In recent times, refereeing decisions in the NRL have been questioned by coaches, journalists and fans alike. Of course, this has been occurring for a long period of time now and across many different codes, such as AFL, union and football.
But why has this become a heavily covered topic in recent times? There is a claim by critics and fans in recent years that rugby league is becoming ‘soft’, but is this influenced by the calls made by referees?
Without a doubt, the decisions made by referees can be contributed to recent rule changes and crackdowns, such as the shoulder charge. Obviously, the NRL are no longer as lenient on certain tackles, as has been the case in recent weeks.
Issac Luke, Jorge Taufua and Aidan Guerra were all cleared of making shoulder charges at the NRL judiciary, despite calls made otherwise by the referees. These decisions can be detrimental for teams in the competition and can ultimately affect the success of the clubs in the following weeks.
It is the difference in getting the two points each and every week. In such a tight competition decisions like these should be avoided as much as possible. It must be noted that the referees do not intentionally go out to make these errors, but these occurrences shouldn’t be happening, especially in the top tier of rugby league.
One particular instance of such referring, which is still fresh in the minds of many supporters, was the awarding of the ‘7th-tackle’ try by the Cronulla Sharks against the Cowboys in the first week of the finals back in 2013. While the Cowboys had the chance to ultimately win the game, it diminished their chance of possibly winning the premiership.
It’s simply embarrassing that this happened, especially within the midst of a finals series. It is ridiculous that we can not go a single round without a certain refereeing decision being questioned.
This is a top-tier rugby league code which just signed a $925 million broadcast deal. Yet we continue to get these stupid and unprofessional refereeing decisions made by certain individuals, which belong to an Under-8s rugby league match. It is clear that these calls shouldn’t be made, at least not regularly.
Probably the best display of refereeing in recent months was the Sharks versus Tigers match, in which the video referee was not required once and the decisions made were spot on. It was a pleasant change from the constant bombardment of poor decisions made every single match.
The performance of these referees prove that the overall refereeing can improve and on a drastic level. Yes, recent changes and crackdowns have contributed to the calls made by referees, however there is no excuse for the constant questionable calls made each and every week.
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