Sutton tells Bellamy wrong call made on crucial extra-time pass

Craig Bellamy said NRL referees boss Bernie Sutton rang him to admit officials incorrectly ruled a forward pass from Justin Olam to Josh Addo-Carr in the final 90 seconds of the Storm's 11-10 golden point loss to Manly.

The decision was vital in the context of the match. The call was made on the second tackle with the scores locked at 10-10. The Sea Eagles were subsequently given possession.

Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans then landed a field goal to clinch victory for his team.

Bellamy said he was "staggered" the ruling was made in an extra-time period where referees had previously "put their whistles away".

"On the night I didn't think [the Olam pass] was forward and Bernie Sutton, the boss of the referees, rang me up on Tuesday afternoon to tell me that. He said it wasn't a forward pass," Bellamy said.

"I really thank him for his honesty but I was a bit disappointed with how in the rest of extra time the referees probably put their whistles away a bit, which is fine.

"But why pull up that pass in the last minute when it wasn't a forward pass? That staggered me.

"It seems as though there has been a bit of a blitz on forward passes in the last week or two. I don't know why we need to change things during the season.

"If they think there are too many forward passes change it next year. Why get to round 19 and have blitzes? If some things aren't working let's be consistent for this year and fix it up next year."

The Olam pass occurred in the same round that line-ball calls on passes from Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Roosters fullback James Tedesco were also major talking points.

The NRL is presently exploring Hawkeye technology that could definitively rule on forward passes in the future.

"I know there has been talk about Hawkeye. I am not a very technology smart guy so I don't understand what that is until someone shows me," Bellamy said.

"If there is new technology that can help the referees be more consistent or make it easier for them to make those decisions then I would be all for it.

"We have got to make sure that is the case and that it doesn't add a little bit more conjecture or more difficult for referees to make decisions."

If they think there are too many forward passes change it next year. Why get to round 19 and have blitzes?

Storm coach Craig Bellamy

Bellamy was speaking in Brisbane on Thursday ahead of the Storm's clash with the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium where he confirmed decisions on whether props Jesse Bromwich (sternum) and Christian Welch (concussion) played were yet to be made.

While the Broncos have identified five-eighth Cameron Munster as a man they must shut down, Bellamy said he was after more cohesion from his spine.

"There aren't too many games where [Munster] doesn't do a really good job. We just want to sharpen things up a little bit with the communication between our spine at the moment," Bellamy said.

"When he has been in Origin we haven't trained together too often. It was probably a bit clunky the last couple of weeks but once those Origin players get back into full-time training with us that area of our game will improve a little bit."

Bellamy also responded to Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold's comment that prop Payne Haas would be Melbourne's "head on a plate" and a target for the Storm forwards.

"Payne has been playing really well for them and is one hell of a footy player but with all due respect Anthony hasn't been at our club for a fair while and things have probably changed since Anthony was here," Bellamy said.

"We are aware of all their good players. He has probably been leading the charge, him and Lodge certainly set a really good platform and they have some good young players that run the ball really well.

"We are obviously very aware of Payne and what he can do. As I said, Seibs hasn’t been at our place for a while and doesn't know our systems now."