“I don't think it should've been a penalty”: Smith disagrees with controversial Warriors penalty

NRL legend Cameron Smith has said the match-tying penalty awarded to the Warriors over the weekend should not have been a penalty.

In the final seconds of the Warriors and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles game on Saturday, Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson attempted a 2-point field goal that would've sent the game into golden point.

However, in the process of the kick, Manly forward Josh Aloiai contacted the leg of Johnson, drawing a penalty from where the ball landed which was directly in front of the posts.

Johnson successfully converted the penalty, and after the golden point period, the game finished a 22-all draw.

Speaking on Breakfast with Vossy and Brandy, Smith disagreed with the game-deciding decision.

“I don’t think it should’ve been a penalty,” Smith said.

“We’ve seen this rule come in over the years where we’ve tried to avoid defenders coming in and attacking the kicker’s legs… but I didn’t really feel that Josh Aloiai had anything to answer for.

“His feet didn't leave the ground, and he didn’t attack the legs. He was just going to hit the ball. It was just the follow-through.”

Only last week, Warriors hooker Freddy Lussick was suspended for four weeks for a similar incident in the NSW Cup where Rabbitohs halfback Lachlan Ilias suffered a fractured tibia.

Aloiai is facing a 1-2 week suspension for the contact.

Smith suggested that had Johnson not been injured, the penalty would not have been awarded.

“I had a look at one of Daly Cherry-Evans’ attempts at field goal in golden point, you could argue there was slight contact on his leg but because he didn’t fall to the ground afterwards and seemed like there was some sort of injury, there was nothing done about it. It was play on,” Smith said.

The Warriors next take on the St George-Illawarra Dragons in Wollongong, while the Sea Eagles travel to the Gold Coast to challenge the Des Hasler-led Titans for the first time since the coach was sacked in 2022.