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The Roar

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Cleary pleads for obstruction overhaul

31st March, 2013
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Fix it now. That’s the message from Penrith coach Ivan Cleary after yet another controversial obstruction ruling, which he claims is encouraging NRL players to dive in the vain of their soccer counterparts.

“We’ve got to fix it up,” Cleary said following his side’s 28-10 loss to Gold Coast on Sunday.

“One thing about our game that separates us from soccer, if you like, is no one dives.

“But that rule at the moment is encouraging people to (dive).

“I’m not casting aspersions on anyone, but the rule at the moment, if you’re a defender and you’re not looking to run into someone then you’re probably not doing your job.”

The focus of Cleary’s ire was the fourth-minute no-try to Tom Humble, in which Sika Manu impeded Titans co-captain Greg Bird.

It comes just days after Wests Tigers skipper Robbie Farah claimed defenders were using the new interpretation – which states an attacking player without the ball cannot run into a defender – as a cop-out.

“It’s very hard to put on a play at the moment,” Cleary said.

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“Those plays have been in the game for a long, long time but at the moment it’s almost impossible to put on a second man play.”

Ironically Cleary is on the Competition Committee which ushered in the new interpretation ahead of the start of the season.

That was after the 2012 campaign was marred by a series of controversial calls when video referees were allowed discretion to judge on whether defenders were actually denied the chance to get to a tackled player or had simply made a bad read in defence.

The committee is expected to meet again after round six – ahead of the representative weekend – to review the rule, with little doubt left as to Cleary’s stance.

“Is that how we want the game to go?” he said.

“There’s so many good things that are happening as far as the referees go but that one thing to me needs addressing.

“You can’t have a black and white decision. There’s no such thing.

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“I’m sure I’m not the only one, everybody knows it.

“Black and white decisions are being made on something that’s not black and white. It’s simple.”

Speaking on ABC Radio, referees boss Daniel Anderson denied the rule could ever be black or white.

“It’s not black and white, it’s less grey,” Anderson said.

“It’s impossible to get it black and white.

“We are enforcing it to the letter of the law.

“Right now we don’t have the capacity to have discretion on it.

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“We have discretion on the footy field, but there isn’t a huge amount of discretion in the video referee box.”

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