NRL must come down hard on contact with referees

I don't have a problem with Thaiday getting a week, I have a problem with the inconsistencies already demonstrated by the judiciary this year. If Thaiday gets a week, Bailey should have gotten a week. The whole carry over points just make the whole system a debacle. There has to be a way to have a certain suspension for a certain charge. Forget the early guilty plea. You do the crime, you do the time. If a player is found not guilty, they get let off. I'm not saying a charge can't be downgraded to a lesser consequence, but the carry over points are just a mess. As for one week charges like this, well maybe a fine could be put in place and an official warning. If you get a second written warning, you get your week suspension then. Forgive me from straying to another topic, but a one week ban for touching a referee without any ill intent and a one week ban for a player blindsiding another player with a shoulder charge resulting in a concussion...that just doesn't seem to add up. The NRL judiciary is a joke.

I recall that play - but its not quite the same as a scrum bound player holding the jersey of another a second or two too long. Whilst on scrums, whats with referees calling "break", that was always the domain of the players to determine when to break - thus penalties for breaking early, or in this case, not being allowed to break ;-)

Ya right Robz , Richie got off lightly but tell me what would have been the out come if Richie knocked himself out and not Harrison ?? There's big holes in all this!!! Go Manly

In other news Thaiday has been banned for a game. The price for cheating? A win. That will sure help tidy up the game, as if we don't have enough milking penalties as it is, now it's permission granted to cheat however you like (as long as it's not obstruction, finger tap a defender and it's no try)

Lucky? Gee, that'd have to be the first time the storm have ever gotten away with anything...

Anakin Another coach did think of this first. Round 1 or 2 from about 2009, the Canberra Raiders used a play on the Parra Eels where after the scrum 'broke' the Raiders stayed in and pushed both left and right creating a path up the centre. A speed player burst through and scored from about 40m out...except the refs called a penalty to the Eels because...(drum roll)...the Raiders forwards had impeded the Eels forwards in the scrum and effectively shepherded. The Storm were lucky to get away with it - it should have been penalised. That said, Thaiday shouldn't have touched teh ref.

> what’s against the spirit of the game is the grabbing of our player trying to get out of the scrum." HAHAHAHAHA - coming from soneone who has obviously forgotten "gamesmanship". The spirt of the game is to win within the rules - so be it if sometimes these rules are 'bent' - that's what coaches are paid to do for their team .. push the boundaries to gain the edge! I know as a coach I am always looking to exploit the rules - sometimes treading a fine line - if it means my teams have the slightest edge over the opposition. If Storm had been penalised we'd all be talking about something else .. it'd be just another poor choice by a player; that they got away with it now has ppl up in arms. I say BRAVO Bellyache! and too bad, so sad, to other teams whose coach didnt think of it first.

Unfortunately Anderson doesn't have any control over the match-review committee or the judiciary. I am pretty sure that Devcich didn't complain or expect anything further to come from it.

Agree with you both Lou and The Bush. Also needs to extend to the refs not touching the players - numerous times during most matches I see refs with their hand on the back of a player in the defensive line; and I've also on occassion seen the refs put their hand on the shouldner or arm of a player when they are discussing a decision with them. The biggest issue for me is that this once again highlights the inconsistency of the RL judicairy / penalty system. Now I am a Broncos fan and agrre that Sam probably deserves some kind of sanction. But what makes my blood boil is he is going to get the same punishment for this innocuous act that Richie Fa'aoso got for his late shoulder charge that knocked Ashley Harrison out.

So how long do they have to stay bound in the scrum... That's a silly statement. The game has already been slowed down by obstruction rules and laying all over the play the ball and you want to see it be made worse by props staying bound in a scrum .. In the case of sam thaiday if it was a grand final it wouldn't have been a try.. Consistency from the ref is what is needed . Not more stupid rules to soften up the game ... Please

Never touch the referee. NEVER, EVER, EVER touch the referee. If the kids see the senior players getting away with it, then it would only be a matter of time before something nasty happens in a junior game.It is as simple as that.

Thaiday has to get a week. The refs didn't miss that Thaiday was held back Devcich said they interpreted it as still being part of the scrum. For what it's worth I don't agree with the decision and can understand Thaiday's frustration. However he could have expressed himself quite clearly without grabbing the refs shirt. What was the point anyway ? The refs weren't going to change the decision and a try had been scored so it wasn't a strategic protest (a la Cameron Smith) to earn his side a breather. If I was Griffen I'd probably be more concerned at my captain losing his cool with the ref rather than getting back behind the posts and rallying his team.

I agree that a one-game ban is harsh - the penalty does not fit the crime. However, I also agree with the statement that the refs need to be 100% respected, and Thaiday did not do that by grabbing his shirt. Perhaps a different penalty is warranted, such as being told to ref half a dozen junior games the next couple of Saturdays he's not playing. Walk a mile in their shoes.

Adam, "I also feel that Daniel Anderson is creating a problem by openly exactly which decisions were wrong. I think it undermines the professionalism of the referees in question and leads to a general thought process that referees are making the wrong decisions too often." Well maybe after 100 odd years these refs could get it right!! They get paid to do it. Anderson may annoy them, but former referee's boss Harrigan did the same and they underminded him and backstabbed him. These refs are horrible. In fact most of the refs in sport are horrible. Changing the rules does this, but it shouldnt be too hard. Common sense would prevail more in League then a black or white rules. Funnily enough they just changed the rule for obsruction to be grey and not black and white anymore. At the video refs and referee's discretion and common sense to award such tries. I fully disagree with you on Thaiday. I've mentioned that above though.

Oikee, I'm not even going to get started on your loyalty to the Broncos. This straight out of the courier mail: "The charge is against the spirit of the game, but I would say what's against the spirit of the game is the grabbing of our player trying to get out of the srum." Anderson phoned Griffin on Monday to apologise for video referee Paul Simpkins' ruling that Thaiday was not obstructed. "We got that call wrong and I made sure I told Anthony myself a mistake was made," Anderson said. ALSO Comments by Anderson on ABC Radio last Sunday, in which he said Thaiday should not face a charge, will be tabled by the Broncos as evidence their client does not deserve a suspension. Anderson's comments were a direct breach of the NRL's media guidelines.... All from the Courier Mail. Oikee, if you aren't entirely happy with Brisbane anymore then maybe you should write an article about it. Maybe then can we have a real discussion as to the issues.

Absolutely spot on The Bush. It might seem like the thin edge of the wedge but I think it goes a long way to defining the interactions between player and ref on the park. If anyone saw the Conrad Smith/Steve Walsh episode where Walsh marched the Hurricanes 10 and then ran into Smith coming in to speak to him about the penalty this was handled in probably the way you would want it to be handled. Walsh apologised to Smith, they got on with the game and there was not much issues raised with it following the game outside of Smith brushing it off really.

No, it should be Captain and for everyone else by their number. The most unprofessional thing you hear during a game of League in Australia is the ref yelling through the TV a players nickname when they want them to stop or back off or whatever, it is ridiculous. AFL is worse, but still...

Mike from Tari, The scrum serves as a way of restarting play after a stoppage and also ties the forwards up, thus creating much more space on the field for some exciting moves to take place. Do we see them as often as what we want to?? No. Is the scrum pointless? yes! Will it change? Probably not. Do I want them to contest it? No, because league is different enough from Union already and trying to contest a scrum in League would in a way make it pointless or change its meaning.

Adam Scroggy, "Let’s not forget that the actions of NRL stars filter down to park footy, where refs don’t get the same level of protection and cameras aren’t necessarily watching every move. Kids need to be brought up with 100% respect for refs, whether they stuff up a call or not." I agree with everything you have just said above, but if you honestly think that "Big Sam lost his temper and did something dumb" well you either did not watch the game or the replay & if you did watch it then you would understand like the Broncos club, Referee's Boss Anderson admitting the refs F'ed up and NRL experts on Foxsports saying they didn't see to much in it, that he could have at least recieved a warning, a letter of explanation or he could have been provided an opportunity to apologies and the ref at least see where Sam was coming from. Broncos in my opinion were never going to win that game, but when you lose by 6 points and it could have 'potentially cost you a match' then I can fully understand why he did it. There was no anger or agression whatsoever. Dumb maybe, losing temper NO! He will most likely be suspended to make an example for the younger children and in a way they should, but these refs and league players constantly come into contact each week in the form of interation. They all know each other and discretion could have been provided.

And spend 5 minutes a scrum like union? Sounds great.