Ref rage dominates another controversial round of NRL 2017

ROUND 21 of the 2017 NRL Premiership commenced with a forgettable fixture at Pepper Stadium.

Penrith came out on top, downing Canterbury 16-8 to take a big step towards finals.

Another win next week could see the Panthers bound into the top eight, but nobody was all that enthused by what they dished up on Thursday night.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever have grandchildren.. but if I do, I don’t think I’ll bother telling them about this game.#NRLPanthersBulldogs

— Boring NRL Guy (@BoringNRLguy) July 27, 2017

I can’t believe I’m putting myself through this game. Can I have my 80 minutes back? #nrlpanthersbulldogs

— John Dean (@JohnDean_) July 27, 2017

I’m going to race home & watch this again on replay!!!#NRLPanthersBulldogs @NRLshitNo1says

— Ross Martin (@RossMartin1960) July 27, 2017

Football took a back seat at Mt Smart on Friday when Fa’amanu Brown was forced off the ground with a sickening head injury.

Punters debated as to whether or not Cronulla should have received a penalty for the incident, but there was one thing everybody agreed on.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a footy game ruined for you by Blocker Roach’s commentary #NRLWarriorsSharks pic.twitter.com/pvAxODFASe

— NRL Boom Rookies (@NRLBoomRookies) July 28, 2017

Blocker Roach needs to stop talking. At least wait to find out if Nu Brown is OK. #NRL #NRLWarriorsSharks

— Brendan Bradford (@1bbradfo) July 28, 2017

Unbelievable Steve Roach. The kid is laying on the ground convulsing & you think it’s time to question his technique?? #NRLWarriorsSharks

— Nez (@fraggle73) July 28, 2017

Over at ANZ Stadium, it was Kenny Edwards who incurred the wrath of the Twitterverse.

A characteristically rash tackle from the Parramatta man was the big talking point to come out of the Eels’ win over Brisbane.

Will Edwards be in trouble for this hit? #NRLEelsBroncos #9WWOS pic.twitter.com/LSxIxT9yIe

— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) July 28, 2017

Nathan Brown no case to answer, Kenny Edwards should be charged with Grade 2 stupidity & 2 week suspension @BigSportsBrekky #NRLEelsBroncos

— Terry Kennedy (@TK_BSB) July 28, 2017

Kenny Edwards should be referred straight to the judiciary for a grade three Kenny Edwards #NRLEelsBroncos #nrlparbri

— Hamish Neal (@hamishneal) July 28, 2017

NRL Saturday kicked off with the upset of the round as Newcastle put their wooden spoon campaign in serious strife.

It was a horror day for St George Illawarra, whose finals hopes are now hanging by a thread after such a bright start to the season.

Bitter as they were with the referees, even Dragons fans had to applaud the long-suffering Knights supporters who keep turning out in force.

15,000 showing up to watch a team that has won 3 times in 2 years. Incredible fans in Newcastle. #NRLKnightsDragons pic.twitter.com/qoys7EV8ds

— Elliott Lovejoy (@ElliottLovejoy) July 29, 2017

Knights good, Dragons bad but referees horrible. Haven’t seen a worse referee performance this year. #NRLKnightsDragons

— Rugby League News (@RugbyLeagueNews) July 29, 2017

The refs were centre stage once again as Canberra cleaned up South Sydney to stay within reaching distance of the top eight.

There was also more love for everybody’s favourite special comments guru.

When you see Blocka holding a mic. #NRLSouthsRaiders pic.twitter.com/k4zijd2U2d

— Nicole ? (@NicoleHall07) July 29, 2017

The Henry Perenara experience – a bloke gets whacked in the face, play on, & then a sin bin at the other end. Ridiculous. #NRLSouthsRaiders

— Matt Bungard (@TheMattBungard) July 29, 2017

Sad state of affairs in rugby league when a small man is put on report for cutting a bigger man in half #NRLSouthsRaiders

— NRLCEO Fantasy Footy (@Fantasy_NRLCEO) July 29, 2017

Guess what had Sydney supporters so riled up throughout their clash with North Queensland?

That’s right – those pesky referees again.

It mattered little in the end as the Roosters ran out 22-16 winners to remain two points off top.

Latrell Mitchell making the hard look easy!#NRLRoostersCowboys 6-0 after 4 minutes.#NRL pic.twitter.com/QXh5cZ4ED1

— NRL (@NRL) July 29, 2017

Roosters very hard done by the officiating tonight. It’s disgraceful #nrl #nrlRoostersCowboys

— Anthony Webb (@anthonyqld) July 29, 2017

This is the most incredible set of square up penalties I’ve ever seen #NRLRoostersCowboys

— Raman Goraya (@rambogoraya) July 29, 2017

It was all about Cameron Smith as Melbourne celebrated their captain’s 350th game with a 40-6 hammering of Manly Warringah.

Twitter was filled with an outpouring of near-universal respect for the Storm skipper, who is now only five shy of Darren Lockyer’s all-time games record.

Happy 350 @camsmith9! ?#NRLStormManly #NRL pic.twitter.com/qIBe8Z9yeM

— NRL (@NRL) July 30, 2017

Cam Smith notches 350 games today…I’m an AFL guy, but I know he’s a legend.#nrlstormmanly #cam350 pic.twitter.com/mA2EJsKHPF

— Sportsbet.com.au (@sportsbetcomau) July 30, 2017

Congrats to @camsmith9 on 350 @NRL games and becoming equal 2nd most games of all time. All hail the GOAT!!! ??? #CAM350 #NRLStormManly pic.twitter.com/2khtpzCBlW

— Dylan Matthews (@DylanMatthews91) July 30, 2017

The round ended in glorious conditions on the Gold Coast, although it was hardly a sunny conclusion for the Titans.

They were absolutely mauled by a Wests Tigers side that had managed only four prior wins this season.

Again, it was hardly an exhibition of eye-catching, free-flowing footy.

Rubbish day for football. ?#NRLTitansTigers pic.twitter.com/Jpj6x9s5IS

— Wests Tigers (@WestsTigers) July 30, 2017

Hopefully someone at @GCTitans finds the keys to the Centre of Excellence soon.#NRLTitansTigers

— Former Legend (@Former_legend) July 30, 2017

Wests Tigers AND Newcastle Knights winning in the same round.
Thats twilight zone stuff #NRLTitansTigers

— Mr Ives (@real_MrIves) July 30, 2017