Michael Maguire Left Speechless by ‘Unusual’ Disruption Decision That Cost the Broncos

The Broncos’ head coach, Michael Maguire, has labelled the Bunker’s decision to penalise Gehamat Shibasaki for a purported disruptor as “bizarre”, following his team’s defeat to the Cowboys.

With just 16 minutes remaining, the Broncos held a 34-24 lead after a try from Brendan Piakura. However, the try was overturned when it was deemed that Shibasaki had interfered with Tom Chester during his attempt to recover a dropped kick.

Commenting on the incident, Nine’s Johnathan Thurston remarked, “it’s a straightforward drop”, while fellow commentator Cameron Smith also expressed confusion over the ruling.

“The point I’d argue is that Tom Chester had a clear view of the ball throughout,” Maguire stated. “He should have been able to take the catch, but he didn’t. If Shibasaki had burst in with his arms up and interrupted Chester’s line of sight, that would be different. Yet, he didn’t obstruct Chester’s view of the ball at all.”

During the post-match press conference, Maguire seemed taken aback.

“I really have no idea why that was called, it’s quite bizarre,” he admitted. “As outside backs, we are trained to catch the ball, which is fundamental to the role. From what I observed, Gehamat wasn’t close to Chester when he made his attempt; in fact, he was further away.”

“This ruling is astonishing. If that’s the direction they’re going in, they need to ensure there’s consistency,” he added.

On Nine’s Friday Night Footy, Paul Gallen echoed the sentiments of disbelief.

“I found the disruptor penalty against the Broncos to be a very poor decision,” he stated. “To me, it clearly was a try… at no point was he obstructed in his line of sight. It was simply a dropped ball from Tom Chester, and I can’t fathom how they overturned that. I can’t believe the try was disallowed for the Broncos. This is the reality of the rules we’re dealing with now, seriously.”

The no-try ruling was not the only contentious decision for Maguire that night.

Just after the break, Cory Paix was forced off for a head injury assessment (HIA), classified as category one by the medical team. His substitute, Blake Mozer, was substituted out just ten minutes later after sustaining an apparent fractured jaw while attempting to tackle Jason Taumalolo.

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Despite being knocked down and struggling to his feet, Mozer was assessed as a category two concussion.

Maguire found the decisions perplexing, especially since Paix felt fit to return to the game.

“That’s definitely something we’ll need to examine,” he revealed. “He (Paix) was in the change room, ran off the field, and was ready to go back on. I really don’t understand that… and speaking to Paix, he can’t believe it either. But on the other hand, close to breaking Blake’s jaw could have serious implications.”