NRL Faces Pressure as Bunker Controversy Raises Questions

‘Get it out, stop players from diving’ | 01:11

The first Bunker controversy of 2025 is upon us, and it didn’t take long.

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During the Sharks-Warriors 12-all draw in Friday night’s Pre-Season Challenge opener, a Cronulla try was disallowed after it was ruled that a Warriors defender was obstructed.

Sharks young gun Taj Ford ran through space close to the line to score but it was ruled a no try by on field referee Liam Kennedy, which was then supported by the Bunker.

The Bunker deemed a Sharks decoy runner obstructed Warriors playmaker Jett Cleary which caused the gap to open in the defensive line that Ford used.

The obstruction rule was a controversial one last season given it was easy for defenders to ‘milk’ a penalty by zeroing in on the decoy runner and making contact.

The NRL announced earlier this week that they were cracking down on this in order to reward good attack instead of bad defence.

It must be said that there’s no suggestion Cleary dived or milked a penalty in this instance.

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Following the Sharks’ no try, Fox League commentators Cooper Cronk and Andrew Voss discussed the NRL’s stance on ‘diving’ for a penalty.

“I know it’s the first game, but I’m a little bit worried about this diving rule,” Cronk said.

“The Bunker is going to be under all sorts of pressure to determine if a player has dived or been impeded, and it’s going to cause a lot of controversy.

“The way you get it out of our game, and stop the players from diving, is charge them a fine through the match review committee. Charge the first one, and they won’t do it again.”

Voss added: “They’re trying to unscramble an egg. We’ve almost trained our players to, when they feel the slightest touch, lose their balance.