With less than a minute to play, the AFL officials ruled that Hawks defender Jarman Impey made no attempt to dispose of the ball in a tackle with less than a minute to play. At the time, Hawthorn led by three and looked set to move into the grand final. But the penalty gave the Lions a shot at an easy goal, and they went on to win. As the umpires left the field, projectiles were hurled in their direction from the 97,835-strong crowd.
Across the Tasman at Eden Park on Sunday night, the NRL referees received the same treatment from a selection of fans among the crowd of 48,511 after the Warriors were eliminated from the finals in a 12-10 defeat in which a few contentious calls go against the hometown side.
Whether or not you agree with decisions in a game, officials should never be subject to that sort of behaviour and fearing for their own wellbeing when they’re just doing their jobs. Those who do resort to that sort of tantrum should face major consequences.
In today’s world, where everything like that seems to be captured on video on someone’s phone, fans who are identified as throwing things at referees should receive lifetime bans from not only the stadium it happened in, but also from attending games of the home team at all other venues. Let’s go a step further, even, and ban offenders from attending a fixture at any venue in the country.
It’s a harsh penalty to serve, but it would make them think again before abusing the officials in such a manner.
Winners: Black Ferns take their chances
It was not a complete 80-minute performance from the side in their 66-14 win over Scotland, but the Black Ferns did get some key contributions from players who have had to wait for their chances on their tour.
Throughout the season, halfback Maia Joseph has been a strong, reliable contributor. Given the nod in the No 9 jersey against Scotland, Tara Turner was just as effective in a player-of-the-match performance.
Turner was one of several players included in the squad who stood out. Props Maddison Robinson and Mo’omo’oga Palu were strong at the set piece as the Black Ferns look to build their depth in that area, while Palu also showed some ability with ball in hand to score the first try of the game.
Prop Ngano Tavake and fullback Maia Davis also made their test debuts, with several of the more inexperienced players in the squad getting a chance to compete both in the starting side and from the bench.
“For us we talk about the myth of starting and finishing. We’ve had to do some work around we’re not a team who will have the 15 starters up in big bold font then size 12 down the bottom for the people who are going to finish the most important part of the game,” coach Whitney Hansen said.
“That’s been really important for us to unpack that stereotype and understand that everyone we take away on tour is good enough to be a Black Fern. Everyone has an opportunity and will get their moment, and whether you’re starting or finishing, that’s really important for us.
“I think there are different pressures that come with those things, so to get that group of players to start a game and feel those pressures was really important.”
The Black Ferns are now unbeaten in seven tests this year, heading into a clash with England at Twickenham this weekend.
Winner: A new era for the Breakers
Drawing a crowd was always going to be a challenge for the Breakers, with their NBL season-opener clashing with the Warriors’ knockout NRL match against the Newcastle Knights, but those in attendance at Spark Arena were treated to a performance that outlined the potential in their new squad.
The Breakers beat the Illawarra Hawks and got big contributions from their stars: point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright with a strong double-double of 23 points and 13 assists; big man Sam Mennenga top-scored with 27 points; while sharp-shooting recruit Dejan Vasiljevic (24 points) did exactly what he has been signed to do – consistently make buckets from long range.
The side were also efficient, shooting at 48% from the field, while being smart with the ball to only turn it over five times.
It’s a long season ahead, but it was a great way to start Gordon Herbert’s tenure at the helm.
Loser: The Warriors’ wasted year
It felt like this year was different for the Warriors. They had put together a squad with good depth across the field, featuring the talent capable of pushing for the club’s first NRL title.
For much of the season, they looked exactly that. Finishing second on the ladder with an 18-6 record, scoring more points than any other team in the competition and having a points differential of +310, they secured two home finals on their road to a first Grand Final appearance since 2011.
However, the Warriors crashed out with back-to-back losses in Auckland, failing to play up to the potential they had shown earlier in the season. While injuries and a few calls went against them, the Warriors’ inability to score tries when they were putting pressure on was costly.
Across their finals losses to the Dolphins and Newcastle Knights, the Warriors scored just three tries. Against the Knights, barring a couple of moments of brilliance from centre Leka Halasima, they lacked creativity to break some strong defence, while handling errors, execution and a largely ineffective kicking game compounded their attacking woes.
The loss will be tough for the club and the players, and is a disappointing way to send off prop Mitch Barnett, who will depart the club to join the Brisbane Broncos in 2027. But with much of the squad returning in 2027, hopefully this is a learning experience they can build upon and not a title window that has opened and closed all too soon.
Winner: Fox finds some form
Returning to the PGA Tour after winning the Open Championship, Ryan Fox struggled for consistency. He qualified to compete in all three playoff tournaments, but often found himself at the wrong end of the leaderboard.
He bounced back in a big way at the BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club in Surrey at the weekend, finishing in a tie for sixth at 14 under par.
Fox finished the week having made 22 birdies and just seven bogeys (or worse) across his 72 holes, and now moves on to his maiden Presidents Cup outing with a bit of form on his side.
Winner: Hayden Wilde
After winning the Ironman 70.3 world crown in France last week, the Kiwi multisporter was back on the top step of the podium at the weekend, taking out the Ekoi French Riviera T100 Triathlon in the French resort area. Wilde won the race by 19s to extend his lead at the top of the T100 Series leaderboard.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
