play the ball.
"Initially, the right decision was made, the referee shouldn't have gotten involved and left it to the bunker.
"When the referee did get involved, the bunk would've come up with the right decision. The bunker should've made their own decision."
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/nrl-referee-stuffed-up-in-bizarre-challenge-brisbane-broncos-canberra-raiders/496a8223-fe5e-40ec-8649-29899c38f42f
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