Gutherson labels bunker a “lottery” after crucial missed call

Parramatta Eels captain Clint Gutherson has described the NRL Bunker as a “lottery” after his side was denied a clear obstruction call in a devastating 36-34 loss to the Penrith Panthers on Friday night.

In scenes similar to the 2023 NRL Grand Final, the Panthers pulled off a sensational late comeback to secure the win over their cross-town rivals but the game-sealing try came with plenty of controversy.

As the Panthers broke away, Liam Martin crashed through the line and took out Deajarn Asi, with the incident being cleared by the bunker moments later. The missed call wasn’t missed by the Eels skipper and coach, who both echoed their disappointment in the decision.

“I said to challenge it and (referee Peter Gough) said it’s all going to be checked and it seemed to take a long time for them looking at it,” Gutherson said.

“If you’re looking at it that long then there has to be something there. I feel like if their lead (runner) is hitting our half and he’s hitting the deck then we can’t have cover tackles, we don’t have the movement to get there.

“I thought the rule now was if they get taken out… it’s a lottery at the moment which is disappointing.

“It’s just disappointing, we put so much effort into that game.”

Meanwhile, interim coach Trent Barrett didn’t mince his words when he looked back at the pivotal moment.

“The last try I thought there was an obstruction in there and a pretty bad one too,” Barrett said.

“How that happens with the officiating that we’ve got and how many people are looking at it, I don’t know. Daejarn Asi got knocked over by Liam and it shouldn’t have been a try.

“The game is cruel at times and it was cruel at the end.

“There were a few (calls) and sometimes that happens when you’re not supposed to be winning, you know when Penrith are the premiers and maybe they were a bit surprised we were in the contest and we didn’t get a couple (of calls) tonight.

“The last one is hard to cop, you just can’t do that, you see it every other week and they get pulled up… and that cost us the game.

“I just feel for the players, they were the better side and didn’t deserve to lose that tonight.”