NRL doubles-down after sin bin fury

The Australian Rugby League Commission will discuss possible tweaks to the sin bin rule at the end of the year, but NRL football boss Graham Annesley remains adamant there won’t be any backing down referees issuing on-field punishments amid criticism from some of the best coaches of all time.

Wayne Bennett voiced his frustrations over the sin bin rule in a lengthy chat with Fox Sports last week, with Roosters coach Trent Robinson agreeing after Sunday’s win that it needs to be looked at to protect the integrity of the game and to eliminate inconsistencies between the referees, the bunker and the match review committee.

Robinson raised his voice after a question about Wests Tigers skipper Api Koroisau who spent 10 minutes off the field for a lifting tackle on Lindsay Collins but wasn’t charged by the MRC, which moved frustrated Tigers coach Benji Marshall to label it a “lottery”.

In total, 71 players have been sin-binned across 17 rounds this season and while Annesley conceded that the Koroisau incident didn’t “reach the mark for a sin bin”, he said referees would remain extra vigilant.