Watching a lot of both the NRL and NFL there are a number of similarities in how the games are officiated.
There are two key areas though that I think the NRL can look to the NFL in order to better their own process and ensure the correct decisions are made.
First, it’s the ability for a change in possession to be reviewed. Second, it’s the structure of the NFL’s over time period.
Let’s start with the change in possession rules.
Under the NFL’s rules, every fumble and intercept is reviewed by the on-field officials to ensure that the correct call is made on the field.
A brief example would be the recent match between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks.
The Broncos receiver appeared to fumble a catch that was recovered by Seattle. After review it was ruled that the receiver never had the ball secured and it was ruled an incomplete pass, meaning that Denver kept the ball.
The officials had made the incorrect call on the field but a quick review meant they were able to correct it.
In virtually every NRL game, you will see a penalty or knock-on ruled which, after one replay is obviously incorrect.
It happened in the Roosters versus Cowboys game. Sonny Bill Williams clearly lost the ball in the play-the-ball yet the on-field referees ruled there was a hand in the ruck, awarding a penalty with the Roosters then landing the match-winning field goal.
Whilst I don’t think the NRL could review every single knock-on, the video referee must have some jurisdiction on the field.
It was clear after one replay that Williams had dropped the ball cold. This situation is when the video referee can get involved.
Another option is to introduce the captain’s challenge which has been tested for the past two seasons in the National Youth Competition.
Award each team two incorrect challenges a half and then the pressure is off the video referee to immediately intervene and it’s up to both teams to review the plays.
Moving onto the over time issue.
NRL Golden Point is often seen as unfair finish to the game. Admittedly I see it as a little anti-climactic for one side to be able to nail a field goal and the other side given no opportunity to respond.
The NFL recently amended their over-time rules to prevent the game being finished by one side that could march down-field and land the points from range.
Currently in the NFL, a field goal does not end the game immediately. If one team kicks a field goal, the opposition is given the opportunity to respond in kind.
If they score a touchdown the game is over there and then, if they kick a field goal it continues under sudden death rules.
This format is a lot fairer as it gives both sides the chance to score in extra time but also brings the try back into play which is rarely seen in extra time.
Another option is to simply play out the full 10 minutes regardless of scoring plays like they do in football.
If it’s during the regular season then the match ends after 10 minutes with the score as it stands.
If it’s during the finals then it continues until one of the sides scores.
The NFL is a multi-billion dollar game, the least the NRL could do is learn off it.
Replies
In my view the problem is not so much with the video as it is with "replays". Why can't we have we have one-man in the box who just watches a video angle focused tight around the ball - he would see any discrepancies in real-time and could communicate them instantly to the video referee. If he has a doubt, he could ask the ref for a brief delay, shuttle back five seconds and have a decision that doesn't overly affect the flow of the game.
What we should be aiming for is to decrease the amount of errors with minimal flow of the game. When you have a decision where you are looking at a replay 5 times, its always going to be inconclusive. In my view the video refs should be using different angles communicating in real-time and basically checking the video once. You will never get rid of errors and a lot of the judgements are subjective anyway and teams just need to wear 50-50 calls that can't be decided on one view review.
On the flipside I think golden point is fine. What's the difference between taking a field-goal with 10 seconds left on the clock to snapping one in golden-point. All golden-point does is effectively doing is keeping the clocking running at one second to go until a point is scored.
Yep, and that's the main problem. There's no reason you can't get extra cameras in, and I'm quite sure the broadcasters would pay for access to those cameras. Alternatively the can be used to provide "exclusive" angles to people using the NRL apps or watching live (which is something else some NFL Stadiums do). Right now, the NRL is simply doing it on the cheap and of all the things to not spend money on - the flow of the game is not the place to do it.
Totally agree there Phil, would hate for League to become like NFL or Union for that matter where it becomes a total stop-start affair where ball would be in play for less than the total 80 minutes as some stats have shown (correct me if I'm wrong) where saying theres only 50+ minutes where theres actually rugby being played, the rest is stoppages (penalties, reset scrums, kicks at goal, etc)?
Just on that Brett, don't KFC sponsor the video replays at all with their advertising just before a decision is awarded?
True that Brother :)
I reckon a bucket load of KFC is over paying the video refs.
I'd love to get paid in buckets of KFC myself... something about the Colonels 11 Secret Herbs & Spices (one them I reckon is cocaine haha) that make it so addictive & delicious, mmmm deep fried goodness ;)
I think golden point should stay for sudden death games.
For Regular season games is there any reason we can't move to a 4 point for a win
3 points for golden point win and 1 point for a golden point loss.
This would help as I think it is unfair you are drawn after 80 minutes and get nothing at all. It could also lessen some of the congestion on the table come finals time when it is about for and against.
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