Phil Gould reignited obstruction debate, accused Nicho Hynes of playing for penalty, Knights' defensive effort criticized.
Phil Gould has re-ignited debate around obstructions and accused Nicho Hynes of playing for a penalty after Newcastle were controversially denied a try against Cronulla on Sunday. And Andrew Johns described some of the Knights' defensive efforts as "unforgivable" as they lost 34-14 at home.
The Knights thought they'd levelled the score at 6-6 in the 16th minute when Fletcher Sharpe ran away to score after some nice work from Bradman Best. But the Bunker official ruled that Thomas Cant had obstructed Hynes in the lead-up and created the gap that Best ran through.
Cant ran at the outside shoulder of Hynes and prevented him from sliding across, but Gould thought Hynes had initiated the contact and didn't do enough to avoid the Knights player. The NRL declared it would crack down on defenders playing for obstruction penalties in 2025, and Gould believed the Hynes incident was the perfect example.