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Telegraph Sport
He is Mr Six Per Cent – a leading referee with an abnormal record controlling one NRL club over nearly a decade.
The Bulldogs have won just one of their past 15 games under referee Gerard Sutton – a success rate of just six per cent dating back to round to round 2, 2016.
It is the worst current-day record between any club and referee.
Canterbury’s win rate jumps remarkably to 34.5 per cent over the same period in games when Sutton was not the referee. That is 61 wins from 177 matches.
The Bulldogs’ record under Sutton didn’t improve last Friday afternoon when they lost to South Sydney at Accor Stadium.
“I was aware of the record under Gerard before the game,” Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo said.
“We can tell ourselves that certain referees don’t like us and the world is against us but that’s not going to help.”
Canterbury’s history with Sutton goes back even further.
He was in charge of the famous Good Friday game in 2015 when James Graham pointed his knuckle at the referee after Sutton awarded a match-winning penalty to Souths. The Bulldogs captain had made contact with Adam Reynolds when he attempted to kick a field goal.
Later that year, Graham and Sutton again locked heads when he gave a crucial penalty to the Sharks in the closing stages of another close loss. This time, Josh Reynolds made contact with Valentine Holmes as he attempted a field goal.
The NRL will name its referees for round 5 on Tuesday afternoon. Will Sutton be given Canterbury’s big Friday night game against Sydney Roosters at Accor Stadium?
There was a stretch between 2016 and 2019 when the Bulldogs lost nine successive games under Sutton.
Canterbury’s horrid record isn’t an insinuation Sutton is a poor referee. He has controlled seven grand finals, 22 State of Origin games and 21 Test matches.
And the Bulldogs’ overall record since 2020 is substandard. The club has won 21 of 96 games for a win a ratio of just 21.8 per cent.
Canterbury has a poor record under several referees but Sutton’s strike rate is by far the worst and it has Bulldogs officials concerned and frustrated.
“But to be fair, our record hasn’t been great overall anyway,” Ciraldo said.
“We need to worry about what we can control and we’re doing that.
“We’ll just keep working hard and be ready to play anyone, anywhere, any time under any referee.”
The Bulldogs’ only win under Sutton since 2016 was against St George Illawarra in 2021.
Since 2020, Canterbury has been favourite in 11 games and won seven of them.
One NRL coach offered reasons why a club could have such a poor record under an individual referee.
“Perhaps it’s the trends in the game,” the coach said.
“Sometimes players and referees are on different pages, style-wise.
“Players from lower clubs think they never get the rub of the green.
“Maybe it’s just the players but certainly one from 15 is a damning stat. It’s a hard one.”
Canterbury’s record under Gerard Sutton
Year Rnd Opp Result
2016 24 Brisbane L
2017 1 Melbourne L
2017 8 Wests Tigers L
2017 11 Roosters L
2018 2 Roosters L
2018 7 Roosters L
2018 9 Brisbane L
2019 5 Dragons L
2019 13 Dragons L
2021 14 Dragons W
2021 16 Manly L
2022 6 Souths L
2023 6 Souths L
2023 25 Canberra L
2024 4 Souths L
He is Mr Six Per Cent – a leading referee with an abnormal record controlling one NRL club over nearly a decade.
The Bulldogs have won just one of their past 15 games under referee Gerard Sutton – a success rate of just six per cent dating back to round to round 2, 2016.
It is the worst current-day record between any club and referee.
Canterbury’s win rate jumps remarkably to 34.5 per cent over the same period in games when Sutton was not the referee. That is 61 wins from 177 matches.
The Bulldogs’ record under Sutton didn’t improve last Friday afternoon when they lost to South Sydney at Accor Stadium.
“I was aware of the record under Gerard before the game,” Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo said.
“We can tell ourselves that certain referees don’t like us and the world is against us but that’s not going to help.”
Canterbury’s history with Sutton goes back even further.
He was in charge of the famous Good Friday game in 2015 when James Graham pointed his knuckle at the referee after Sutton awarded a match-winning penalty to Souths. The Bulldogs captain had made contact with Adam Reynolds when he attempted to kick a field goal.
Later that year, Graham and Sutton again locked heads when he gave a crucial penalty to the Sharks in the closing stages of another close loss. This time, Josh Reynolds made contact with Valentine Holmes as he attempted a field goal.
The NRL will name its referees for round 5 on Tuesday afternoon. Will Sutton be given Canterbury’s big Friday night game against Sydney Roosters at Accor Stadium?
There was a stretch between 2016 and 2019 when the Bulldogs lost nine successive games under Sutton.
Canterbury’s horrid record isn’t an insinuation Sutton is a poor referee. He has controlled seven grand finals, 22 State of Origin games and 21 Test matches.
And the Bulldogs’ overall record since 2020 is substandard. The club has won 21 of 96 games for a win a ratio of just 21.8 per cent.
Canterbury has a poor record under several referees but Sutton’s strike rate is by far the worst and it has Bulldogs officials concerned and frustrated.
“But to be fair, our record hasn’t been great overall anyway,” Ciraldo said.
“We need to worry about what we can control and we’re doing that.
“We’ll just keep working hard and be ready to play anyone, anywhere, any time under any referee.”
The Bulldogs’ only win under Sutton since 2016 was against St George Illawarra in 2021.
Since 2020, Canterbury has been favourite in 11 games and won seven of them.
One NRL coach offered reasons why a club could have such a poor record under an individual referee.
“Perhaps it’s the trends in the game,” the coach said.
“Sometimes players and referees are on different pages, style-wise.
“Players from lower clubs think they never get the rub of the green.
“Maybe it’s just the players but certainly one from 15 is a damning stat. It’s a hard one.”
Canterbury’s record under Gerard Sutton
Year Rnd Opp Result
2016 24 Brisbane L
2017 1 Melbourne L
2017 8 Wests Tigers L
2017 11 Roosters L
2018 2 Roosters L
2018 7 Roosters L
2018 9 Brisbane L
2019 5 Dragons L
2019 13 Dragons L
2021 14 Dragons W
2021 16 Manly L
2022 6 Souths L
2023 6 Souths L
2023 25 Canberra L
2024 4 Souths L
