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This week’s Roar and Against debate is the NRL bunker. The concept has had its supporters and its critics in first few rounds as referees look to make the right decision as fast as possible.
For those who missed the inaugural Roar and Against, Benjamin Conkey narrowly defeated Joe Frost on the issue of equality in women’s tennis.
Each week two writers will go head-to-head, and will only have 250 words to get their point across on one of the big sporting issues of the week.
It will be up to you, in the comments section, to decide the winner. That winner will stay on and take on a new challenger and new topic. That challenger can be anyone, including any commenters who throw their hat in the ring.
For winning in the first week, Roar editor Benjamin Conkey stays on and will debate Roar Guru Scott Pryde, who volunteered for this week.
Our hot topic this week?
The bunker is the best system for rugby league decision-making
AGREE
Scott Pryde (Roar Guru)
There have been plenty of changes in the NRL this season. The bunker, though, is the best of the lot.
It has led to a general speeding up of decision-making and accuracy of the process, which were two of the biggest issues in the game previously.
Fans enjoy the advantage of being able to stay in the moment with the bunker system. When old video referee decisions could take well over a minute, the bunker generally has them done in half the time or less. This creates a better atmosphere at the game and less frustration on the couch.
Based on everything we have seen so far this season, a majority of decisions have been right. The first two rounds barely saw a complaint, which was a stark difference to anything we ever saw under the old system.
While, yes, the last two rounds have seen arguments over decisions, this was always going to happen. Let’s face it, you’ll never get everyone to agree with every decision.
Furthermore, the bunker system hands control of the decision-making process over to the video referees once something has been sent from the field. They have control over all the camera angles, and with the same three on every game, we can start to get an idea of consistency between games, something for which fans have cried out.
The new system is infinitely better than the old one for video referrals in the NRL.
DISAGREE
Benjamin Conkey (Roar Editor)
In the opening two rounds I wanted to believe in the bunker, I really did. But after a month the cracks have opened and the system is a mess. Let’s remember, before the season, the NRL rather foolishly predicted there would be zero errors with the implementation of the bunker. Those high expectations have not been met.
For a start, the technology is not foolproof. Mitchell Aubusson being called offside when Latrell Mitchell scored for the Roosters proved that.
We’re led to believe the NRL bunker can’t adjudicate on forward passes because it’s too hard to tell with the camera angles, yet offsides are fine?
Despite all the cameras at their disposal, the bunker has been unable to determine if the ball has been grounded on numerous occasions and the decisions have taken longer and longer to come up on the chicken-sponsored big screen.
The other problem is the fact the referee’s ruling on-field tends to sway what the bunker goes with on the 50-50 calls.
Todd Greenberg admitted they would need to look to the NFL and football to see if further technology can be implemented to have superimposed lines for offsides.
If the bunker continues to get it wrong, it’s a terrible system. I honestly believe the players and coaches would prefer the NRL get rid of the bunker until the technology is better and let the referees make a decision on-field and stick with it. After all, it seems to work just fine in the lower grades where there’s no video ref.
So what about it Roarers? Who wins your vote for best-made argument this week?
Let us know in the comments section below and they’ll be our carryover champ for next week. Also let us know if you want to take part, and we can make that happen.
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