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It is not my habit to write about referees but this week I am compelled to do so after a highly-confusing and – it must be said – very ordinary weekend from our men in pink.
Their inconsistency is driving me crazy and it seems members of the public, along with the media, are scratching their heads in frustration after just five rounds of the NRL competition.
Does anyone here on The Roar have the faintest clue what the refs are going to do from game-to-game? Why aren’t the referees accountable for their decisions? And just what were some of them thinking with some ridiculous calls over the weekend?
I realise there are always going to be contentious rulings – refereeing at this level is an extremely tough gig – but a few things I saw (and heard) over the weekend beggared belief.
The Josh Dugan ‘no try’ ruling in the Dragons-Rabbitohs game was puzzling. He grounded the ball fair and square but he was denied a try when St George Illawarra desperately needed one.
In the Gold Coast-Melbourne game, Beau Falloon’s lifting tackle on Will Chambers didn’t even draw a charge from the officials. It was clearly dangerous – Chambers was taken well beyond the horizontal – and provided another very scary moment for the code at a time when I thought lifting was very much taboo.
Then there was that bizarre moment at Leichhardt Oval when the Wests Tigers players claimed Manly were allowed to play the ball after the half-time siren had sounded, in a move which ultimately resulted in a Jamie Lyon try.
Tigers skipper Robbie Farah approached the referee and pointed out that the siren had sounded and that the try should not be allowed. The referee simply replied that he didn’t hear it. I find that staggering – you could probably hear that siren five or six blocks away.
“Not good enough,” snapped Farah. He was certainly right about that.
The referees have a new boss this season, Tony Archer. He’s a very experienced official but I am not sure he is sending out the right messages to his whistle-blowing troops. Too many of them are taking the easy option and throwing the bulk of their calls to the guys up in the video box. This suggests they lack confidence in their ability and are keen to drag their colleagues into action to relieve some pressure.
The league is trying to speed up the action but going up to the box is dragging everything out, stifling momentum and thereby excitement. While I am on this, why don’t these video watchers have a set time to make their decisions?
Too many questions without answers about the performance of referees and you can see the rising frustration from coaches in their post-game comments. Trent Robinson, Steve Price and Craig Bellamy have been strong in their condemnation of whistle-blowers in the opening rounds and you can bet there will be many more sprays to come.
I would like to see Mr Archer hold an all-in media conference at around 10am every Tuesday. That’s when coaches and reporters could at least get some explanations and answers about the weekend’s controversial decisions and, consequently, we would all know a bit more.
After five rounds, there is general bewilderment about the way games are being handled and, in many cases, decided by the match officials. There will always be controversy arising from professional rugby league games, but surely not from every game in every round.
We cannot have a game without referees but we should be talking about the players and not the match officials and their rulings.
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