Phil Gould Seething Over ‘Incredible’ Bunker Decision: ‘He Barely Made Contact’

Legends of the league were left perplexed after Sea Eagles winger Jason Saab was penalised for what appeared to be minimal mid-air contact with Alofiana Khan-Pereira.

In the closing moments of the first half during the clash between the Titans and Manly on the Gold Coast, both players leapt into the air to contest a kick from Daly Cherry-Evans.

Saab seemed to misjudge his jump, and as he pulled out of the contest, he inadvertently brushed against Khan-Pereira, who subsequently deflected the ball off his foot. A bobbled attempt from Reuben Garrick resulted in a double knock-on, although Lachlan Croker did manage to ground the Steeden.

Referee Peter Gough referred the sequence to the video review to verify the double knock-on, but Bunker official Chris Butler noticed Saab’s infringement.

“(Saab) ceases to compete and makes contact with (Khan-Pereira) before he has the chance to catch the ball. This results in a penalty,” Butler explained.

Gough’s microphone captured Sea Eagles captain Daly Cherry-Evans describing the decision as “outrageous” while it was being explained to him.

“Oh please, did we miss a meeting or something? When did this become an issue?,” Phil Gould lamented during Nine’s commentary, drawing parallels with Brian To’o’s sin-binning in State of Origin I.

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“Well, Brian actually grabbed him,” Brad Fittler countered. “(Saab) hardly made contact – just a brush on his hip. It’s a massive call.

“It would be interesting to see if Garrick had caught the ball and scored. Would they have then gone back to the touch? There was nothing more than a minor brush.”

Gould expressed that the ruling was “incredibly frustrating”.

“I just don’t understand what goes through their minds that they position themselves where they’re actively looking for those sorts of infractions now,” he said.

“Why? Who has put them up to this? That’s not how the game is played, nor should it be refereed that way.”

This incident capped off a challenging first half for the visitors, who initially scored through Garrick but then saw the Titans respond with three tries in quick succession to lead 16-4 by the 20-minute mark.