Written by Megan Taylor, sports reporter covering international sports since 2020
Cameron Ciraldo questioned several NRL decisions on Saturday night after the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs fell 22-16 to the Wests Tigers in a tense Round 13 clash.
The Bulldogs coach was frustrated by key calls involving Josh Curran’s charge-down, Stephen Crichton’s no-try, Lachlan Galvin being held up and Jacob Kiraz being taken out near the try line.
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Ciraldo questions key decisions
Asked if he was happy with the major calls in the match, Ciraldo gave a clear answer.
“No, not at all,” Ciraldo said in response to being asked if he was happy with the decisions that were made.
“I’m sending another email in this week and I get something written back. The Josh Curran one, maybe the charge down is gone.
“His foot did touch him, but Josh charged the ball down first and was chasing the kick and then Jarome’s foot hit him.
If that’s the way it is, I’ll cop that. Jarome clearly didn’t think it was a penalty because he turned and chased, but again, if the foot touches, okay.”
Bulldogs left frustrated after late calls
Ciraldo said the more frustrating moment came when Jacob Kiraz appeared to be taken out before the Wests Tigers crossed at the other end.
“The more disappointing one was to go down the other end. Someone offside takes out our fullback, then that’s a try,’ Ciraldo added.
“What’s worse? Someone touches your foot or someone takes out your fullback and they score a try.
The Bulldogs coach also questioned why similar try-line moments appeared to receive different rulings.
“Then there’s the other tries. They look like they were held up, but it’s a try. Critta gets over the line, looks very similar to that but it’s a no try.
“Galvin gets the ball clearly stripped right in front of the referee, no penalty. Stephen throws a guy down on the ground, the ball comes out, penalty.
“I think every coach feels like that to be honest. We all feel like that; we all feel aggrieved.”
Benji Marshall admits Wests Tigers had luck
Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall said he understood Ciraldo’s frustration, especially over the Josh Curran charge-down on Jarome Luai.
“Today, 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.
“I like that we’re protecting kickers but I thought we dodged a bullet there to be honest.
“A couple of other calls we’ve been on the end of those as well and that hurts too, so I can imagine Cameron would have been in here talking about those.”