The Brisbane Broncos are into the NRL grand final after hammering the New Zealand Warriors 42-12 on Saturday night, but the impressive performance has been overshadowed by a shocking referee howler.
With the Broncos leading 24-12 midway through the second half, the game was effectively ended as a contest when two forward passes somehow went unnoticed.
Reece Walsh burst through the Warriors’ line and passed to Selwyn Cobbo, who then dished it back inside for Jordan Riki to score the easiest of tries, as you can see in the video above.
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But it appeared both passes went forward.
“Walsh has thrown it forward a mile, it’s gone forward more than a mile and Brisbane have run away and scored,” Andrew Voss said on Fox League.
The try gave the Broncos an unassailable 30-12 lead.
“This might sound ridiculous but this is the speed of Reece Walsh that the actual touch judge couldn’t keep up with him, this was two metres forward, blatantly forward,” Mick Ennis added.
“The touch judge fell two or three metres off the pace, he just couldn’t keep himself in line with Walsh and it’s an absolute howler.
“I know we can’t use the Bunker but there’s three officials there and the ball blatantly goes forward.”
Social media blew up at the decision.
“Wahs are robbed. That pass from Walsh was way fwd and then Cobbo pass even more fwd,” one fan said.
“That’s a disgrace. Completely ruined the game,” another said.
“Absolutely insane how bad that was… heads gotta roll,” another added.
“By no means am I a warriors fan, but that is clear as day, the bunker needs to be able to rule on a forward pass next year, that’ll mean there would be less forward pass tries,” another fan said.
“Bottom line is that the Warriors were still alive in this game. Howler of a decision effectively ended the contest. Not saying the Warriors were necessarily going to win it. Broncos have been the better side but it was still a contest until that point,” another said.
The Broncos will face back-to-back defending premiers Penrith at Accor Stadium on Sunday week after the dazzling Walsh and rampaging prop Payne Haas played key roles in front of 52,273 fans.
Warriors centre Adam Pompey was sent to the sin bin in the 58th minute for a professional foul on Kotoni Staggs before Broncos No.6 Ezra Mam scored two minutes later.
Centre Herbie Farnworth nabbed his second for the night to put the result beyond doubt with 11 minutes left.
The hosts had too much firepower for the Warriors, with Walsh providing six line break assists and three try assists in another masterclass.
The Broncos have not won a premiership since 2006 and last played in a decider in 2015 when they lost to North Queensland.
While the Panthers will be favourites next week, the Broncos have showcased the forward punch and razzle dazzle to make it a contest for the ages.
– With AAP
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