Steve Clark (referee)
| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Steven Clark | |||||
| Born |  New South Wales, Australia | |||||
| Refereeing information | ||||||
| Years | Competition | Apps | ||||
| 1992–2007 | NSWRL/ARL/NRL | 314 | ||||
| 2005 | City vs Country Origin | 1 | ||||
| 1999–2006 | State of Origin | 5 | ||||
| 1996–2006 | Test matches | 8 | ||||
| 2000 | World Cup | 2 | ||||
Steve Clark (born in New South Wales) is a former Australian professional referee in the National Rugby League competition.
NRL career
Clark made his first grade debut in the match between Parramatta Eels and the Newcastle Knights, at Parramatta Stadium on 31 May 1992. In 2007 Clark reached the 300 first grade game barrier becoming only the third referee to do so. At the time of his retirement only Bill Harrigan with 393 games and Col Pearce with 343 games had refereed more matches than him.[1]
Representative honours
Clark made his representative refereeing debut in 1996, when he officiated the Test match between Great Britain and New Zealand.
In 2005 he controlled in his one and only City vs Country Origin match at Northpower Stadium in Gosford.
Clark made his first State of Origin appearance in 1999, refereeing two matches including the first ever drawn match in Game III. He didn't referee again until the 2005 series where he was appointed to Game II. In the following series he controlled Games II and III.[1]
Controversy
Steve Clark was accused by St. George Illawarra Dragons coach Nathan Brown of bias against the St. George Illawarra Dragons team in 2006, based on a perceived tendency to award dubious penalties against St. George Illawarra Dragons. Brown was subsequently fined $15000 for making these comments.[2] An example of such a controversial penalty awarded against St. George Illawarra Dragons was in the Round 9 2008 game between Parramatta Eels and St. George Illawarra Dragons, where a 32nd minute try to Jason Nightingale was disallowed by Clark (acting as video referee) due to Matt Cooper stipping the ball. Even the referee Sean Hampstead remarked "That was a tough decision Clarky".[3]
The Bulldogs demanded the sacking of Clark when on 15 May 2009 he disallowed a try to Jamal Idris, claiming that the Dragons Jamie Soward was impeded by Greg Eastwood of the Bulldogs.[1] Clark was not sacked over this incident. This decision ultimately cost Bulldogs the minor premiership. At the end of the season both the Bulldogs and the Dragon were on 38 competition points apiece, with the Dragons' higher points difference allowing them to claim the title. Had the try been awarded, Bulldogs would have won the game and been on 40 competition points, with the Dragons on 36. (Note: This is after factoring an earlier unrelated ruling that saw the Bulldogs stripped of 2 points for a breach of interchange.)
Clark controversially made incorrect calls when he was one of the video referees in the 2012 semi-final played between Manly Sea Eagles and North Queensland Cowboys. The incorrect calls altered the result of the game, meaning the Cowboys were eliminated from the 2012 competition. Clark was later condemned for the decisions by his bosses and demoted from the coming weeks' games. "Full Time For Video Referees"
References
- 1 2 3 Ritchie, Dean (2007-10-03). "Clark puts down the whistle". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
- ↑ Swanton, Will (2006-06-13). "How the Dragons called the tune and scored their favourite whistleblower". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ↑ "CEels pip 'unfortunate' Dragons". League HQ. 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-05-14.