'Rugby league died tonight': One moment stuns greats

Some of rugby league’s biggest legends have taken aim at the NRL’s Bunker over a bizarre call during Thursday night’s game.

Manly was tied 22-22 with the Dolphins in a Suncorp Stadium thriller when fullback Tom Trbojevic fielded a bomb deep in his own half.

The Sea Eagles No.1 proceeded to lose the ball when attempting to get up, with referee Ashley Klein calling for a Dolphins scrum feed.

But Manly challenged the decision, and review official Gerard Sutton found Dolphins prop Jesse Bromwich had accidentally grazed the face of Trbojevic as the latter fell in the tackle.

As a result he called a penalty against Bromwich, handing the Sea Eagles a kick downfield. Another penalty in the ensuing set allowed Manly to take a 24-22 lead – then, perhaps luckily for Sutton, the Dolphins won the game with a late try.

League icon Paul Vautin could not believe the Bunker’s decision to penalise Bromwich.

“Are you serious? Our game is finished,” Vautin fumed in commentary for Nine.

“It is finished if you are penalising that. Honestly. I bet you the bloke who made that decision has never stepped on to a football field. What a stitch-up.”

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