Nathan Cleary torched over 'dumb' move as NRL fans claim Eels were dudded in loss to Penrith

The actions of Nathan Cleary have come under fire from fans after an incident that saw Penrith record-breaker Tom Jenkins sin-binned in Thursday night's comeback win over Parramatta. Jenkins broke the Panthers' record for most tries in an NRL season after notching his 26th of the campaign to overtake club great Rhys Wesser.

But Penrith's come-from-behind 24-18 win - which tightened their grip on the minor premiership - came after several controversial calls went against the Eels. The first major talking point came in the lead-up to Jenkins' sin-binning for a professional foul on Brian Kelly in the dying seconds of the first half.

Penrith No.7 Cleary inexplicably attempted to go for touch off a short drop-out, rather than just booting the ball long with seconds left on the clock. But it inadvertently led to Jenkins being sent to the bin after Kelly scooped up the footy and grubbered to himself down the touchline, only to be held back by the Panthers winger before he attempted to ground the ball.

The Bunker reviewed the incident and showed that Kelly spilled the ball over the tryline. But Jenkins was sent for 10 because of the deliberate foul on Kelly. And fans turned on Cleary for what many described as a "dumb" decision to attempt a short drop-out in that situation.

Eels go down after a number of controversial calls

Other viewers argued that Kelly should have been awarded a penalty try after pointing out that he got to the footy first and could have scored if not for the illegal contact by Jenkins. Maroons coach Billy Slater said on Nine's coverage: "Given how close he got, this has gotta be more than a penalty - he gets his hand to the football."

The Eels' frustrations only grew after the break when Blaize Talagi appeared to knock-on moments before Liam Henry scored to help level the contest at 12-12. "I had it 100 per cent a knock on," Andrew Voss said in commentary for Fox League, after referee Gerard Sutton waved play on.

And the officials also missed an apparent forward pass in the lead-up to Jenkins' milestone try that sealed the win. Ryles refused to blame the officials after the loss and said his Eels players were their own worst enemies at times. But he echoed the frustrations of many fans over the number of controversial calls.

Ryles said post-game: "I thought BK's [Brian Kelly] try (could have been a penalty try). If he impeded him to get the ball and he got so close to the ball, then possibly a penalty try?

"And then there was one where there was a forward pass and maybe a knock-on in the run of play. It was like gridiron. It's disappointing when we've got so much technology and we're willing to use it at times and other times we just don't to help the referee out."

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