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The NRL has made some shocking decisions over the last 10 years, but introducing golden point extra time wasn’t one of them.
Two referees, some would say the video referee, the new obstruction rule and wasting time thinking about corner posts at all, were all bad decisions.
Golden point time, though, goes in the box marked with a big tick, unless that box belongs to St George Illawarra coach Wayne Bennett.
On Friday night, the Dragons and the Titans slugged it out for 80 minutes, and the scoreboard at Kogarah had them locked at 10-all.
10 minutes later Mat Rogers found himself at dummy half, and instead of passing back to Scott Prince to seal the match from close range, popped out to his left and slotted home the winning field goal.
Titans fans left the ground believing they were genuine title contenders again while the Dragons faithful walked away trying to work out how they’d been humbled at home.
They departed feeling emotion.
It’s emotion that would’ve otherwise been missing had the match finished at the end of the 80 minutes.
It’s emotion the game thrives on.
Bennett was stone-faced in the post match press conference.
”I think tonight proved again why I am not a fan of it and I don’t think the game should be, personally.”
The game supports it because it’s something for the fans to get excited about.
Nobody wants to share 2 points. It’s a competition. You either won or you lost, unless you’re the Melbourne Storm, then it gets complicated.
The match had the potential to be almost anonymous with Jarryd Hayne’s heroics in full swing across town.
Rogers’ field goal ensured the contest made the news highlight reels the next morning.
It was a similar story on Saturday night.
North Queensland beat Newcastle 28 – 24 in golden point extra time.
Winger Will Tupou scored a magnificent try to break the Cowboys’ four game losing streak and inflict more pain on the Knights, following their meek surrender to Canberra the week before.
The Cowboys finals hopes are over and the Knights look like joining them on the couch come the end of the regular season.
But do you know what made this clash interesting as we were devouring the Sunday morning headlines?
The golden point! Will Tupou’s try.
The four pointer was laid on by a line ball pass from Willie Tonga and had Knights coach Rick Stone a little bemused.
“I’m a bit disappointed,” he said. “I think the pass was forward, I was pretty much in line with that.”
He didn’t suggest the whole concept be scrapped though just because two points had gone begging.
In contrast, in the AFL on Friday night, St Kilda and Hawthorn played out a thriller.
When the final hooter hollered it was locked at 87.
Both sets of fans, already on the edge of their seat, were baying for blood, or in the absence of that, four points.
Instead, the players walked off, Etihad Stadium emptied and trams and trains departed back to the suburbs. It was a great game, but I bet more than a few were left feeling a bit hollow.
Who won? No-one! Was St Kilda or Hawthorn better? The scoreboard certainly didn’t tell you.
Both sides got two points, but wouldn’t they have loved four?
Whether the AFL could support an extra time format on a weekly basis is debatable. The point is, the NRL can.
The rule isn’t for Bennett. It’s for the fans. It’s for the family of four who part with half their weekly wage for meat pies, parking and tickets to support their team.
Talking about a draw on the way home isn’t nearly as fulfilling as going over the try that should’ve been, or the field goal in extra time that was.
Golden point is good for the fans and ultimately that’s good for the game.
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Follow me on twitter @luke_doherty and on Sky News Australia.
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