“Ricky Stuart Seeks Clarity from Andrew Abdo on Controversial No-try Decision That Altered the Game”

Ricky Stuart has demanded clarity from NRL CEO Andrew Abdo following his team’s troubling experience with the six-again count, which included an obstruction decision that led to the Canberra Raiders being denied a vital try against Manly.

In a dismal outing in Sydney, the Raiders succumbed to a 40-12 defeat in front of a fervent home crowd.

A pivotal moment occurred late in the first half, prompting Stuart to seek explanations as questions about the consistency of officiating arose.

With the match scoreless, Sebastian Kris made an impressive 35-metre run after receiving a short pass from halfback Jamal Fogarty, evading Lehi Hopoate to score.

However, the Bunker overturned the outstanding play, claiming Corey Horsburgh had obstructed Manly’s captain, Daly Cherry-Evans, during the build-up to the try.

The Bunkan’s ruling suggested Horsburgh’s interference had created a gap in Manly’s defence, resulting in the disallowance of the try.

Canberra’s hooker, Tom Starling, cheekily responded to referee Grant Atkins after the decision, stating, “You’ve got to be consistent then.”

Starling’s remarks did not go unnoticed by Atkins.

“The look from Grant Atkins was worth the entry fee alone,” commented Warren Smith on Fox League.

Stuart highlighted the controversial decision during his press conference while addressing the officiating.

“What did you think about the call that led to our try being disallowed?” he asked the assembled reporters.

“After a lengthy period without any scoring, we finally got a great try (that was ruled out). It makes coaching incredibly challenging when the rules and their interpretations are so unclear; I genuinely have no clue.”

Stuart insisted that this moment altered the course of the game.

“I regret spending two days travelling up here for this,” he expressed.

The Raiders found themselves on the receiving end of 10 penalties compared to Manly’s four, and suffered from six ruck penalties to Manly’s singular infringement.

Stuart was visibly frustrated when addressing these statistics.

“No team in this competition can defend those kinds of stats,” Stuart remarked.

“I can’t openly criticise the referees, but I truly hope Andrew Abdo can provide some clarification for all of us.”

“When you examine the figures, we had over 200 tackles in the first half while Manly had just 70. It’s highly unlikely one can lead a scoreboard with such a disparity.”

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Horsburgh was later sin-binned for failing to get back onside after another six-again call, which resulted in 24 points for Manly in the first half.

Stuart chose not to comment on whether he thought the sin-binning was justified.

“They’ll insist it was the right call, but it’s irrelevant,” the 58-year-old stated.

“It’s more productive if I refrain from answering questions. (That incident was) huge, especially given those statistics and the impact of losing one player.”