Rival NRL clubs are privately unhappy about the recently-formed links between premiers Melbourne and the game's No.1 ranked referee Gerard Sutton. The Storm employed Sutton's elder brother and former boss, ex-referees supremo Bernard Sutton, as a consultant in January. I'm not suggesting for one minute that Gerard has a bias towards the Storm because of their association with his brother - the referee is straight as an arrow. But there are rumblings about what impact this scenario could have, with Bernard having coached Gerard and having an intimate knowledge of all his habits and pet peeves on the field that could theoretically result in penalties. The NRL themselves are concerned about optics of the link between the brothers. A couple of months ago during the State of Origin series, chief executive Andrew Abdo personally telephoned Bernard Sutton telling him to stand down from helping Queensland after game one, which was refereed by Gerard. "Bernard trained his little brother and was his boss - he knows how he ticks as a referee and what he is likely to penalise and what he will let go," a rival coach told me. "What if Gerard referees the grand final and the Storm win - as they did last year - and his brother is now on the coaching staff. We are not saying there is any bias but it is not a good look."
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ReplyDeleteMelbourne Storm are a professional NRL team, so it would naturally require a professional help. ie, they employed the help of a professional (retired) referee.
DeleteIt doesn't matter if they have a sibbling who is still a current referee. The fact that Melbourne Storm are smart enough to want to do what it takes to win games in a professional manner, makes other teams feel inferior.