The challenges of the NRL challenge system

I like the challenge system. I believe it should replace the video referee because one of the things that drives me crazy is seeing the ref go upstairs on almost every call in stead of backing his own opinion. The ref should just call it as he sees it and leave it to the captain to decide if he feels its worth challenging. Obviously a limit on challenges prevents them being used willy nilly. all details that need to be worked out.

I woudn;'t be in favour of this challenge system at all - leave the game as it is. It's great the way it is. If it aint broke, why fix it?

Crikey aren't 2x on-field referees, 2x touch judges and 1x supporting video ref with 5 camera angles enough to referee a game a of Rugby League? No way should we allow games to be punctured and disrupted by such a fabricated, opportunistic and disingenuous system such as proposed which will only diminish the viewing and playing experience.. Kill it off immediately...

I wish their was someone with a few brains involved in rugby league. every year i shake my head and wonder if our game will ever be pro-active, not reactive. If a ball is stripped and the ref calls a scrum,. he has time for the video ref to look at that last play, go to a ad, which silly nine wants more of, and when you come back, have the ref overcall the scrum and award a penalty if the ball was stripped and he missed it, which happened 4 times in the Warriors game. Look, is it really this hard, please god give this game a brain.It is like the wizard of id. Instead of a heart, we need a brain, please.

And knowing that if you blow the whistle then the media is going to focus on you with the accusation that you wanted to be the centre of attention rather than saying "oops, that fool shouldn't have been offside, I guess!"

Trial the system, tweak it...then judge it. A lot of Einsteins on here are attributing wild results to the deployment of a system. Frankly, i can see it working well and SAVING time by removing so many video ref referrals we currently see. * Limit challenges to try-scoring plays only OR the tackle immediately before it. * 2 per half...a 3rd is granted if both previous are upheld. * Challenge must be lodged with video ref within 20s of a decision OR event which wasnt called. Video ref calls referee on his headpiece. Video ref then has 30s to review the play in question. * Video only overrules ref decision if there's CLEAR VISUAL EVIDENCE to do so. If the visual evidence is inconclusive, dont guess it, let the original ruling stand.

the strip should be outlawed for a start the refs cant get that right this would take a load of bs from the game and anything that helps the right decision get made should be at least tried and copping a bad decision on the chin couldnt stand it when i played and cant stand now im watching if the coach bags the ref he gets fined refs have been in their protective bubble for to long trial anything that goes close to getting it right and then we maybe get games decided by the players not the refs.

i know the time issue is always going to be a problem. In the NFL they will go back to the infringement and also rest the clock to the time the incident occured. and then play from there - again i know that time wise it will stop the play more but at least they reset the clock back ...

"Maybe refs could take more accountability for their performance. People say that everyone makes mistakes – however mistakes like the offside-from-the-charge-down in the Sharks / Tigers game are fundamental errors not 50/50 calls that went wrong in the heat of the moment." That wasn't the first time a team has been off side and charged down a field goal, but just like in the Dragons v Knights game, the way the Dragons players set up as a wall becoming lazy players around the ruck, should have been penalised, offisde is never penalised on an FG attempt either. Its not an inability of the officials to assess offside, its the intestinal fortitude to blow the whsitle with the score locked, right infront of the posts.

I dont really know how I feel about this. If we do invest in this then we are saying that 5 people (referee, pocket ref, touchies and video ref) aren't doing a good enough job. Would you honestly be happy knowing that captains and coaches can second guess a decision? I wouldnt...I would rather go to a game where if the referee makes a decision and its final. If that referee made a decision he thought was correct at the time then sure people can complain (which some coaches did on the weekend) but thats the way the ball bounces really. You move on and try to do it better next week. Lets give the referees a reason to grow a backbone and not shy away from tough decisions.

I think this would be a nightmare unless they restrict what you can challenge. Say a strip is called, and someone challenges and the replay shows it was a dropped ball instead. Great, they still have two more up their jumper. Now, looking at the replay, what about the interpretation of what is and what isn't a strip? "A bloke had his arm up there, but when he hits the ground, I can't see, and now the ball is loose, yup. Must have been a strip." How many times do frivalous penalties happen each game, or dropped balls etc? I just don't think there is time or space for this in the game. People should just accept the Ref's call, and leave it at that. If you were dudded, you were dudded, and write it up on the Roar.

Barry, so youre telling us that refs constantly referring to the video ref is the way to go? Refs go there far too often at the moment. A clever challenge system will make everyone happy and SAVE time.

I think this is one of the worse ideas to be considered in a long time (maybe all time).. I think coaches and captains and supporters just need to learn that sometimes in life you have to accept the decision thats been made. People, that is refs, players, coaches are all trying there best - no one intentionally makes mistakes, there is a human element in every decision thats made on the field.. I see potential for coaches to exploit this when there team is under the pump - nothing like a break in play to halt momentum, catch your breath and regather your thoughts. On the other extreme if the refs are challengeable why limit it to one challenge per half. If the ref is having a shocker you may win your challenge for the half, but countless other bad decisions are unchallengeable and just as damaging as the one that the coach wins. Whats the point? Games will still be determined by refereeing decisions, but one per half is rectified - not worth the time and effort. If we truly think there is a problem with officials, fix it, but don't go down the path of allowing spoilt brat coaches like Hasler, Toovey, Bellamy etc more air time and influence than they already have.

"People say that everyone makes mistakes – however mistakes like the offside-from-the-charge-down in the Sharks / Tigers game are fundamental errors not 50/50 calls that went wrong in the heat of the moment." So is dropping the ball as you're making a line break but players that do that don't get dropped. What do you want, semi-pro referees to cop fines for honest stuff-ups?

I think it will be terrible. If you go back to challenge something on the first tackle of a set there's effectively been five tackles and 40 seconds of play that don't count towards the game. Potentially players could get injured or sent off in a period of play that effectively gets wiped out of the game if we go back to a penalty on tackle one. Coaches will eventually start complaining that one challenge per half is not enough. Challenges will be used to disrupt the momentum of the game. I don't think things are that broke that we need to do this. I welcome the trial but hopefully cool heads make the final decision. Maybe refs could take more accountability for their performance. People say that everyone makes mistakes - however mistakes like the offside-from-the-charge-down in the Sharks / Tigers game are fundamental errors not 50/50 calls that went wrong in the heat of the moment.

it is definately worth trying and I am all for trying it in the Toyota Cup. There are some risks with it and it won't eliminate error or controversy, nothing will. And if offciating became an exact science where there were no errors, there would be some journos out of jobs!

This challenge system, if implemented properly, would actually SAVE time! It would reduce the amount of times the refs go to the video ref, because they do it far too often at the moment. Think about it people! A good challenge system would also take pressure off the referees. They could freely rule on what they see and have to cop the situation that they will occasionally get challenged and over-ruled. Lastly, there needs to be a system to discourage frivolous use of the challenge. You should get 2 per half and if both go in your favor you should get a 3rd. Also the team which is challenging has only, say, a 20 second window after a try ruling to challenge.

This is an idea invented by channel 9 so they can squeeze more advertising into their NRL broadcast. There is enough stopping in the game now with the video ref. There will be a number of initatives that will be marketed as 'good for the game' yet they will all provide 30 seconds of advertising space for channel 9.