Drama has erupted during the Tigers’ Easter Monday win over thr Eels after Parramatta captain Mitch Moses was denied the chance to challenge a potential strip.
After Adam Doehi dropped a ball with minutes remaining in the first half, Eels forward Jack Williams pounced, scooping up the ball and charging towards the line before being dragged down centimetres short.
He leapt to his feet and attempted to play the ball, only for it to be knocked out by Tigers hooker Api Koroisau as he came over the top to wrap up the ball.
The Wests Tigers rake ended up diving on the ball in the in goal, with ref Peter Gough ruling a loose carry and Tigers ball.
Moses immediately protested, asking to challenge. However, his calls fell on deaf ears, with Gough saying he never called held, and therefore he could not challenge.
It caused uproar from the NRL world, with the rules dictating that captains can challenge strip calls.
While Moses couldn’t challenge ruck interference, given the ref didn’t call held, he had every right to challenge that the ball had been stripped.
And it had AAP journalist Scott Bailey seeing red.
“Inexplicable from Peter Gough. Mitch Moses asks to challenge a knock on, and it’s not referred to the bunker,” he wrote on X.
“Rules clearly state you can challenge a knock on. It happens almost every game.”
“ … The referee called knock on, and Moses wanted to challenge the call. To the letter of the law, knock-on calls can be challenged.”
Other fans were also baffled by the ruling.
“He has every right to challenge that,” another said on X about the incident.
“Insanity,” a third wrote in reference to the incident.
However, after the game Moses clarified that while he wasn’t sure why he couldn’t challenge at first, he was arguing about the non-held call and did not wish to challenge strip.
But both Moses and Eels coach Jason Ryles suggested if he did score it would have been double movement, hence the frustration with Gough ref not calling held.
However, in the end, that call would cause far more drama than just in that incident.
It actually turned out to be beneficial to the Eels that he was denied the chance to challenge, as since the Eels still had their captain’s challenge it meant Moses could challenge the call of handover.
After Gough ruled changeover when Moses was pulled down after making a half break with just four minutes on the clock and the scores locked at 18-18, the Eels No.7 challenged that he had been caught high.
Upon review, a penalty was awarded to the Eels, with Moses kicking a penalty goal to give Parramatta a two-point lead with just two minutes to go.
The drama didn’t end there, with the Tigers awarded a late penalty. They then converted a penalty goal of their own to send the Easter Monday thriller to golden point.
The captain’s challenge drama would then continue in golden point, with the Tigers awarded a penalty right in front after Dylan Walker was ruled offside as he rushed off the line to try and block a field goal attempt.
Moses and Walker shouted at the ref to challenge, but Gough informed them that you cannot challenge offside.
Replays showed Walker did break early, so the challenge wouldn’t have changed the result, as Madden made no mistake, slotting the game-winning penalty goal to seal a 22-20 win that has their fans dreaming of a return to finals footy after a 15-year wait.
