The game's first referee controversary

Rose St Birchgrove Inner West Council

From round two of the 1908 season, Ian Heads in 'True Blue - The Story of NSW Rugby League' explains...

"Round two provided league's first major refereeing controversary. After North Sydney beat Balmain 10-5 in a game at Birchgrove, Balmain protested to the NSW Rugby League over an incident in which the referee, the 204cm Fred Henlen, disallowed a try, ruling a Balmain in touch even though the linesman did not raise the flag."