NRL: Tigers angry at 'missing' penalty

Jeremy Smith was not penalised for kneeing Lote Tuqiri on Saturday night in a crucial phase of the game. Photo / Getty Images

Wests Tigers are fuming St George Illawarra forward Jeremy Smith was not penalised for kneeing Lote Tuqiri during Saturday's National Rugby League (NRL) preliminary final, claiming the judiciary's action yesterday proved match officials should have awarded a potentially game-changing penalty.

Wests Tigers chief executive Stephen Humphreys said the decision of Shayne Hayne, Ben Cummings and video referee Steve Clark to let the 73rd minute go unpunished unfairly denied the Tigers an opportunity to break a 12-12 deadlock.

Instead Tigers five-eighth Benji Marshall kicked out on the full on the next play, an error that allowed St George Illawarra to set up Jamie Soward's match-winning field goal.

The NRL's match review committee charged Smith with a grade one dangerous contact though the lock is free to play Sunday's grand final against the Sydney Roosters after lodging an early guilty plea.

Humphrey's said the match officials' inaction had "monumental consequences" for his side.

"It (Smith's charge) obviously confirms the fact that a penalty goal should have been awarded which would have changed the whole flow of the game and more than likely the result," he said.

``Unfortunately it's another example of the game's officials being unwilling to deal with incidents at the crucial moments in big games, with monumental consequences for all concerned.''

Tigers assistant coach Royce Simmons was also stunned a penalty was not awarded after the tackle, which left Tuqiri nursing suspected broken ribs.

``I even jumped on the radio to (fellow assistant) Peter Gentle and told him to make sure we took the two points,'' he told The Daily Telegraph newspaper.

However, match review committee chairman, former referee Greg McCallum, defended the on-field officials and Clark, describing any criticism as ``unfair''.

``We spent 45 minutes on it - how it happened, why it happened, what the contact was,'' McCallum said.

NRL referees boss Robert Finch would not comment on the incident but the organisation's chief operating officer Graham Annesley said there had simply been a ``difference of views'' between the match officials and review committee.

``It's not unusual for the match review committee to take action on matters that weren't acted upon by the match officials,'' he said.

Smith insisted the contact was accidental.

``I didn't go over there intentionally to hurt him,'' he told NZPA.

``It's just the way he fell, he landed on my knees.''