Cowboys Dudded Again

The unbelievable decision, a symptom of a deeper problem?

How can six officials, assisted by the best technology available, miss a tackle count. It is unbelievable, it is indefensible, and an apology is simply not good enough.
I know the NSW officials and supporters of the Sydney based clubs will snicker and label what I'm about to say, a Queensland conspiracy theory rant, but seriously something must be done before the NSW-centric officials and media, destroy the game and send potential new supporters (and some old ones) into the arms of the other codes.
I believe that what happened last night, is symptomatic of a Sydney entitlement culture that is nurtured and kept strong by, not so much the administers of the game, but the people of influence who control them. They are so entrenched in the past glory of the Sydney based clubs, that they won't allow the game to move forward or consider the continued arguments from teams and fans from outside the Sydney area. For them the Sydney clubs are paramount and must be protected and remain relevant at all costs.

But lets deal with last night's Cowboys - Cronulla debacle first. On field referees Matt Cecchin and Henry Perenara unbelievably allowed play to continue after the sixth tackle had been completed. As the Cowboys defended grimly on their line, the referees dismissed calls from Cowboys players, who obviously can count, that the sixth tackle should have been called, allowing Beau Ryan to cross for a try on the seventh tackle.
That six senior officials, both on the field and those manning the technology, could all make such a crucial mistake, is beyond belief. It is unlikely that they were all being paid to allow the howler, so are they all just blithering idiots? Or could it be that they were so subconsciously willing Cronulla over the line, that they let play continue until the desired result transpired? For the life of me, I can't think of another explanation for the error outside those three possibilities, can you?
Whatever the reason, it has wiped the same team from the finals race for the second year in a row. Last year they were denied justice by another howler, allowing Manly to score from a blatant knock-on.

It is important to realise when trying to decide what course of action should be taken now, that the main play-makers for both sides, especially Cronulla, having ball in hand, would have been acutely aware of what number tackle it was. The count determines what type of play will be made next. Therefore by continuing on and claiming the try, Cronulla contributed to the farce and the dishonesty of the try as much as the officials did. In the interest of fair play and honesty, the try should be taken away from Cronulla and the game awarded to the Cowboy's. In law if you are the recipient of ill-gotten gains and know about it you are guilty of a crime. Why should the Cowboys be punished for something they did not participate in. Why should the perpetrators be rewarded. Officialdom didn't hesitate to strip players of points and grand finals when the salary cap was breached by the Bulldogs and Storm clubs. (Both Super League clubs just quietly, and therefore anti Sydney establishment) Why not now?
People may say they are two different matters, but I believe they both amount to cheating in the game and if left unpunished can lead to exploitation and potential game fixing.
Which leads me to the point that a culture is perpetrated in the NRL, which is both stifling the progress of the code, and feeding the very elements in and around the game that the officials pay lip service to stamping out, particularly player behaviour (On and off field).
Players are continually rewarded in the NRL for cheating, and players and coaches in some teams, play do dupe the gullible referees. Cheating is not only condoned but rewarded. How often do you see players stepping to the side of markers, holding the tackler down by the jersey to con a referee, or a player hitting at ball in a tackle to elicit a knock-on. And a relatively new trick of staying down after a tackle if you think you can get a penalty for a head-high tackle. A good remedy for this little trick would be to enforce a head bin of 5 or 10 minutes for a player who believes he is sufficiently injured to stay down, to ensure he doesn't have concussion. How often have you heard commentator Gus Gould congratulating players for drawing a penalty "Good work. He just gained a penalty for his side." He was a head coach and still has major influence on the game today.
I believe that this culture of cheating and winning at all cost, which is encouraged in this game, seeps into the psyche of the player and can carry through into life, creating the problems with drugs, gambling, assault and other problems we see with some of these young men.    

The people of influence, which I talk about controlling the NRL, in my view, are channel 9 and some of their commentators (not all, but you know who they are) and their little group of not-so-prominent comrades. The bias for Sydney based clubs, although they scoff at the suggestion, is apparent from the first whistle and is evident in every phase of the commentary. A prime example in last night's Cowboys - Cronulla game, was when Gus Gould could not stop talking about the minor glitch to the time clock at the end of the match, yet brushed off the seventh tackle try as if it were a minor event. He even continued to carry on about the time keeper glitch into the next match while seemingly putting the try, which cost a team a continuation in the finals series, behind him.
I truly believe that the referees should be very closely scrutinised and the interpretation of the rules taken out of their hands as much as possible, so that there is no room for error. With the rules as they are, and the closeness of the teams today, how hard do you think it would be for a corrupt referee to manipulate the outcome of a game. I am certain that it happens today.. If not because of corruption, because of subconscious bias toward one of the teams. I've seen too often one team penalised for minor infringements while the other team is let go for the same offence, creating try scoring opportunity in the right area of the field or allowing a team to get relief from their end of the field.
I know it sounds "Out there" but look whats happened in cricket.