'Rule is broken': NRL fans up in arms over baffling bunker call

Penrith's season opening victory over Manly went off without a hitch, but the same couldn't be said of the NRL bunker, which had something of a shocker to start the season.

Despite the reigning premiers outclassing the Sea Eagles 28-6 to kick off the new season, the Panthers had to overcome the bunker twice to put their first score of the season on the board.

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A correct decision was made to disallow Stephen Crichton's first cross, with Kieran Foran being pinged for obstruction.

But a second obstruction call a short time later to disallow a try, this time from Brian To’o, proved substantially more controversial.

The bunker pinged teammate Jerome Luai for obstruction, despite him standing still with his hands in the air on a broken play slightly earlier in the sequence.

Luai stayed still as To'o moved left and right in an attempt to eventually shake the Manly defenders, but the try was still wiped away as the bunker ruled Luai had impeded Tom Trbojevic's attempts to tackle To'o.

The decision did not go down well in the Fox League commentary booth, with former NRL star Michael Ennis raging at the move.

“Where’s he supposed to go?" he queried.

“He’s just running through there Luai, trips over, where’s he supposed to go? He’s trying to get out of the way. That’s a big call.”

Fellow commentator Greg Alexander was in agreement.

“Brian To’o, he gets to the line and I agree that Jarome Luai was in front of the ball carrier but he did not play any part in stopping Tom (Trbojevic) make the tackle,” Alexander said.

“He puts the footwork on, To’o, and Tom actually pushes off Luai to get closer to Brian To’o.

“So that wasn’t an obstruction play, that should have been a try.”

On social media, the NRL bunker copped a predictable earful from fans.

Panthers cruise to season-opening NRL win over Manly

After an off-season spent stressing over 2022 being a new campaign, Penrith partied like it was 2021 to start the NRL season in emphatic fashion.

In an electric start to the year on Thursday, Penrith were in control from the opening minutes as they dominated possession and field position.

Viliame Kikau starred as he played a hand in two tries and monstered Manly on the left, while lock Isaah Yeo was typically pivotal.

Without superstar halfback Nathan Cleary, replacement Sean O'Sullivan stepped up, while Dylan Edwards got through 288 metres at fullback.

New face Izack Tago also scored a try in his first game at left centre, with the position a magnet for points at Penrith in the past two seasons.

Arguably more impressive than anything was the way they shut down Tom Trbojevic, with the Dally M medallist, despite setting up Manly's try, only breaking the line once late in the game.

The scary thing for Penrith's rivals will also be that, even without Cleary, the scoreline could have been more dominant after they were controversially denied two tries for obstructions.

For Manly, it was a case of same old problems against the best teams.

They conceded an average of 34 points per game against the three sides who finished above them last year, with Thursday revealing the same issues.

Their few chances in Penrith's half mainly came off the back of penalties, with their forwards battling to get into the game and Penrith controlling the ruck.

"It felt like we were definitely cramped in our corner for a fair bit," Daly Cherry-Evans said.

"That's a credit to the Panthers ... But we have to find a way to get out."

With AAP

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