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July 9, 2024 • 18 mins

On Sports Fix with D'Arcy Waldegrave for Tuesday 9 July 2024 - Former Rugby League referee Bill Harrigan talks about the open apology from the NRL around not awarding a penalty to Te Maire Martin - should the Warriors just accept it and move on?

D'Arcy delivers an opinion piece on why Damien McKenzie should drop the 'cheeky' smile before his goaling kicking.

Plus, one Newstalk ZB sports journalist joins the panel to discuss the biggest match of Lulu Suns career.

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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks. It be
follow this and our wide range of podcast now on iHeartRadio.
This is Sportsfix Howard by News Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
It be.

Speaker 3 (00:22):
Why Hello over, Welcome on and daily notes of all
the sports news you need and some that you don't.
My name is Darcy Waltergrave. And on today's episode, today,
of course, being the ninth of July twenty twenty four,
we'll talk the controversy in the bunker Bulldogs versus Warriors
and the decision the call that was not made about

(00:43):
the late tackle. One of the NRL referring legend that
joins the podcaster's name is Bill Harrigan, and we'll talk
to him about that call, golden point and a few
other things. To boot Damien McKenzie wey mucked around, didn't
he with that little joker Grinn that nearly cast the
All Blacks the match definitely cost them three points. I

(01:04):
got some opinion about that. Then in the chamber we're
joined by a news talk zb the sports journalist and
in podcast hosts too when it comes to rugby league,
mister Nathan Limb. As we picked through the big sports
stories of the day. That's what we're doing, so let's start.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
In other news.

Speaker 3 (01:23):
Let's have a listen to some sport from today. Last
year's run to the A League semi finals has helped
lure Marco Rojas back for a second stint with the
Wellington Phoenix, the all Whites wingers we signed with the
A League club he represented from two thousand and nine
to twenty eleven, having since gained top flight experience in Germany, Denmark,
the Netherlands, and chiller Or said he's taken a keen

(01:46):
interest in the environment that coach Giancarlo Italiano has.

Speaker 4 (01:51):
Created, the big the curiosity, and then after meeting him,
I found out that related to what I fought from
the outside, and great person and a club that was
in a really good place, and so I was really
excited to be coming back.

Speaker 3 (02:03):
Meanwhile, Auckland FC have signed midfield at Jake Brimmer from Victory,
who knocked the Phoenix out in last season's semi finals series.
Bremer says he's looking forward to claiming more bragging rights
over the Mix.

Speaker 5 (02:17):
Glad we got up on them there, but to do
it for this club is even more exciting. Darby's is
what every player lives for and can't wait to put
on a good performance against them.

Speaker 3 (02:25):
And finally, UFC fighter Israel Duson is demanding a third
Kiwi to be added to the UFC three oh five
card and Perth next month. Says Dan, the Hangman Hooker
deserves a call up.

Speaker 2 (02:39):
It's atrocious. He's not even here right now.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
I try to get him to comment, but he needs
to be on this card. You'll fire anyone, so please,
if you want to see this card get stacked even more,
put on the Hangman Hooker leading a vix. We've got
just the ticket. It's Sports Fix powered by News Talks IVY.

Speaker 3 (02:56):
We'll join now on Sports Fix by one of the
great referees in the n R Ally Blue Whistles in
that competition from nineteen eighty six through the end of
the Grand Final in two thousand and three. His name
is Bill Harrigan. Bill, thanks so much for joining the program.
Great to have you on board. I trust you well,
I am well.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
Thank you very much to ask.

Speaker 3 (03:16):
Now let's go to the issue currently. Annesley has come
out and said, look, we're really sorry that was unacceptable
that decision made by the Bunker when Sam and hit
to Marty Martin or about four hours late, and it
smashed himself up, doesn't he. Do you find that bizarre
or astonishing that something so obvious was missed? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (03:37):
I do.

Speaker 5 (03:38):
On the first point that it was missed, yes, I
think why was it missed? You'd have to get to
the bottom of that by obviously interviewing the people that
were in the bunker at the time, what was their discussion.
It would have been recorded so they could replay it
and then work out why they made that mistake.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
As far as.

Speaker 5 (03:54):
Graham coming out and saying, hey, look, we apologize without
that wrong, I think that's a healthy thing. I don't
think we should ever try and cover up when referees
have made a mistake or a bunker's made a mistake.
We should be upfront and saying, you know what, we
got that one hundred percent wrong.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
It should have been independently, and then we move on.

Speaker 5 (04:12):
What we can't have is, and I may be jumping
ahead of a question here, but when there is a mistake,
we've just got to wear it. We've got to cop
it on the chin, no matter how much it hurts,
We've just got to cop it on the chin. We
can't say, okay, well, we've got to have a replay,
or we've got.

Speaker 2 (04:28):
To do it again, or something like that. That's just
one of those things in the game.

Speaker 3 (04:32):
So the apology itself, it's I suppose meaningless, isn't it.
It's just words, nothing else because nothing can be done.
You don't want to see it wound back. If there
was an ideal world, what happens with such an egregious
error like that, what has to happen.

Speaker 2 (04:47):
So it is only words.

Speaker 5 (04:49):
But I think that those words are better than an
excuse or trying to cover it up by saying something
else happened and we look at this issue instead of
that issue. I think the apology is better coming out
and saying, yeah, we got that wrong, but we can't
do something about it.

Speaker 2 (05:06):
We can't go back and say, well, let's have a replay,
let's do something else.

Speaker 5 (05:09):
Because so many other things happen in that eighty minutes
that could also change the course of the game, not
just that one decision. Yes, it might have been at
a time in the game where we think, wow, that's
only four minutes to go or five minutes ago.

Speaker 2 (05:23):
That's got a major impact.

Speaker 5 (05:24):
Yes, it might have a bigger impact happening then, but
also something that happened in the first half, just before
halftime or in the the fifteenth minute could have happened
that could have changed the game just as much. So
everything that happened after that fifteenth minute doesn't happen because
instead of saying it being a kickoff, it could have
been a penalty and the team's going the other way that,

(05:44):
which means everything else that happens after that is different
to what we've seen in the game, because every little
thing that happens in the game changes the course of
the game. So I'll give you a quick example, and
this is on a real basic level. I'm referring a
game of Ostag the other night.

Speaker 2 (06:02):
It was a Grand final. It was three all.

Speaker 5 (06:04):
A kick went through and it was a late tag
and I awarded the try and a player come over
me and said, Bill, I think that was only on
the third tag.

Speaker 2 (06:12):
You can't kick the ball until after the fourth tag.

Speaker 5 (06:14):
And I looked at him and said, that was on
the fourth tag, And I went back later on video.

Speaker 2 (06:20):
Footage showed it was only the third tag.

Speaker 5 (06:22):
I got it wrong, and the player texted me and said,
when can we have the replay bill? And I said
I've never seen a replay based on a refereeing decision
that was wrong, and nor will I, and I wouldn't
even consider it until you show me the perfect game
of tag played by the players, so there is no mistags,
no drop balls, no forward passes, and then I might

(06:43):
even consider it, because that'll never happen.

Speaker 3 (06:46):
Everybody has got issues, everyone was vulnerable, everybody makes mistakes,
is what you're hitting at. There were joined by Bill
Harrigan form my NRL Referees. We look at the lack
of decision made over the weekend before the Bulldogs and
the Warriors. I think what you're touching on before, Bill
was a recency bias. It just happened. We saw it,
the games hanging in the balance, and you can't attach

(07:09):
what happened in the not so distant pass to what
may have happened earlier on the piece. It's got to
be even across the board, doesn't it.

Speaker 5 (07:16):
Yeah, And the one thing that I'm comfortable with, even
though there are mistakes made, and sometimes I'm move and
sitting at home, maybe.

Speaker 2 (07:22):
Having a beer or a glass of red one looking
at it. Oh, come on, how did you get that wrong?
Or hurry up and make a decision.

Speaker 5 (07:28):
There's one thing I know about all those referees and
people in the bunker, not one of them is going
in there.

Speaker 2 (07:33):
With the idea that they're going to make a mistake.

Speaker 5 (07:35):
They're all going in there to do the best job
that they can and come out one hundred percent on
top of all the decisions. But we know, because we
are human, that we're just going to stuff up, and
it's only until we look back on it that we go,
you know what.

Speaker 2 (07:48):
I made a mistake there. We've all done it, We'll
all keep doing it, and.

Speaker 5 (07:51):
We've just got to accept that that's part of the game,
as much as it hurts.

Speaker 3 (07:55):
What about a situation bill where a season hangs on
a decision like that, and we know the import of
getting into the top eight if the decision really does
blow the team's chance, is there any form of compensation
that can maybe be looked at. Is there any way
of saying I'm just saying more than you're sorry if
it's such a critical juncture of the season where the

(08:16):
error is made.

Speaker 5 (08:18):
No, No, I couldn't go along with that, because if
you did that, you'd open up some massive can of
worms where everybody would be coming in and saying, well,
look at that, we need compensation for that. We need
to be we're going to get someone's sort of response,
and that could have cost us sponsors, that could have
cost us money for win the competence. You need to
pay us back. That could never happen, and if it does,

(08:38):
that'll ruin the game. It's all over in any sport,
it just can't happen. So it's one of those things.
And then again, if you went back and had to
look at another game which might have been close, but
the Warriors or the Storm or the Tigers were in
and something happened, and you go back and say, well,
look at that one. That decision there could have cost you,
and that happened in round four.

Speaker 2 (08:58):
Five six.

Speaker 5 (09:00):
Every decision, every game has an impact on your standing
in the competition, and we just can't go back and
look at situations like that. You've just got to be
one of those things where you cop it on the
chin and accept it and go well, that's sport, that's
human eraror in that sport, and as long as you
know it's a human error and there's nothing in there
that was in just then you get on with it.

Speaker 2 (09:24):
And when I say that.

Speaker 5 (09:24):
You would hate to think that someone did something on purpose,
but other than that.

Speaker 2 (09:28):
It's just a human erar and we just got to
cop it on the chin.

Speaker 3 (09:30):
Hey Bill, thanks so much for your time, mate, really
appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (09:33):
Thanks Darcin.

Speaker 1 (09:35):
This is Sports Fix, your daily does of sports news,
how and by news talks.

Speaker 3 (09:40):
EB Shades of Bernard Folly, anyone A if that didn't
rip through your mind when Damien McKenzie got timed out
for failing to count backwards from sixty over the weekend,
you're not a true rugby fan. We remember that under
Matthew ronw and the All Blacks went on to win
a game that really was the Wallerbes, but unfortunately for

(10:03):
the Wallabes, fully decided he wasn't going to kick the
ball when he was told to. Is this the case
with Damien McKenzie. I'm told there were people shouting at
him kick the ball, but when push comes to shove,
he had sixty seconds. He didn't kick the ball between
the uprights. He didn't get the opportunity to kick the
ball between the uprights because he played fast and loose.

(10:25):
With a law that we love, a law that is
designed to make this game quicker, make this game speed up, which,
from a fan perspective, we all want so. Damien, to
his credit, has fully admitted it was his problem and
he's got to do something with his pre kick routine
that's going to help him do what he has to

(10:46):
do in the time limit that he has. I'll give
you a hint, Damien. Drop the grin. Yeah, I sound
like a curmudgeon. I sound like a miserable old man
who's poking the ball actsed someone else's joy. It's superstitious.
He's been doing it for how long I don't know,
but it's superstition. Drop it. It's wasting time. And if

(11:07):
after that grin you kicked the ninety five percent, maybe,
just maybe you'd have an argument to keep it going.
But you don't get rid of it. Kick the ball
between the boasts, go back to your spot and keep
playing rugby. Lesson learned, No more grins. The Chamber is

(11:28):
now in session on Sportsfix, and we're joined in the
chamber now by Recidivist Chamber.

Speaker 6 (11:36):
Right.

Speaker 3 (11:36):
If there's such a word, a Nathan Limb sports news
you know from Menzi me also podcast hosts when it
comes to the Wars as well, how are you a fella.

Speaker 6 (11:44):
I'm doing very well, Darcy, how are you?

Speaker 3 (11:46):
Yeah, I know, I'm great. Actually love being at work,
gives me something to do, kill me, keeps me out
of the pubextually a lot cheap and it comes to
the work.

Speaker 6 (11:53):
Actually me too, Yeah, you go.

Speaker 3 (11:55):
Look, we are so common except for the thirty odd years.
What it is between us. Hey, look, let's talk about
big stories today and we're still looking back after the
decision yesterday for grahamn is there to come out and go, ah,
that was unacceptable. Yeah it was. What are you going
to do about it? They do anything about it. It's no,
the game's over, it's gone.

Speaker 6 (12:16):
That's the frustrating thing because he comes out and says, oh, yeah, sorry, guys,
that should have been a call. Well, okay, great, at
least you acknowledge it. But this keeps happening. We keep
having situations where there are just brain explosions from the bunker.
And look, I mean, you don't need to have twenty
different camera angles to see that the head onto Marty

(12:38):
Martin was high, late and deliberate, and the bunker obviously
cleared it during the game. So you've got to think
what exactly is their process if they look at the
reasons that they would award a penalty for something like that.
Hitting the head late is a playmaker. It's deliberate that
how do you.

Speaker 3 (12:57):
He loses his checklist, It sut in the back of
the couch. He didn't know what he's supposed to be
looking at. Thought, it seems like right.

Speaker 6 (13:02):
Both players came away from that clutching their heads and
the waters player's broken his jaw into about twenty different pieces.
So I mean, I don't know how much more indication
you need. I know that he said in that press
conference that, oh, there were limited camera angles, but with
the one camera angle, I saw it was pretty obvious.

Speaker 3 (13:24):
Couch I could. Yeah, it's not. But at the end
of the day, is Bill Harrigan's pointed out to us
our guest earlier on and the piece that refs are humans.
Players are humans. We all make mistakes. And my assertion
is probably the fans in the media are more upset
by it than the players and the coaches are themselves. No, no, no, no,

(13:45):
what a load of rubbish.

Speaker 6 (13:46):
The players and the coaches will say that when they
come out because they'll get fined if they come out
swinging at the officials in the bunk, but of course
they're the ones living this. How do you think to
miney hunt and fist after he was laid in the
head and the Warriors don't get anything from it? You know,
it's silly. So to say that the players and the
coaches aren't there bothered about it. I think it's a
load of rubbish. We should use that intuition and see

(14:07):
through what they actually say and be the voice for them,
because I'm not going to get a fine by saying
that that was a rubbish call. And it was a
rubbish call, there should be consequences and.

Speaker 3 (14:16):
Talking about rubbish. Damien McKenzie giving it the Bernard Foley
forgetting how to count backwards, not really paying attention to
the referee nearly. No, that's costing us a test. That's
so harsh. He's got sixty seconds. Do your job, Darcy.

Speaker 6 (14:31):
You kick a penalty in front of thirty forty thousand
people at the end of a rugby game. I'm not
count down from sixty in your head. At the same time.

Speaker 3 (14:41):
Do he get a suit on by the referee?

Speaker 2 (14:43):
Game?

Speaker 3 (14:43):
Come on? Come on?

Speaker 6 (14:44):
What do they just think he's talking to himself Darcy.
You're a radio host, right, it's all about timings. Everbraks
come in. So could you do it without a little
clock on your screen that tells you exactly when the
ad break's coming. Would you be able to sound off
to an interview and count down in your head at
the same time.

Speaker 3 (14:57):
I'm actually not bad at that after twenty five years.
But the thing is, if I get that wrong, we
don't lose a test match. No one cares. So what
are you saying that there has to be a countdown
clock make it easier? How about Damien McKenzie just kicks
the goal and starts with the grin.

Speaker 6 (15:13):
No, no, no, saying get rid of the grin. That's
that's a lot of rubbish, Like you sound like a
grumpy old.

Speaker 3 (15:19):
Man, Daryn when he put a grumpy over the weekend
that cost us the game.

Speaker 6 (15:25):
Every player has their routine with kicking. Dan Carter has it,
Johnny Wilkinson has it their.

Speaker 3 (15:31):
Routine, Quicker has it. Has the routines work before? It
hasn't one over sixty seconds? What did he do his routines?
Not very right?

Speaker 6 (15:36):
But that's not right because earlier in the game he
took longer than a minute, but the referee wasn't calling it,
so there wasn't consistency from the officials in this regard.
It's just it was at the end of the game.
It was a crucial kick and so the referee was, oh,
we'll make sure on the time thing. He gave Damien
McKenzie a warning, so Dami McKenzie knew when he said
ten seconds he had ten seconds. It's look, the referee,

(15:59):
the officials need to be consistent on this. But also
Damien McKenzie's had a routine that he's used entire career.
It's got him to the very very top of the sport.
And I don't think him smiling is really the problem.

Speaker 3 (16:10):
And from one miserable old man to a very happy
man and Nathan Lumill throw one more thing at you.
We're not going to argue over this one. Our good's
Lulu soon. This has been amazing the story of Wimbledon
so far, without a doubt.

Speaker 6 (16:23):
Oh it's a remarkable story. And it's so uplifting too,
because she's such an everyone loves an underdog story. And
I'll be the first to admit I totally wrote her
off before the tournament.

Speaker 3 (16:32):
I didn't think there was to know who she was.

Speaker 6 (16:34):
No, I didn't know who she was because I covered
the ASB Classical earlier this year, so I had actually
talked to her before, but I didn't think that there
was any chance she'd get past King Wen Jing in
the in the first round eighth seed made the Australian
Open finally earlier this year. I thought it'd be fairly
clinical from her. But Lulusun has really turned it on
and if she wins tonight, she'll move into the top forty,

(16:55):
which is incredible to think about considering she was one
hundred and thirty nine, you know, something way out before
the tournament. But she's really captured the imagination of the
New Zealand public in this regard and we need to
be championing her because this is this is incredible. This
is like Emma Radakana at the US Open a few
years ago. And there will be flow on effects from
this because Tennis New Zealand can now capitalize on this

(17:16):
and use LULUs as you know, the poster child of
New Zealand tennis, get her engaged in the community, get
her speaking at the ASP Classic hyper up as as
the New Zealand tennis player to support. We haven't really
had a KiB to support at Grand Slam since Marina
rakovits retired, So this is this is really cool.

Speaker 3 (17:33):
Does she have to start with a grin? I'm sure
she was smart, quite right. It's fantastic news to have
her on board. So looking forward to what comes from
there and already big bonuses three quarters of a million dollars.
What starts to it to career and on that one.

Speaker 6 (17:52):
I should have been a test player.

Speaker 1 (17:53):
Oh yeah, dissecting the sporting agenda. It's Sports Fix with
Jason Vine and Darcy Waldgrave.

Speaker 3 (18:03):
Put a fork on it and call it done. That
is the Sports Fix for yet another day than n
to July twenty twenty four. Don't forget to subscribe so
this can find its way into your inbox every weekday
when we pop it out of a mold. You want
more sport, get it on the radio with myself and
Jason Pine Sports Talk between seven and eight Monday to

(18:24):
Friday on News Talk ZEB and if weekend sports at
your bag, Jason Pine's got that for you from midday
through three o'clock on Saturday and Sunday. I hope you
have a wonderful day and We'll catch you again tomorrow
with more sports Fox.

Speaker 1 (18:41):
For more from News Talk zed B, listen live on
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