Match Details
Match Date	8th Apr, 2000
Opponent	Auckland Warriors
Result	Draw 18-18
Coach	Steven Folkes
Captain	Darren Britt
Venue	Homebush (Stadium Australia)
Crowd	7,132
Referee	Mark Oaten

THE National Rugby League is expected to review security arrangements for referees at Stadium Australia after Mark Oaten was spat on and had water bottles thrown at him on Saturday.

The incident happened as Oaten and his touch judges left the field after the Bulldogs-Auckland game.

Oaten and video referee Peter Filmer were involved in several controversial decisions and the game ended in an 18-18 draw.

Oaten said after the match he intended complaining to the NRL, after angry Bulldogs fans lined the fence and spat on him and his touch judges and pelted them with water bottles as they left the ground.

Oaten was disappointed that there was no security provided for officials between the ground and the tunnel.

NRL football director Graham Annesley declined to comment on the matter yesterday until he received further information.

“I haven't heard from them, I'll wait until I get a referees' report,” Annesley said.

“I don't know if that (spitting) happened to them. I'd rather hear from them before I comment on it.”

The controversy did not end there. Warriors fullback Scott Pethybridge had his jaw dislocated by a shoulder charge from Travis Norton and Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes criticised some of the decisions by Oaten and video referee Peter Filmer.

The most contentious of those was a try awarded to Warriors winger Lee Oudenryn, who scooped up a loose ball that had been lost by Bulldogs fullback Hazem El Masri in a tackle and then raced away to score, to give the Warriors a 16-12 lead.

Oaten asked Filmer whether the tackle had been effected by two men and Folkes attacked Filmer's decision to allow the try and the movement.

"My understanding of the rule is if there are two people involved at any stage of the tackle, then it's classed as a two-man tackle." Folkes said. "He definitely pulled the ball out — why wasn't there a penalty?

"On Monday morning, we go in and watch a video and watch all our mistakes and I make my selection (based) on that. I hope that Mark Oaten, referees' boss Peter Louis and Peter Filmer and the two touch judges go in and view all their mistakes because they might find they might have to drop themselves."

Folkes said the Bulldogs had played well for the first 20 minutes of the match, but had dropped off after that and could probably consider themselves lucky to escape with a point.

The Bulldogs were certainly strong during the first half and posted tries through Brent Sherwin and Willie Talau, but the Warriors hit back to level the scores before halftime with tries to Nigel Vagana and All Lauitiiti.

Lauitiiti took the ball from dummy-half five metres out and then pushed his way to the tryline through five Bulldog defenders.

Oudenryn's try put the Warriors ahead in the second half and, after a John Simon penalty goal, it appeared an upset was on the cards. But once Travis Norton scored after a 60-metre run from Darren Smith, Auckland coach Mark Graham was left to rue another opportunity that had slipped through his fingers.

"I think we try hard enough, we just allow sides back into the game and we're struggling a little bit at the moment," Graham said. "There are plenty more games of football to go and we've just got to keep banging away as everyone else has and hopefully we can turn the corner."

The Warriors will examine videotape of the shoulder charge by Norton on Pethybridge. The fullback was assisted from the field and had his jaw put back into place, but had it dislocated again after returning for the second half. He was knocked out after the game so medical staff could put his jaw back into place again.

Source: The Australian

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