Canterbury Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo has expressed deep frustration with the officiating following his side's loss to the Wests Tigers on Saturday night, claiming the team felt 'aggrieved' by several key decisions.
Ciraldo specifically highlighted the Josh Curran charge-down that was overturned by the Bunker, the Stephen Crichton no-try, and an incident where fullback Jacob Kiraz was taken out by an offside player. He questioned the consistency of the calls, noting that similar plays were treated differently.
“The more disappointing one was to go down the other end. Someone offside takes out our fullback, then that’s a try,” Ciraldo said. “What’s worse? Someone touches your foot or someone takes out your fullback and they score a try.”
Opposition coach Benji Marshall agreed with Ciraldo's frustration, admitting that the charge-down should have been a try. “I thought we were a bit lucky with some of the calls. I thought the charge down was probably a try to be honest,” Marshall said.
Ciraldo indicated he would be sending another complaint to the NRL, having previously received written responses to similar issues. The Bulldogs coach also pointed to a clear strip on Lachlan Galvin and a penalty against Stephen Crichton as further examples of poor officiating.
