Referees are not the problem
Roar Guru The referees are not perfect. The current officiating in relation to the shepherd rule is, clearly, a mess, to cite a primary example.
Yes, there is consistency yet to be achieved in certain areas; referees are making calls and then sending it upstairs, much to the consternation of players.
The video refs, even with all the trappings of modern technology and (clearly) unlimited time to adjudicate, still manage to get it wrong occasionally.
But there’s something worse than the worst mistakes a referee can make.
That is the legion of idiots constantly complaining about the referees.
Add up the number of meaningful errors referees make in the course of a round, mistakes that are indisputable which, all by themselves, dramatically alter the course of a game.
Is it too high? Maybe. But I’m not sure. And neither is anybody else right now. They’re too busy yelling to intelligently assess the situation.
Now we have those same bullies calling for a ‘challenge’ system. Okay, so now we’ve got two refs, a video ref and a captain weighing in on decisions. I think the lead cheerleader from the home team should also get a say.
It’s time to stand up to these people. It’s time for Jamie Lyon, Michael Ennis and the rest of the mug captains who question a ref’s cholesterol level to stop challenging every puny little decision and get back in the line.
The concept of a shepherd has become more complex because teams’ patterns and decoy plays have become faster and more nuanced. The refs haven’t quite caught up. But with good administration and a thoughtful approach they’ll figure it out.
Referees should have the ability to change their rulings upon review with their colleagues. They will design the best protocol with which to execute this.
None of this is a big deal. Players and coaches with limited imaginations and fragile egos have been blaming the referees for their teams’ failings since league was first played in ancient Greece, over two millennia ago.
The referees do a fair job. They could do better. They’re working on it. In the meantime, I have something to tell the knee-jerk, bullying naysayers.
Enjoy the superb games being played. Stop bullying those who wear pink. And tell Jamie Lyon to shut up.
- Explore:
- jamie lyon, NRL, Rugby League
August 20th 2012 @ 7:35am
oikee said | August 20th 2012 @ 7:35am | Report comment
Get rid of the negative Alexander, Goulds, Sterlo’s and Belchers. The commentators and callers are turning the game into a whinge fest.
Some wont let it go, they even come back to it 10 minutes later after whinging for 10 minutes. (brandi)
August 20th 2012 @ 7:49am
Scott said | August 20th 2012 @ 7:49am | Report comment
Philip Gould and Ricky Stewart are still complaining about calls during the origin series. The sooner nine is stripped of the broadcast rights the better off the game will be.
August 20th 2012 @ 8:15am
Lovey said | August 20th 2012 @ 8:15am | Report comment
In particular, Gould. It seems as though his default position is to consider every decision wrong.
August 20th 2012 @ 9:33am
Matt said | August 20th 2012 @ 9:33am | Report comment
Imagine a video ref who refers to “the rulebook of hamstead” etc instead of the actual rules. My god. You’re entitled to your opinion but the rules are the rules, it doesn’t matter what you think the rule should be, call the play based on what happened + what the real rule is.
August 20th 2012 @ 8:11am
Will Sinclair said | August 20th 2012 @ 8:11am | Report comment
I agree with you MG.
I actually think the referees do a reasonable job under incredible pressure – the game is faster than ever before, and the referees are under more scrutiny than ever before.
But I don’t think they’re getting any help from this constant tinkering at the edge of the rules – the kind of tinkering which means that a clear obstruction like the one we saw on Friday night (Robbie Farah said it best – that’s been an obstruction for 100 years of rugby league) can be ignored, and a dodgy try awarded.
That’s the problem, for mine.
And it needs to be sorted out, because we saw a magnificent game of footy on Friday night, and it was ruined by the stupidity of one decision.
August 20th 2012 @ 8:15am
Will Sinclair said | August 20th 2012 @ 8:15am | Report comment
Oh, and I agree with you about the whinging.
We saw two coaches on Friday night, one of them was beaten in controversial circumstances, and the other grabbed a lucky win.
But then we saw Tim Sheens – a class act every day of the week – refuse to blame the referees, while Des Hasler had a good, long whinge about them.
Hasler either needs to be pulled into line, or learn a lesson from a bloke like Sheens. Because Des is part of the problem, not part of the solution.
(Unless putting constant pressure on referees is part of his modus operandi. In which case he’s a genius – because it’s working!)
August 20th 2012 @ 8:40am
eagleJack said | August 20th 2012 @ 8:40am | Report comment
Of course it’s a plan of Dessie’s. Give away early penalties knowing full well that you are likely to get things evened up in the long run. Refs hate lop-sided penalty counts. The trouble is they aren’t evening them up in the back end of the games and Des is putting pressure on the refs, who in the heat of battle will remember this and maybe blow an extra one or two penalties in the Dogs favour. Getting penalties late in the game is much more beneficial when fatigue has set in for the opposition.
He did this for years at Manly. And was duly hated for it by all and sundry. But it’s funny now that he is at the Dogs he is a saint in their eyes. Goes to show what a change in shirt colour will do to people’s opinions of a person.
August 20th 2012 @ 8:56am
turbodewd said | August 20th 2012 @ 8:56am | Report comment
I watched the Bulldogs and Tigers game on friday night – MY GOD! Will those commentators shut up about ref decisions! Yes, so they got an obstruction call wrong, but dont complain about it for 10 minutes. And then complain about golden point! FFS golden point – today – is a legit part of the game.
Sick of Channel 9, sick of their commentators complaining.
The ARLC is silent.
August 20th 2012 @ 10:37am
MG Burbank said | August 20th 2012 @ 10:37am | Report comment
Golden point is a farce and worth complaining about – that’s something that can be changed (abolished) immediately. Complaining constantly about interpretations of the rules is another matter. You’re right, too much is made of that.
August 20th 2012 @ 10:39am
Matt said | August 20th 2012 @ 10:39am | Report comment
GP MUST go. I am all for results, but there are NO rules while GP is in play, the result is often a joke, which defeats the purpose. Unless it’s getting a major shake up, which I doubt, just get rid of it.
August 20th 2012 @ 10:46am
Edward Kelly said | August 20th 2012 @ 10:46am | Report comment
People who are against golden point forget the emptiness of a draw after a great game, the crowd loves golden point, the players probably prefer getting a result, tweek it yes, abolish it NO. Draws deserve their place in soccer.
As for the ranting of commentators I’m over it, they need to be made to listen to their own commentary in a room of mirrors so they can have a long hard look at themselves.
I would not be a ref for quids, so good luck to them, they have my respect, even when they get it wrong.
August 20th 2012 @ 10:47am
Will Sinclair said | August 20th 2012 @ 10:47am | Report comment
Yep – Friday night was the perfect advertisment for the end of Golden Point.
Both sides were great, and a draw was as dramatic and exciting than any golden point period.
August 20th 2012 @ 10:58am
oikee said | August 20th 2012 @ 10:58am | Report comment
I thought it was flat, the end of normal play. I wanted golden point, so did the fans.
I think they should just play 10 minutes, this could make it even better if a team can come back from a early drop kick.
Our game always looks for the negative, never the positive. This is why the rules are shot this year. Some fool tweaked them without looking bothways, he walked straight into a buslane.
You just have to blundle along with the game, i just read they want the dinosaurs back running the game, so league might be forever a NSW game.
It cant grow while the dinosaurs from Sydney are running the game. We are still the only code without teams in every big state. ? Last time i looked, nothing had changed, nothing will.
August 20th 2012 @ 11:15am
MG Burbank said | August 20th 2012 @ 11:15am | Report comment
Plenty is changing Oikee and we will expand into every state eventually- the ARLC are going to approve a Perth team for 2015, no doubt about it.
Regarding Golden Point, it wouldn’t “golden” if it weren’t sudden death. If you allow the other team to reply, it just becomes extra time- and why do we need extra time in regular season games? Some fans may find it exciting but it appeals to the lowest common denominator- mindless entertainment at the expense of a fair result. A draw is a third result for any game which is usually appropriate given the evenness of the contest.
August 20th 2012 @ 11:37am
oikee said | August 20th 2012 @ 11:37am | Report comment
Nobody has ever walked away from a game which goes to golden point. They run back if they had gone early.
Mindless entertainment, maybe, pointless, maybe, but i tell you what, it gets the pulse racing and gives you a extra 1 to 10 minutes of faster heart rates.
You take that away for a flat walk off after 80 minutes and then tell me that was a better result than having a winner.
Next you will want a second grand final for a draw.
You have to remember the calls for golden point back when we had so many draws. Playing for a draw will only make field goals more relevent in the 80 minutes.
It is still a skill regardless of golden point or not, a drop kick has played out many exciting moments in sport.
Wilkinson, World cup, Cronk, Origin decider.
Gould, Rabs and others have lost reality with rugby league, their constant complaining about every little thing, the nit picking, the refs, the golden point. They just want to have a whinge about everything.
I have had a gutful and want nine to lose the rights, and lose these old dinosaurs. as well. Time is up, and having Gus call while he runs Penrith is wrong.
Same as Belcher calling the raiders games on Fox. Brandy yelling out a decision was wrong, he wont let go, he goes on and on. This makes the whole game look negative, and makes the refs look incompetant, yet they are mainly going by rules dished up to them by the game.
We need someone with common sense and a ability to make changes.
August 20th 2012 @ 12:36pm
turbodewd said | August 20th 2012 @ 12:36pm | Report comment
Golden point = more football! Its gripping! How can more gripping football be knocked back?!
Golden point is the climax of football, its the orgazm.
Those who are against golden point should put their cardigan on, hop in their camry and go for a drive and then set their aircon to ‘tepid’ which Im pretty sure Toyotas have.
August 20th 2012 @ 11:16am
Renegade said | August 20th 2012 @ 11:16am | Report comment
Golden Point should stay….30’000 spectators left ANZ stadium on saturday night enjoying over 80 minutes of brilliant football which ended with a result.
The only people objecting to the extra time period are dinosaurs…..had the game on friday night been a draw, it would have left an empty feeling.
Maybe tweak the rules, to golden try or complete the full extra time period (10mins) but getting rid of golden point is just a massive step backward in my opinion…..Gould, Sterlo and the other muppets whinging like teenage girls can piss off with their negative comments about everything.
August 20th 2012 @ 11:41am
Matt said | August 20th 2012 @ 11:41am | Report comment
Did 30000 go for the bulldogs?
August 20th 2012 @ 1:32pm
Renegade said | August 20th 2012 @ 1:32pm | Report comment
They didn’t have to go for anyone to enjoy that game…
August 20th 2012 @ 1:36pm
Matt said | August 20th 2012 @ 1:36pm | Report comment
I know a few tigers supporters who beg to differ
August 20th 2012 @ 1:15pm
planko said | August 20th 2012 @ 1:15pm | Report comment
That is cause they were terrible on friday night. I was somewhat refreshed by them actually seeing clear mistakes and saying it out loud. The video ref has gotten to the point that there is not point having them and they would better off donating the money to charity.
August 20th 2012 @ 9:10am
steve b said | August 20th 2012 @ 9:10am | Report comment
To mods you pulled my comment which did not play the man it played the article,i have read far more objective comments than mine that have been allowed ?
August 20th 2012 @ 11:52am
steve b said | August 20th 2012 @ 11:52am | Report comment
That is the legion of idiots complaning about the refs ,,i suggest that you are in a small minority with views MG .
Rate the Refs as per the telegraph 6662 voted Good 240 .
Fair 649 .
Poor 2049 .
Terrible 3,724
This would suggest their are a few of us idiots ,as you would call us ,,,that think the refs are not doing a good job and won’t stop complaining until something is done ,,and if the refs arn’t the problem then it must be a mass hallucination on the part of the majority of voters who are rugby league fans…
August 20th 2012 @ 1:07pm
mushi said | August 20th 2012 @ 1:07pm | Report comment
Which would mark it as the first time in history that the common opinion was wrong?
August 20th 2012 @ 1:11pm
JVGO said | August 20th 2012 @ 1:11pm | Report comment
Agreed SteveB. This is the dumbest article of the year. The rules, the interpretation and adjudication is a massive mess mainly due to harrigan and his arrogance. Particularly the confusion between the shepherding and obstruction rules for decoys. Des is cheating his way to a premiership and there seems nothing anybody can do about it.
August 20th 2012 @ 1:39pm
steve b said | August 20th 2012 @ 1:39pm | Report comment
JVGO Agreed 100%
August 20th 2012 @ 2:47pm
oikee said | August 20th 2012 @ 2:47pm | Report comment
He will fix it JV, he has 3 in the box now, soon he will have a cricket team in the box.
To think this game is letting him do as he likes, he could have some hookers and a fishing rod up in that box and nobody could do anything about it.
And today i read that the poor little darling get abused by the fans. ? What are they doing at the game watching, they should be in a room somewhere a million miles away from the game, they dont need to be at the game.
If we get a blackout the whole ground blacks out.
These guys bring abuse onto themselves, they deserve to be abused.
They have not got a call right all year Harrigon.
hehe
August 21st 2012 @ 4:50am
MG Burbank said | August 21st 2012 @ 4:50am | Report comment
Des is ‘cheating’ his way to a premiership? Really? It’s a ‘massive mess’? I’m glad you’re not running our game, JVGO. It’s people like you who divert our attention from other more important issues facing our game.
August 20th 2012 @ 1:19pm
planko said | August 20th 2012 @ 1:19pm | Report comment
Steve I dont think the video refs covered themselves in glory on friday night though.
August 20th 2012 @ 1:34pm
steve b said | August 20th 2012 @ 1:34pm | Report comment
I don’t think the refs have done a good job period ,no consistency ,hard to work out from week to week different views from one ref to the other ,bad video calls ,,shepherd rule torso rule ,, these guys have to be all put on the same page and to say its no worse or better than any other year beggers belief ,,some people must have small memories …
August 20th 2012 @ 1:45pm
MG Burbank said | August 20th 2012 @ 1:45pm | Report comment
I never said you were an idiot, Steve- only those making more of this issue than need be. I stated clearly in the article that there were problems that needed to be solved but the referees are not as bad as many are making out. We still need to treat those who officiate our game with some level of respect and understanding for the difficulty of their job. That is not happening right now.
August 20th 2012 @ 2:08pm
steve b said | August 20th 2012 @ 2:08pm | Report comment
And what about the players who bust their bums every week only to lose the game from a bad call .who is respecting them ,they can.t even ask a question without the chance of being fined ..And yes you have those players who abuse the system but you can,t paint all with the same brush ..Some of the decisions this year have been shocking ,blind freddy can see the system needs a huge overhall..These guys are supposed to be the best their is and if thats the case then NRL is in trouble..Because i cant find a year in all my looking in past RLW or on the net that their were more complaints than this year..And I must be one one of those idiots because i have been on about the refs like most since SOO ,,AND NO ONE SAID ITS NOT A HARD JOB ,,BUT ITS THEIR CHOICE !!
August 20th 2012 @ 2:56pm
Matt said | August 20th 2012 @ 2:56pm | Report comment
There needs to be a like button
August 20th 2012 @ 2:33pm
JVGO said | August 20th 2012 @ 2:33pm | Report comment
MG, it starts at the top. The individuals on the paddock are doing their best no doubt, but under Harrigan’s misguided dilution of clarity in just about every area of adjudication they are confused and rattled. Harrigan is not the man who should be at the helm. He was a game manager not a rule enforcer when he reffed and he has the same philosophy running the show. We need someone at the top prepared to put the game and rules on a more clear analytic basis and then I’m sure the refs on the paddock and in the box will begin to do a far more adequate job. Really anyone who thinks things are good enough at the moment are kidding themselves.
August 20th 2012 @ 9:12am
Gremlin said | August 20th 2012 @ 9:12am | Report comment
Ref’s always have and always will be flawed, they are after all human.
The biggest issue at the moment is the open ended, interpretation oriented rules.
A Ref’ nowdays must be a Mind reader and a Fourtune teller. A clear example of this is the Inglis/Farrar try in SOO. The rules dictate the Ref’ must read Farrar’s mind to determine was he striking at the ball, or was he continuing his run at Inglis, at which point Inglis put the ball down on his foot. A Ref’ can’t possible know Farrar’s true intentions, how can he , he can”t read minds.
The rules as they are leave our whistle blowers (which we need) open to intense critisism, nobody will “interprete” a play the same way as anoter person.
The rules need changing so that things are “black and white”. Sure some things don’t fit into that catagory but it has to be better than the system we have now, which is so far from perfect is not even funny any more.
PLEASE GUY’S, I DID NOT BRING UP THE INGLIS TRY TO DEBATE THE LEGITAMACY OF IT, ONLY TO HIGHLIGHT THE PLIGHT OF REF’S IN TODAYS GAME.
I’m sure there are many other examples of Ref’s needing to be Fortune Tellers and Mind Readers in this season.
August 20th 2012 @ 9:39am
Matt F said | August 20th 2012 @ 9:39am | Report comment
You’ve summed it up quite well. Refs have a very difficult job and are bound to make the odd mistake every so often. The problem is the rules and how much “grey area” they have. If a rule is worded in such a way that it can easily be interpreted in different ways then we shouldn’t be blaming the refs, but the people who make the rules. Make them simple, clear and easy to enforce and a lot of the referee controversies will no longer be an issue.
August 20th 2012 @ 9:52am
Matt said | August 20th 2012 @ 9:52am | Report comment
Both – they are getting it wrong sometimes per the wording, but the more they have to think, the wider the scope will be for things to be subjective interpreted, and thus have same incidents with different rulings based on who is adjudicating.
August 20th 2012 @ 11:30am
Gremlin said | August 20th 2012 @ 11:30am | Report comment
Matt & Matt F,
It makes you wonder if a bunch of mug punters such as ouselves can see this then why can’t any of the highly paid brainiacs at HQ see this. things really should have been addresseed long ago.
August 20th 2012 @ 11:36am
Matt said | August 20th 2012 @ 11:36am | Report comment
Scared of change. Tennis implemented great technology, I don’t follow it so I’m not sure on how it’s been received in general. The games I have watched, its amazing. Get a crap call, challenge it and you’ll get the right one. You have no reason to bitch unless you think your eyesight is somehow better hsn technology!
August 20th 2012 @ 11:17am
oikee said | August 20th 2012 @ 11:17am | Report comment
And the rules can be made simple instead of the complcated mess our game has, going to the video dude and looking at this mess for 10 – 12 times.
The rule is a simple one, if the ball is knocked out of the hands, it is always a scrum if the ball has travelled forward. The ref can work out who gets the ball after that, same as the strip rule.
If the ball is stripped, and it travells forward and you get it back, still a scrum, you cant play on if the ball has gone forward. This is the ugly part of the game, by having to go to the video ref, the game looks ugly, allowing the play to go on is the problem. Even gould said the other day, if the player gets tackled, it is play on anyhow because the ref has desided it was knocked forward. This is the stupidity of our game.
We need to clean up a few rule interpretaitions, no big deal really, and should be done ready for next year, lets not then wait 2 years to get things done. change then quickly at the start of the year if we find any problems, and get rid of Harrigons goons in the video box.
August 20th 2012 @ 9:30am
Matt said | August 20th 2012 @ 9:30am | Report comment
Wrong calls that influence a game need to be eliminated where possible. At least when a wrong call is made and nothing really comes of it, it’s not bad.
- Simplifying the rules is the answer
- Challenges aren’t the answer
- If it’s not scored by your HANDS, it’s not a try. If you’ve lost the ball (aka, it’s rolling out of your hands) and your pinky touches it down, you have no control, and it’s not a try. Same way if you fell over in the field and had the same thing happen, it’d be called drop. Yet suddenly because its in goal it’s “control” and its a try. Wtf. Consistency!
- Touch judges to actually rule on forward passes. F me it’s not hard, 90% of the time from dummy half.
- Isn’t there a rule saying the decoy runners must not touch an opponent? Or am I just making this up? 80% of the “obstruction” tries the decoy plows into a defender, so it’s a penalty as soon as that happens, no matter what else happens after (assuming of course the defender isn’t trying to tackle said decoy). The obstruction in general needs to be simplified. It’s a better outcome then trying to have 10 sub rules which complicate it and result in screw ups.
- It’s not possible to enjoy a game when the outcome was screwed up by incorrect officiating. It’s like watching a great movie that suddenly stops with a lame ending, you’re left with a sour taste.
August 20th 2012 @ 9:43am
Will Sinclair said | August 20th 2012 @ 9:43am | Report comment
Matt – with the obstruction rule, apparently there is a clause that allows referees to use their judgment about whether the impeded defender would/could have stopped a try being scored.
To me, that’s the flaw in the rule.
The key should be whether a defender is impeded. Full stop. Whether he could/would have stopped the try is irrelevant.
August 20th 2012 @ 9:50am
Matt said | August 20th 2012 @ 9:50am | Report comment
Yes, but there is a separate rule I believe saying decoys cannot take out defenders. I’ve seen this called a week or two ago, one of the forwards just plowed over a defender. There was no shepherd or anything nor did they score, merely the fact he made contact (and not just a fairy tap) equals a penalty.
So my question would be, why is it suddenly if they score, then it only matters if the defender was deemed to be able to stop the play, yet when they don’t score, if a decoy knocks over a defender it’s a penalty, regardless of his position to the ball carrier. The same way that if you drop the ball and torso it it’s a try, yet do it in the field its a knock on. You cannot have the same things happening with different decisions. It’s ludicrous.
Obstruction doesn’t come into the equation half the time, if the decoy makes reasonable contact with the defence (which they often do), stop the tape, no try.
August 20th 2012 @ 10:28am
Will Sinclair said | August 20th 2012 @ 10:28am | Report comment
I agree 110% Matt.
Seriously, when we’re having tries like that one on Friday awarded, then something has gone completely wrong. It was an obstruction every day of the week.
August 20th 2012 @ 10:53am
soapit said | August 20th 2012 @ 10:53am | Report comment
ricky stuart hit it on the head when he said the problem came about because bill harrigan wasnt strong enough to come out after origin and say the refs made a mistake which has made the refs as confused as the rest of us.
qld were there better team overall that night so i’m happy to put the score into history but i said at the time that specific decision will open up a huge can of worms with people not knowing what they are and arent allowed to do (and expect the other team to do).
looking at the rule as written theres about seven parts to the obstruction rule but none seem to be given precedence so where you’ve got a situation where a couple of parts of the rule are triggered theres no direction as to which part governs.
August 20th 2012 @ 11:00am
Matt said | August 20th 2012 @ 11:00am | Report comment
I think Inglis was wrong/reading way too much into the rules. Hodges was fine IMO, hannant was 10m in front, hodges ran at a different gap to the decoy. Poor defense from creagh and carney.
August 20th 2012 @ 1:47pm
soapit said | August 20th 2012 @ 1:47pm | Report comment
gaps are created in split seconds, especially for a slow man marking a fast man (like creagh on hodges). the split second hannant diverted/distracted the people who were marking hodges is enough.
so then we are just left with the question of whether or not it is illegal.
August 20th 2012 @ 2:57pm
Matt said | August 20th 2012 @ 2:57pm | Report comment
Hannant was a classic decoy IMO
August 20th 2012 @ 3:19pm
eagleJack said | August 20th 2012 @ 3:19pm | Report comment
Matt, Hannant was a great decoy. The issue actually occurred when Carney raced up on Thurston. Basically the Blues picked that this was the “Elvis” play and once it became clear that Hannant was not going to get the ball the only option now was for Hodges to
A. Pass to Thurston
B. Turn back and attack the right edge.
So Carney looked to nullify A as he knew that Hodges couldn’t run behind Hannant. But Hodges did so and strolled through the gap made by Carney getting up in the face of Thurston.
This single play has now opened up a can of worms that should have been left firmly shut.
August 20th 2012 @ 5:53pm
soapit said | August 20th 2012 @ 5:53pm | Report comment
sounds like we agree that he did distract the defensive line. i’m just not convinced its legal with the way the rule is written.
classic is a bit strong though. why do you think half the fans/ex and current players/coaches are coming out so strongly against it.
and eagle, yes the can should have stayed shut, but then when they opened it the could have shut it again by just saying it was an error. i wonder if the hooplah after the inglis try played a part in the way it was handled afterwards.
August 20th 2012 @ 6:55pm
JVGO said | August 20th 2012 @ 6:55pm | Report comment
There are two distinct rules anyway. shepherding and decoy/obstruction are different. Somehow they have become confused. One is to do with the ball player not taking advantage of running behind his own player, the other is to do with the decoy runner not obstructing the defensive line. They are in fact totally different rules. The Hodges rule was in fact both at the same time I guess, hence the confusion.
August 20th 2012 @ 10:01am
Gareth said | August 20th 2012 @ 10:01am | Report comment
While we’re at it, can we make hyperbole a send-off offence? If I was a referee and a player said to me “Ever since rugby league was created…” I’d slap them.
August 20th 2012 @ 10:39am
MG Burbank said | August 20th 2012 @ 10:39am | Report comment
Gareth, that was hilarious- Robbie Farah giving a history lecture. I loved it but yes, a little over the top.
August 20th 2012 @ 11:26am
Renegade said | August 20th 2012 @ 11:26am | Report comment
Hahaha that’s gold.
What Farah should have been whinging about was his own appetite for being a glory hog….the tigers could have won that game if he just passed the ball to benji on numerous occasions towards the end of the match but no – farah wanted the limelight…
August 20th 2012 @ 11:35am
Will Sinclair said | August 20th 2012 @ 11:35am | Report comment
Farah was magnificent again on Friday night.
It’s an ongoing embarrasment that Ennis was ever picked ahead of him for NSW. One of the all-time great Origin stuff ups.
August 20th 2012 @ 10:40am
oikee said | August 20th 2012 @ 10:40am | Report comment
I heard that Rabs will retire if channel 9 lose the rights, lets pray together. I like Rabs, but his time is up.
Channel 9 have let the game down, we need a new direction, if they pay big money for the game, then they will probably want to grow the game.
The game needs a team in Perth, it also needs to get a extra team in NZ, and a extra team in Brisbane, to make both the Warriors and the Broncos more competitive.
We have 2 great teams without a rival in their own areas or country.
The AFL is forging ahead because they are building rivalries , early years, but they will be better off in the long term.
League has to get 2 more teams into their main heartlands. Even another team in Auckland would do, and Brisbane just needs to get league played every weekend, surely even a fool can see the importance of this now.
The rules are causing alot of this drama with the refs. Fix the rules, give the video man less to do, introduce the coach call. Not a captains call. If you want more anguish with the refs, more discent, then make this a captains call.
This funny little 2 state code, well one and half states, we still dont own Brisbane.
You would think they would have learnt, the NFL have a coach call, not a captains call. they have probably already worked out why a captains call does not work, but our game is going ahead anyhow, like brave fools, in a fools paradise.
Please god help us, as we do not know what we do.
August 20th 2012 @ 10:45am
Matt said | August 20th 2012 @ 10:45am | Report comment
Brisbane have GC and NQ as rivals. Its enough I think. Perth have no one – assuming the demand is there, of course.
August 20th 2012 @ 11:05am
oikee said | August 20th 2012 @ 11:05am | Report comment
You still dont quite understand Matt, Brisbane is the third biggest city, with only 1 team, and this is our heartland area. While afl has 2 teams in each city, even the smaller ones, our game will be forever on the back foot, because we are not smart enough to grow, we have only utilised the best stadium in Aus for 1 game every 2 weeks, we are shooting ourselves in the foot mate.
We were 10 thousand down from a few years ago with our storm derby. We are going backwards mate, backwards.
By having 2 teams in a city, increses the competitiveness of those teams, This is 2012, not 1995. We even stuffed that up by pulling out the teams from those cities, Perth adelaide, now we need them back, go figure, every thing is backwards in our code, backwards i tell ya.
August 20th 2012 @ 11:08am
Matt said | August 20th 2012 @ 11:08am | Report comment
Brisbane has 2 afl teams?
I don’t think Brisbane will be worth leaving forever, for now, I think more is to be gained going to a new location then fortifying what already exists.
My comment was more directed at “there are no rivals for these teams”. GC is only an hour away, that’s pretty close given the scale of the country!
August 20th 2012 @ 11:53am
oikee said | August 20th 2012 @ 11:53am | Report comment
Matt, afl has academies and expansion already thought out for Brisbane, they now have a clubhouse and pokies in Logan as well as eyeing off a second Brisbane team for the west.
Ruggy league is still bumbling around with tv deals.
They let areas spend huge amounts on expansion. They can blame this on Gallop. Why not, league seems good at playing the back foot, the back handers well.
Its the front foot that has them stuffed.
They have to move fast, we are 10 years behind where we should be, so by the time we move forward we will be 15 years behind.
Wasting time on a captains call, just ring the NFL and ask them why it is a coaches call, not a captains call. Look, i can honestly say we wont have a captains call, it will be shown to be flawed, even if we introduced it to the game, it is flawed, i have already explained a couple of reasons. Too far from the play to see what happened, maybe off the field injured, so confusion, mate the list is endless, trust me.
The rule has also got to be used for obvious forward passes, this is the perfect time to use the rule. You know, 5 metres forward and the ref missed it, the touchie missed it.
The coach can see a replay, the captain cant. If the coach can see something obvious on a quick replay, he can make a call. The captain never gets this luxury, and we cant have the coach looking at replays and the captain looking over to the bench every 5 minutes.
Its another ruggy league dogs breakfast waiting to happen.
August 20th 2012 @ 11:16am
MG Burbank said | August 20th 2012 @ 11:16am | Report comment
Spot on regarding expansion Oikee. Yep, a South Island Kiwi team, Brisbane 2, Perth, and eventually a rival Victorian team. But we need to contract Sydney to do it- there simply isn’t enough high-level talent to expand to 18 or 20.
August 20th 2012 @ 10:51am
oikee said | August 20th 2012 @ 10:51am | Report comment
If you run behind your player you have to drop to the ground. If you dont or pass, penalty.
Is this really hard to change next year. I can forgive a bit of a mess up, like the players who do accidently go behind and drop to the ground, but when they keep running then pass and score, you start to lose friends,
Ruggy league is always losing friends, who makes these rules?.
And the knock-on rule, a knock forward is always stop and scrum. I dont care who gets the ball, just stop the play straight off and scrum it.
Worry about who gets the ball during a ad break. Is this really that hard, then we wont have anything to complain to the refs about, well not until the video ref has to make a dud call.
August 20th 2012 @ 11:01am
Matt said | August 20th 2012 @ 11:01am | Report comment
Obviously no-one has told Reynolds or Marshall that one.
August 20th 2012 @ 11:03am
Matt said | August 20th 2012 @ 11:03am | Report comment
No way, a knock on should be play on, often line breaks happen off the back of a dropped ball. But, if you run more than say 5m, you take the advantage. If 2 plays later you drop it no coming back to the scrum. If you happen to grab it 10cm from the sideline and get bundled over straight away then it’s a scrum.