Cartwright's ref attack wide of mark
SINCE their arrival in the NRL three years ago, the Gold Coast Titans and head coach John Cartwright have added enormously to the rugby league landscape.
With managing director Michael Searle, Cartwright has taken the Titans from a dream and turned them into a serious premiership contender in just three years. He is highly respected by his players and well-liked throughout the competition.
However, Cartwright's bitter and misplaced post-match rant about the officiating in Saturday night's thrilling south-east Queensland derby at Skilled Park did himself, his club and the game a disservice. While the NRL allows coaches and players to voice, within reason, their views on match officials, the increasing desire for them to use this as a crutch to mask the failings of their team is becoming tiresome in the extreme.
Referees, video referees and touch judges are human, just like coaches and players. Members of all parties are guilty of mistakes. In a game as fast and as intense as Saturday night's Titans-Broncos match, no one is going to get everything right and for Cartwright to suggest the whistle-blowers' mistakes cost his side the chance of victory is to ignore completely the input of players from both sides.
It is insulting to the Broncos, who were the better side in what was one of the most entertaining matches in recent memory. And it conveniently glosses over some of the errors made by the men in blue and gold. By the count of the official match statistician the Titans made 11 errors ... missed 34 tackles as well.