Channel Nine commentators Phil Gould and Paul Gallen have come under fire from fans online for comments they made surrounding Jack Howarth’s controversial delayed try in Sunday’s NRL Grand Final.
Gould’s former club Penrith wrote their names in NRL history by claiming their fourth consecutive premiership, beating the Melbourne Storm 14-6.
But a controversial moment overshadowed the match after many thought Storm center Jack Howarth had scored just after the break.
The try would have brought Melbourne back level with the Panthers at 10-10, after Liam Martin touched down just before half-time to give Ivan Cleary’s team the lead.
Howarth had crossed the Penrith line but was buried under several bodies obscuring a clear view of whether the ball had landed. Referee Ashley Klein initially declared “no attempt” and referred the ruling to bunker official Grant Atkins, who confirmed the verdict.
Phil Gould (left) claimed photos showing Jack Howarth having his disallowed try during the NRL Grand Final overturned had been “tweaked”.
Paul Gallen also controversially claimed that the images had been photoshopped.
Many fans watching Channel Nine’s broadcast of the game were outraged by the decision, arguing that Nine’s footage had shown the 21-year-old Storm center appearing to touch the ball.
A number of social media users had posted images and clips claiming the footage showed the try scored, with some hitting the referee team.
One wrote: ‘Hahaha. Didn’t the bunker see the ball hit the ground?
Another added: “Storm ripped 100 per cent in one go.”
However, it appears that the referees were correct in their decision, with journalists revealing after the match that the video referees had access to a separate camera angle that was not shown to the public on the live broadcast.
New footage showed a Penrith player had put his arm under the ball and prevented the attempt.
During Channel Nine’s post-match analysis, former New South Wales Origin star Gallen argued that Howarth had not supported the ball.
“Well, from what I saw here, I didn’t see it hit the ground, no,” he told the station.
‘I thought they (the officials) made the right decision. I know there are things floating around on social media right now that are pretty clear that the ball is probably hitting the ground.
‘What I saw on social media and what I saw there are not the same. I didn’t see the ball hit the ground.’
Melbourne star Jack Howarth had a try disallowed in the NRL Grand Final on Sunday afternoon.
Fans lashed out at the decision and criticized the video referee for ruling Howarth was held on the line.
View of Channel Nine’s live broadcast initially appeared to show Howarth had grounded the ball, but the video referee subsequently ruled it held.
Fans attacked the referees during the match after seeing images of the incident
The NRL later released a vision showing the Panthers had held the ball.
Former Storm hooker Cameron Smith put further pressure on the former Sharks star, asking: “Do you think you’ve done a bit of photoshopping, Gal?”
‘I think so. I mean, honestly, did you see the ball hit the ground then? Gallen responded.
“I don’t think it hit the ground. What I’ve seen on social media wasn’t that,” he doubled down on his opinion after being pressed further by broadcaster James Bracey.
“So, I don’t know how they did it, but in my opinion, I didn’t see him hit the ground.”
Gould, affectionately known as ‘Gus’, had been removed from his match commentary duties, with Andrew Johns, Billy Slater and Mat Thompson taking the bench.
He had been calling the NRL State Championship earlier in the day but returned to give his verdict on the controversial moment, agreeing with the former Sharks star.
“I think if the referee had ruled ‘try’, it wouldn’t have been disallowed,” the former Panthers player and coach told Channel Nine.
“He (Klein) couldn’t have seen it from his point of view, and so the Bunker doesn’t really have a clear vision to override it, or a clear enough vision to override it.
Gould continued: “Now, there are a lot of doctored photos on social media trying to say he hit the ground, but I guess we’ll just have to leave it to the referee.”
But Gould and Gallen sparked controversy again in their post-match analysis of the game after claiming footage appearing online had been doctored.
Gould’s comments did not sit well with fans online, who attacked the NRL commentator.
—Manipulated images? One wrote on X (formerly Twitter). ‘You are an absolute disgrace @PhilGould15
“The way you get paid for your dribbling is just amazing.”
‘Manipulated images? What an absolute (clown),’ one wrote on X, posting a ‘clown’ emoji.
‘Paul Gallen said the images circulating on social media were fake news. I could have finished my 2024 NRL bingo card,” said one.
Another added: ‘Phil Gould is just Phil Gould. Embarrassing.’
Fans took to X to question the experts’ opinion, with one calling Gould “a disgrace.”
News Corps’ Tim Michell had posted live footage of the incident on Channel Nine on social media on Sunday and was left scratching his head and writing: “How can you argue that’s not an attempt?”
One fan responded: “What’s worse now is that guys like Gould and Gallen are justifying it – the level of comments and prejudice is disgusting.”