Both Benji Marshall and Trent Robinson have voiced concerns over the frequent sin-binning of players in the NRL, following an incident where the Tigers were briefly reduced to 11 men against the Roosters. The Roosters, reaffirming their status as genuine title contenders for 2024, dominated the Tigers with a 40-6 victory, highlighted by James Tedesco’s impressive performance after being dropped from the Blues squad.
Despite being outclassed in round 17, the Tigers felt hard done by with two players sent off for 10 minutes, sparking major controversy. The first was Api Koroisau for a dangerous lifting tackle, followed by Adam Doueihi for a hip-drop tackle. Both decisions ignited backlash from fans, particularly Koroisau’s incident.
A similar situation occurred recently with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, who received a sin-bin for a lifting tackle, prompting fan outrage in defense of the Warriors center. Meanwhile, Blues back rower Liam Martin avoided a sin-bin in State of Origin Game 2 for a comparable tackle.
Despite this inconsistency, the NRL maintained its strict stance on lifting challenges at the club level, resulting in Koroisau’s sin-bin. Even rival coach Robinson acknowledged the Tigers’ misfortune, suggesting the NRL might need to reconsider its approach as frequent sin-bins affect the game’s flow.
“It’s a hard one, but I don’t know if it’s ten minutes or not, that’s me,” Roosters coach Robinson said regarding Koroisau’s sin-bin. “Someone might tell me I’m completely wrong. But I think it changes the course of the game completely and I think that’s the debate Wayne (Bennett) started a few days ago.”
Fans echoed Robinson’s sentiments, calling for consistent rulings after Martin escaped a sin-bin for a similar incident during Origin. Many expressed frustration on social media, highlighting the lack of consistency in NRL officiating.
Benji Marshall also criticized the decision to sin-bin Adam Doueihi for a hip-drop tackle. Marshall argued that Doueihi had no way to avoid his position and described the rulings as a ‘lottery.’
“I’m a little bit confused about them,” Marshall said. “Doueihi’s one in particular. I don’t know what he’s supposed to do. Sol (Solomona Faataape) puts on a good shot, sends him backwards and Doueihi’s just underneath him, I thought that was pretty harsh.”
Marshall also felt Koroisau’s sin-bin was severe. “We had one put on report against us too. Obviously the second one, Api’s one…I thought it was pretty harsh as well…It’s hard to know, it’s a lottery at the moment and we seem to be on the end of them quite often.”
While these decisions affected the game’s spectacle, they likely did not alter the outcome, as the Roosters surged to a 40-6 win. Robinson’s team, now fourth on the ladder with 22 points, will be without Joey Manu for around four weeks due to a fractured hand.