Round 23
Knights 14 l. Sea Eagles 16

2006 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

Weekend of referee stuff ups leaves readers livid
Mon August 14, 2006
This weekend's NRL matches were marred with refereeing controversy. Some of our readers share their thoughts:

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The Rules need to change!
by Dan Shaw

This is the second time this season that the referees have won the game for the Canberra Raiders against the Wests Tigers. Sure, you could say that the Tigers should have won the game before extra time. And, yes, they should have.

But that is no excuse for the referees to transform into a lifeless object unable to make a decision when it is needed. Quite simply the referees dont have the guts to make a big call when the game is on the line. This is especially true when the game is in Golden Point extra time.

Twice this season the Tigers have lost to the Raiders in extra time and in both games at least two penalties should have been awarded to the Tigers straight in front, 10 metres out from the tryline. Did any of these four penalties get awarded? No. Should they have? Yes.

And there is no argument about this from any rugby league supporter regardless of which team they support. This is because they too would want such an obvious decision to be made for their team if they were in the same position.

And lets get another thing straight. The four offside penalties I am talking about which were not awarded to the Tigers in the two games were not marginal calls. Each time at least one Canberra player was 4-5 metres offside, allowing them to be in a position to tackle the player attempting to kick the winning field goal.

If a player was 4-5 metres offside in the 32nd minute of a game and made a tackle he would be penalised every time. Yet if a defender rushes out to block a field goal attempt this rule seems to get forgotten.

Either that, or the referee and both touch judges are for some reason unable to see such a blatant infringement. If thats the case all three of them should be dropped to referee in the Jersey Flegg competition.

But one things for sure. There is always one official who can see that the defenders are offside. But, it seems he is either unable or unwilling to step in and inform the referee. I am talking about the video referee.

On the other hand, if a player pretends to be injured the video referee suddenly feels the need to jump in and make his presence felt. Yet when the game is on the line the official is nowhere to be seen. This has to change.

Whilst you might think that I am a biased Tigers supporter, which I guess I am, I can guarantee that you would feel exactly the same as I do now if your team was in the same position.

So why doesnt the NRL change the rules to allow the attacking team to appeal a missed field goal attempt so that the video ref can adjudicate on whether the defenders were offside.

At least that way a fair result can be achieved and players will not be encouraged to rush off their line but rather wait until they are legally permitted to attempt a charge down. They gain a clear and illegal advantage by doing what they are doing and the NRL needs to act on it whether it is through my suggestion or another.

I think the game can afford to wait another minute or two in the 78th minute of a game to ensure the right decision is made.

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Is our game poorly refereed?
by Matthew Wong

I'm going to reflect on one of if not the most contentious issue in the game..... Refereeing.... Has the standard of refereeing sunk to an all time low?

After watching some incredible decisions or lack of decisions over the weekend it certainly confirmed my thoughts. Sure the game is faster and players try to exploit interpretations as much as possible and on top of that, with the additional camera angles and the availability of Sports Ears the game is harder to control for the referees.

Some people say the referees of today are doing a great job whilst others say they don't think they are up to standard. I put myself with the latter group.

When the games leading player (Andrew Johns and it is granted he can get frustrated on occasions) doesn't even respect the officials, it is clear that alot of people aren't happy with the standard of our officials. Coaches are even willing to criticise the referees and personally pay the resulting fines because they are that frustrated. Who will step up to be the next Greg McCallum or the next Bill Harrigan?

When it comes down to it a great team can overcome bad decisions (in this year's case it would only be the Doogs and Storm). However the rest of the pack probably needs a fair go to get the results on the board consistently. The ineptitude of the officials to rule 2 blatant off sides against the Raiders (in addition to that happening just a few weeks ago in similar circumstances) is beyond me.

When the game is on the line, the officials don't want to be accountable and decide the outcome of a game. If that is the case then they shouldn't be refereeing 1st grade games. The style of officiating seems to change from year to year as well.

Some of the things this year I have noticed as opposed to last year:
- flop tackles do not get penalised as much
- tacklers are being allowed to "worked" in tackles more this year, and consequently play the balls are twice as slow this year
- players do not seem to be penalised for not being square very much this year
Interpretations of the rules seem to change every year by whatever is "in vogue" for the season. I am convinced I am watching a complete backflip in interpretations this year as opposed to last.

I am not saying it is incorrect, but fans and players get confused because there seems to be a huge discrepancy in the style of officiating from season to season. There is nothing wrong with a player treading the fine line. If they get away with something then good luck to them.

The blame is not on them. It just seems as though referees in fear of being the ones who can decide the match are ultimately penalising the fans. They spend one week in reserve grade for a "bad" performance and then get reinstated soon after. Either that or they are allowed to hide behind the veil that is the NRL's upper hierarchy. David Gallop or Robert Finch will simply brush it off and hope all is forgotten.

What we need is more transparency in terms of interpretation of rules and which officials are accountable for what. If this was the case then a higher number of correct decisions can eventuate and everyone is happy.

Out of the 4 major football codes, the majority of people who aren't a "die hard" fan of a code, the general consensus is that rugby league is the hardest to understand the rules.

Not only does this make it difficult for a casual fan to really appreciate the game, but die hard fans are sometimes at a loss to understand what is going on.

The sooner the referees take some initiative with their decisions is the day the day all fans will be happy just to see 2 teams fight it out on the paddock for a win.

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