- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
On Saturday morning, fans should have been talking about the Sea Eagles’ brutal dismantling of a young Tigers side.
Instead they were talking about one of the great refereeing howlers in a season where games have become more affected by refereeing errors.
In just the third minute, referee Shayne Hayne refused to go upstairs, even though it was clear Tigers winger David Nofoaluma had planted the ball on the tryline.
Although very few would argue the decision had any sort of bearing on the end result, who’s to say the Tigers, on the back of an early lead, wouldn’t have played a completely different game if a correct decision was made?
Manly would have been playing catch up footy from the get go, and who knows just how much that horrible decision, and it was nothing short of horrible, affected the flow of the game?
On Sunday at Remondis, Ashley Klein ruled a try when referring the clearest knock-on of the season to the video referee in the Sharks versus Knights match.
Jeremy Smith broke through some lazy Sharks defence before popping a ball to Tyrone Roberts, who knocked the ball three metres forward, before it was caught by Houston who touched down.
Even those listening on radio could see that blatant knock-on, yet Klein ruled a try?
Was he simply not watching the action or is his eyesight really that bad?
Klein may have been unsighted for the incident in question, however surely one of his touch judges could have radioed through that there was an obvious touch from Roberts.
Hayne, who had already been demoted from State of Origin duty, has never been shy about referring a decision before, so why not this one, which looked like it could be a try?
Thankfully neither decision directly affected the result of the game, however both remain totally unforgivable.
I loathe blaming refereeing errors for results. I always laugh on social media at those who blame a referee for their side losing a game, but this is simply not good enough.
Everyone talks about the horror of a grand final being decided on the back of a bad refereeing decision. It’s not out of the realm of possibilities, after all we’ve had an Origin game decided on one.
Players keep coming out and commenting that they have lost confidence in officials, and fans have taken to social media to vent their frustrations.
The NRL needs to admit there is a problem and take steps to fix it.
Whether that is more training, or a move to go back to one official, or even to move touch judges further in when the play is away from the touchline, then so be it.
The first step to fixing a problem is admitting you have one.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.