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NRL video refs given power of discretion

2nd April, 2013
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After four weeks of mayhem, common sense has finally prevailed at NRL headquarters with video referees handed the power to determine the significance of block runners in try-scoring situations.

Obstruction rulings will no longer be a case of black and white for the men in the video referees box, who up until now were forced to deny tries where there was any contact initiated by a block runner into a defender.

It led to farcical situations where teams were being stripped of what appeared legitimate four-pointers where a defender was impeded well away from where the try was being scored – as was the case with the Cooper Cronk no-try in Melbourne’s round three win over Canterbury.

Effective from this weekend, if a defender is taken out but would not have been in a position to stop the try being scored, the try will still be awarded.

The move comes following a meeting on Tuesday involving referees boss Daniel Anderson and other members of the competition committee.

NRL general manager of football operations Nathan McGuirk said the rule change was not a green light for block runners to take out defenders.

“Having examined the application of the rule over the opening four rounds we believe an adjustment was necessary to provide a level of discretion for the video referee in the review process,” McGuirk said in a statement.

“… (it) ensures that tries that would have been fairly scored will be awarded.”

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Players and coaches alike were left fuming over the weekend when a series of tries were rejected by the video referee, Wests Tigers skipper Robbie Farah claiming players were being encouraged to take a dive when hit by a decoy runner.

But the change is unlikely to provide a foolproof mechanism for awarding tries, with the same debate which marred last year’s campaign over the level of interference of a block runner sure to divide opinion.

Rival coaches Ivan Cleary (Penrith) and Gold Coast’s John Cartwright had different views on the no-try against Panthers No.6 on Sunday afternoon after Sika Manu ran into Titans back-rower Greg Bird in the lead-up.

Cleary, who is part of the competition committee, claimed defenders weren’t doing their job if they didn’t attempt to run into a decoy runner when a try was being scored under the system adopted over the opening month of the campaign.

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