Former referees boss Michael Stone has described the farcical events after Sunday's Cowboys-Tigers game as the biggest "smother job" by league officials in over 30 years. Stone, a grand final and State of Origin referee, couldn't remember a bigger fiasco since a little-known loophole in the rules cost St George a game in the early 1990s. "I can't believe what I saw on Sunday and how the NRL then tried to cover its tracks," Stone said of the controversial finish in Townsville. "It's a smother job, plain and simple - they are making up the rules as they go. "It reminds me of a Dragons-Sharks game in around 1990 when (Dragons coach) Brian Smith asked officials if the ball was rolling near the deadball line and his fullback had a foot out of play and touched it, would it be a 20-metre tap. As the rules stood then - they were changed very quickly after the game - he was right, but when it happened on the field, the ref ordered a line dropout instead of a 20m tap - and of course the Sharks scored and the Dragons lost. "Poor Ashley Klein had no idea and took the soft option of giving the Cowboys the penalty for a blatant dive… no common sense. "For the NRL to say the game wasn't over and the Cowboys could launch a captain's challenge is pure fantasy. And they do admit they got the challenge wrong, it should not have been a penalty - it's a complete farce - sadly we have learnt little in over 30 years. "I really couldn't believe what I was watching. I felt for the Tigers - they were dudded."
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