The Bulldogs players were both put on report, and Sharks cult hero Fifita was clearly unimpressed.
Andrew Fifita was spotted exchanging words with Sitili Tupouniua after the Bulldogs player was sin-binned at the end of a spiteful game against the Cronulla Sharks in which Reed Mahoney also landed himself in hot water. Tupouniua was given his marching orders after the full-time siren after collecting Braydon Trindall with a late tackle after he passed the ball.
Despite there being no time left on the clock, referee Chris Butler still sent Tupouniua to the bin. Many felt it was a cop-out and a token move after Mahoney escaped the same fate for two separate incidents.
The Bulldogs hooker collected Toby Rudolf with a swinging arm to the head in the first half, and then also made contact with Daniel Atkinson’s head in a nasty incident in the second. Atkinson had just dived on a loose ball when Mahoney came down and collected him in the head with his elbow – in what appeared to be a deliberate act.
Andrew Fifita spotted in sideline incident
Butler only put Mahoney on report, but many felt he should have been sin-binned. Tupouniua was then given his marching orders after the full-time siren, and former Sharks player Fifita was seen having words with him as he made his way to the tunnel.
Fifita, who is a Cronulla cult hero and now works as an official, put his hand on Tupouniua and offered some choice words, clearly unhappy at his hit on Trindall. Tupouniua didn’t respond and simply made his way into the tunnel and towards the dressing room. (Watch it in the video below):
Fifita’s frustrations summed up the night for the Sharks, who were bashed by the relentless Bulldogs. However many felt the referees should have taken stronger action against Mahoney, particularly for the ugly hit on Atkinson.
Speaking to Fox League after the game, the pesky hooker played down the incident. “If someone’s laying on the ground, I’m not just going to lay on him,” he said. “It’s Bulldogs footy. We’re tough. It’s what we do.”
But it’s a different story if you deliberately make contact with an opponent’s head. Andrew Voss said in commentary: “If (Mahoney’s) made contact with the head, he’s got a problem.”
Bulldogs secure 32-year first with four-straight wins
Speaking after the match, Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon said a potential sin-binning of Mahoney wouldn’t have changed the result. “They were good and strong, they outworked us a little bit,” Fitzgibbon said after the 20-6 loss. “Every time we got there we turned it over or we didn’t execute. They outplayed us today.”
After Melbourne’s shock loss to the Dragons earlier on Saturday, it leaves Canterbury as the only undefeated team in the NRL. Cameron Ciraldo’s side have won their first four games for the first time since 1993, and are atop the ladder for the first time since 2016.
It came without big guns Matt Burton and Viliame Kikau (knee injuries), although the Sharks lost Siosifa Talakai (concussion) and Kayal Iro (hamstring) during the game. In his first game back in Cronulla since copped a four-year ban for testing positive to banned substances while with the Sharks in 2020, Bronson Xerri scored a double to lead the Dogs to victory.
