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This week we saw more infuriating calls from match officials, a try to the Sea Eagles which summed up their season -- and that of the Warriors -- and Sydney's premier football stadium turned into a lake by a downpour. Read on as we take a look back over some of the biggest hits and misses.
MISSWhen is an obstruction an obstruction? Some of the rules are a fluid mess at the moment. What was thought to be cut and dried one week is ignored just weeks later as the whistle blowers and bunker shift their interpretations with absolutely no warning or explanation. We are heading for a finals series with the obstruction rule once again a complete mystery to fans, players, and coaches. In the clash of the year between the Storm and Panthers on Thursday, we saw Melbourne cross for the opening try from a scrum move. As winger Grant Anderson celebrated in the corner, replays were already showing a Storm decoy runner crashing into the outside shoulder of Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary. Cleary had no chance of reaching Anderson, but he certainly could have pressured or reached Ryan Papenhuyzen who threw the final pass. If he hadn't been knocked over, his outside backs would have been released a fraction earlier to deal with Anderson. Regardless of the intricacies, the frustrating part of the ruling is that we have seen the same play a thousand times in the past few years and it has almost always been penalised and the try disallowed. Every time a try is scored, fans sit there holding their breath waiting to see what interpretation rabbit the officials are going to pull out of their hats this time. 
HITSea Eagles magic shows up sleepy Warriors A Manly try 15 minutes out from half-time against the Warriors just about summed up the seasons of both clubs. Near halfway the Sea Eagles looked to be running a simple hit-up through bench forward Nathan Brown. Before hitting the line Brown stopped dead and shifted the ball to Luke Brooks, who is having a brilliant first year for the Sea Eagles. Brooks ran diagonally across field threatening to pass it to two decoy runners as he dummied and kept going. In what has become fairly typical Warriors behaviour of late, the inside defenders clocked off, thinking their jobs were done. As the defensive line fragmented, Tommy Talau exploded onto the ball at an angle after the final Brooks dummy turned into a pass. Talau found himself not only in open territory but surrounded by teammates who had continued their decoy runs right through the line. Talau drew the fullback and chose from the top shelf of support players, putting his pass on the chest of Tom Trbojevic who scooted away to score under the posts. It was a slick, well-rehearsed move with Manly utilising a couple of their prized acquisitions and finished off by one of their favourite sons. The Warriors could have snuffed it out by moving up on Brooks and knocking him over as he loped across field. Their application in defence just wasn't there, which largely explains why they won't be playing finals football this season. 
MISSDrainage lets Sydney Football Stadium down A band of electrical storms and torrential rain swept the coastal suburbs of Sydney on Friday night. There were moments at Brookvale where you could barely see the players so thick was the rain. The surface held up well as the game progressed, despite the threat of lightning interruptions. Meanwhile in the heart of the city, the Sydney Football Stadium received so much water, that by the time play kicked off between the Roosters and Eels, the surface more resembled a rice paddy than a state of the art playing surface complete with sophisticated drainage system. Players were slipping and sliding all over the place and the ball handling suffered. The surface water sat on the field right into the second half, despite no further rain and the best efforts of ground staff armed with pitch forks during the break. In the second half the puddles turned to mud, and both clubs will be soundly testing their laundry services this week. Eels captain Clint Gutherson wasn't impressed. "It was probably one of the worst fields I've played on," Gutherson said after the game. "We didn't know it was that bad until we got out there, and your feet were fully underwater!" 
HITThe Foxx hammered in test of pace It is official, Josh Addo-Carr is not the fastest man in the universe. It turns out that he wasn't even the fastest man on the field during the Bulldogs victory over the Dolphins in Bundaberg. In the first half, the Bulldogs spread the ball inside their own 20 metres and Addo-Carr found himself in open territory, with nothing but the immaculate green grass of Salter Oval ahead of him. Dolphins fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow gave the Bulldogs winger at least a 15 metre head start, coming from centre field. The Foxx looked as though he was gone, but the Hammer rounded him up 10 metres short of the try line and bundled him into touch. The shocked look on Addo-Carr's face said it all. Addo-Carr did pick up a try just before half-time and enjoyed the last laugh, as the Bulldogs collected a 30-10 victory.
MISSMcLean plays to the whistle with Savage hit Don't bother telling Cowboys prop Jordan McLean that you can barely run because of a severe cramp in your leg. If you are moving towards him with the ball under your arm, you are going to be dealt with, without mercy. Canberra winger Xavier Savage was hitting the ball up from deep inside Raiders territory when he grabbed at the back of his leg and started hobbling awkwardly. As the commentators started speculating on whether Savage had done a knee or pulled a hamstring, McLean lined him up and sat him on his backside. It conveniently left Savage in the perfect position for the trainer to stretch out his cramp.
HITTigers finally get a favourable match-deciding call The Tigers finally had some good fortune as they clung to a two-point lead late in their clash against the surging Rabbitohs. With the Bunnies pouring downfield, Jack Wighton threw a long ball near halfway that looked forward out of his hands and certainly travelled almost two metres forward. The on field officials called play on and in the ensuing play the Rabbitohs split the Tigers defence for the match-winning try, with less than a minute remaining. With coach Ben Hornby and the rest of the Rabbitohs coaching box jumping for joy, referee Belinda Sharpe walked to the point of the final pass by Cameron Murray and signalled that it was a forward. Replays showed it was indeed a metre forward and the Tigers were able to play out the remaining seconds to claim a well-deserved and long due victory.
 MISSPenalty for obstructing an offside chaser I hate to finish where we started, taking a shot at the match officials, but the Knights have had their season ended by another awful call. With two minutes remaining in their crucial clash with the Sharks, and the scores locked at 18-18, Kalyn Ponga slotted a field goal to break the deadlock. Before the ball had passed through the posts referee Gerard Sutton was blowing his whistle to penalise the Knights for having blockers protecting Ponga. Astutely, the Knights still had their captain's challenge and Ponga asked Sutton for a review of the play, noting that the Sharks' chasers looked to be offside. Sutton didn't mention the offside factor to the bunker, which then totally ignored William Kennedy who was at least a metre ahead of Sutton when the ball was played. The bunker instead confirmed that the Sharks fullback did have to divert his run to get around one of the illegally placed blockers. From the penalty, the Sharks worked their way downfield where their first field goal attempt was charged down, giving them another six tackles. Their next attempt went between the posts, but Sutton blew the same penalty, this time against Sharks blockers. There would be no review and time expired with the Knights throwing the ball around midfield. Into golden point extra time, the Knights had first shot at a field goal, but missed, before the Sharks worked their way downfield into a powerful southerly and kicked the winner. The Knights' season was ended by a referee call which was selectively reviewed by the bunker. It was another frustrating night for Knights fans and fans of the game in general.
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