Bulldogs coach Des Hasler calls for NRL referees to undergo a comprehensive education program
TUESDAY the phone rings at Tony Archer’s desk.
Archer is the NRL’s referees boss. He knows the only thing more painful than walking over and smacking his forehead into the coathook on the back of his door is picking up that phone, for at the other end is an angry NRL coach.
On Tuesday it is Brad Arthur. A day earlier Arthur sat through 70 minutes of hard-slog football as Parramatta hung on to a skinny 6-4 lead and tried to defend its way to victory.
Then the Tigers went left, a standard block play, before the ball found Pat Richards and he sprinkled a little star dust on a dour afternoon.
“It wasn't a try,” Arthur said.
Archer and Arthur argued for a while, before at some point it was pointed out that it was only one try in a 22-6 result.
Arthur’s despair zoomed to DEFCON 1. The reality was the try broke his Parramatta Eels. After defending for so long they no longer had anything left to come back with and besides, it shouldn’t have been a try anyway.
Archer went away and looked at the vision and came back and called Arthur, telling him yes, he was right.
It should not have been a try.
Under the criteria, James Tedesco took the ball behind a lead runner making the play illegal.
Since round one Des Hasler has sent “18 or 20” queries to Archer, small video clips with a small note: Why wasn’t that a penalty for incorrect play-the-ball? What happened with that obstruction?
Forty-eight per cent of the time Archer has called back, according to Hasler, saying they made the incorrect call.
At some point we need to end this.
By seeking perfection in an imperfect game the NRL and its referees have created a problem that is worsening.
Just this week NSW Rugby League chairman Dr George Peponis said officiating had worsened in the past 18 months.
There is no doubt it was catalyst for last Friday’s madness, even though just a small revision was required to show the referees got that one exactly right.
Still, by going through their checklists on every try, and almost every decision, are we really making it better?
Advances in technology for the home viewer have reached the point where they no longer add to the spectacle as much as provide fuel for their anger.
Accuracy might have improved a couple of percentage points, but the feel for the game is being lost, arguing the overall product is worse.
“What they need is empathy,” Hasler said on Wednesday. “That’s what’s missing.”
Thankfully, Hasler has a solution. It is no Band-Aid so immediately you like it.
He believes the NRL needs to look at developing coaches at younger levels, through school programs and into university programs that could run as part of existing sports degrees and be a pathway to professional officials. It profiles personalities at each level, weeding out the ill-fitting and developing the right people for a career in the game.
Certainly officials are being left behind, as hard as they work.
Bob Fulton has loaned his understanding to the referees since last spring and is certain referees need to be treated like a 17th club.
He believes that much investment is needed to ensure they remain pace with the game, which moves at frightening speed.
It is a commitment, and a significant one, but it’s the kind of thinking the NRL needs to move on quickly.
Until then its just Band-Aids, which never seems to stem the bad blood.
Replies
Anybody want to say something for prosperity before they close this blog?
OILS RULE!!!
If a woodchuck could chuck wood?
He would chuck, he would, as much as he could,
And chuck as much as a woodchuck would
If a woodchuck could chuck wood.
In the eighties looking back a footage from that era you also had mistakes. But looking back it was mention by the commentators then not spoken about again. The Telly has a lot to answer for, they create this fire storm then let the fans carry this fight for them.
The rules are just to complicated, anybody can see, we have just complicated them by wanting ... Down pressure, desperation, drop of ball by strip, ball must be won by the attacking side, shepherd behind a player. A lot can be common sense, so as the crowed boos,why can't you the ref, ask to see the footage by them a whisper in there ear the correct call as the scrum forming so not to delay the play. Stripped another call that can be corrected by the video ref. they can let them know by ear piece we wouldn't know about it.
Nothing will be 100% but less focus on these mistakes by the media would go a long way helping with this problem.
Part of the education should be that if, gasp, if the ball is won against the feed in a scrum that is allowed. Have seen several examples of this and nearly every time the refs pull it up and repack the scrum. Apparently when ref asked why scrum repacked he said scrum breaking up. Hello, thought in that instance a penalty resulted, and as Parra were still bound, that should have gone to them!
we where at the game , that try which broke parras back started with watmough hitting the hand,in front of the post, maxwell makes to many mistakes, and mostly with the eels.