St George Illawarra Dragons flexed their premiership muscle but the form of the referees was rather less encouraging after a series of baffling calls marred their 32-10 NRL win over the Manly Sea Eagles last night.
While the Dragons all but sewed up the minor premiership with the win at WIN Jubilee Oval to move four points clear at the top of the ladder, there is grave concern about the state of the NRL's officiating with both sides awarded dubious four-pointers.
Mark Gasnier, the Dragons centre, was the first to benefit when the former Australia international was given the green light by Bill Harrigan, the video referee, despite replays showing him losing the ball as he stretched for the line.
Manly were incensed with the decision. Jamie Lyon, the captain, approached referee Shayne Hayne to inquire as to how Gasnier was given the benefit of the doubt.
"Benefit of the doubt? He didn't even touch the ground," Lyon said.
Harrigan's explanation did little to clear up the situation. "It was benefit of the doubt, there was no separation," Harrigan said.
As he watched the replay, Gasnier admitted: "It felt like I did [get the ball down] but when I was watching the replay I guess there was an element of doubt there.
"I guess I got the benefit of the doubt ... it was kind of one of them 50-50 calls."
"The ball was put down short of the line then rolled on to it." But while the 14,740-strong crowd was applauding the Gasnier try, which gave the Dragons a 10-0 lead after 30 minutes with Jamie Soward scoring a brilliant individual try early, they were soon left dumbfounded. With Manly trailing 16-4 after Michael Weyman's try just after the restart had cancelled out Tony Williams's effort at the end of the first half, Hayne then cleared what seemed an obvious forward pass for Keiran Foran's try.Brent Kite charged at the Dragons' line and popped a ball to Foran, who appeared to be standing in front of his teammate when given the ball. But having clawed back to within a converted try, Manly imploded when they let Beau Scott run 90 metres to seal the win. Winger Brett Morris completing the rout with his 17th try of the year.
In England, Super League side Leeds Rhinos were reeling yesterday from a major injury blow to Jamie Peacock, their England international prop forward, who was ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
The 32-year-old needs a knee re-construction which will sideline him for up to eight months. He will miss Leeds' first Challenge Cup final for 11 years as well as the end-of-season Four Nations Series in Australia and New Zealand.
"I am stunned to be out of action for six to eight months and it has been a bit bewildering if I am honest," said Peacock.
"The injury did not feel any worse than previous knocks but the scans have revealed the worst possible news
* Agencies
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
RESULT
Al Hilal 4 Persepolis 0
Khribin (31', 54', 89'), Al Shahrani 40'
Red card: Otayf (Al Hilal, 49')
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
Bridgerton%20season%20three%20-%20part%20one
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Fixture and table
UAE finals day: Friday, April 13 at Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
- 3pm, UAE Conference: Dubai Tigers v Sharjah Wanderers
- 6.30pm, UAE Premiership: Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership – final standings
- Dubai Exiles
- Abu Dhabi Harlequins
- Jebel Ali Dragons
- Dubai Hurricanes
- Dubai Sports City Eagles
- Abu Dhabi Saracens
Company%20profile
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
RESULTS
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Company%20Profile
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Tomb%20Raider%20I%E2%80%93III%20Remastered
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Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
ASHES FIXTURES
1st Test: Brisbane, Nov 23-27
2nd Test: Adelaide, Dec 2-6
3rd Test: Perth, Dec 14-18
4th Test: Melbourne, Dec 26-30
5th Test: Sydney, Jan 4-8
Jawan
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EXPATS
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5