Are NRL refs a protected species?

Have a look at the warriors game complete bias with some calls 40-20 linesmen overruled by video ref we all saw the shot fom the camera showed nothing just billy sulking that he couldn't stop it going out yet the video ref said nothing about the blatant forward pass should have been a penalty was that far forward mind you warriors have had it since they joined the comp it's time to bring computers in and ref it that way and we will see the best team win for sure

No, Agree with you on consistency. The best attribute a referee has is his ability to be consistent with his decisions. I totally agree with you on that. I wanted my response to deal with other issues that you raised in your article, such as handling of referee performance and levels of accountability of referees compared to players

Ricky should coach the Tigers - the most penalised team in the comp. He'd have a heart-attack.

Again, I suggest a little perspective. You are asking referees to get "ONE" call right...They do, in fact, they get a lot of calls right in a game. I think many people believe that on reflection, that pass was probably ok. So the referees got one wrong. They are human, live with the decision. My point still holds. Players are paid a fortune to train twice a day and to play on the weekends. a lot more than referees. Yet players STILL make mistakes. Its really simple why this happens. We are all humans and humans make mistakes. But why are referees mistakes given more weight? Most of these decisions are made in a split second and, in most cases, they don't have all the camera angles that us arm chairs judges do. Re: dropping referees for poor performance, the issue is the same as what teams have regarding dropping players for poor performance: lack of depth. In fact referees would have less depth in talent (in general) than teams. Hayne will NOT get dropped for not doing his job (in not defusing two bombs) so how can a referee be held to a higher standard for also making mistake(s)? Again, perspective....

If I was a coach Id simply tell my players to get immediately back onside if they get penalised. In week 3 Benji Marshall took a quick tap and ran the length of the field vs the Embarassing Eels to score. Id also tell them, no backchat. Just get back and tackle like your life depends on it.

Comment of the day for mine.

I thought there were a couple of rough calls against the Eels in the second half, but 5-6 of them were just ill-discipline and stupidity from the Eels. If the refs have pinged you for a couple of borderline calls - pull your head in. Don't test them to see if they'll penalise something more blatant. You already know that answer. Ultimately, the Gold Coast wanted it more. I watched three Eels players within range of a bomb watch it bounce. The night before, I watched Jarrod Croker get absolutely belted - knowing full well that the second he defused the kick, the chasers were on him. It was a hugely gutsy play in a very close finish. Canberra got the two points, the Eels didn't. If Ricky wanted to take his frustrations out on someone, the lack of urgency and unwillingness of his players to put their body on the line is ripe for criticism. But like always, it's someone else's fault.

Nailed it, you too turbodewd. Players give away approx 10 penalties a game, make around 10 errors, 20/30 + missed tackles, poor options in defence and attack etc. But all that is forgotten about if the refs make one bad call, it's straight away his fault. You'd think coaches would be a lot more aware and professional about that instead of consistanly palming off the responsibility of there poor performance onto referee's.

The problem with refereeing isn't the referees...Its everyone else. Here's why: Referees have a difficult job and anyone who has tried it at least once will understand this. They are also human and thus it is a 100% guarantee that a referee will make a bad/wrong decision sometime...That's reality Also reality is that some perspective is required when concerning referees and players. I have read the phrase "professional" thrown around this site the last couple of days and how many bloggers feel that referees lack it. My point on this is quite straightforward. Players are paid a lot more than referees. If fans should be angry at anyone at making mistakes it should be the players. They make FAR more mistakes in a game than referees. Why don't fans question players more? If referees are deemed by their bosses to have "poor games", they are dropped until their performance improves. Now, one could make the same argument for the bulldogs team that got belted by the Roosters but you wont see the coaches dropping most of the team to the reserves, just a couple of scapegoats at best. Ironically, the approach taken by the referees would be considered more professional here as there is a clear sanction for poor performance on a week-to-week basis. The media, commentators and players/coaches seem to need scapegoats when they lose. Take Hayne's performance the other night. He plays as a Full-back. As part of that job he is required to "defuse" bombs in games. 2 tries the other night were scored by HIS mistakes at bombs. Had he done his JOB parra would of won the game (based on final result). Yet not one person has come out and questioned HIS professionalism nor the CONSISTENCY of his performance. He also gets paid (a lot more than referees) to do HIS job and failed miserably on the weekend. Yet the fans don't touch him...WHY? Regarding cameras, I agree with turbodewd. the increased use of technology will inevitably slow the game. We, as stakeholders of the game, need to decide if we want that. My opinion is that the balance between getting decisions correct and the speed of the game is great now. Lets leave that one. We really need to put everything into perspective before we go on a with

People complain about refs every single year! You cannot have a fast game AND awesome adjudication - its impossible. If you want better referring decisions then youve got 7 refs and a stop-start game like the NFL. Any of the 7 refs in the NFL call throw a flag for a penalty. Rugby league fans just need to lump it OR allow for increased use of the video ref in general play. But that will require some more stoppages and the fans will complain about that too. RL fans just need to lump the bad calls coz they wont like the alternatives.

Are the refs a protected species in one word ; YES ; i played from u 7s right through till i was 34 and and yes the refs are untouchable and have been since the game started in all my time playing and being a fan we were told don't bag the refs , in any other job no matter what if you don't perform you get bagged . But don't dare bag our refs or we will fine you 10 grand , for what having an opinion ? The past couple of weeks we have had coach Robson , Stuart ,and Henry all question decisions made by the untouchables , is anything going to be done to these pink supermen NO , its time these guys were made accountable .Pick any game and you will see a team penalised for an infringement only to see the other team do the very same thing and it goes unpenalised , oh but you hear the protectors of the pinkies say they are only human and and cannot get everything right .Or their interpretation is different for each separate incident WHY ? They call themselves professional so why can't they get it right , we have that many cameras focused on each play the introduction of coaches call or captains call must be introduced to first grade if we going to keep saying the word professional lets make it just that .

My problem with refs is the penalising of players being held down, I can't figure out how they work it out, I see 3 or 4 players in a tackle, 1 of them just pushing on his mates back, they then get off one at a time, then 2 players make a tackle & they are given less time to get off, then you have a great tackle around the legs and he gets rewarded by having to release immediately, the time in a tackle should be the same be it if there there are 1, 2,3,4,5 players are in the tackle.

I'll give you that one. They do make errors , sometimes absolute shocker. But the fact of the matter is saying a referee is rubbish is one thing, accusing a ref of bias and questioning their integrity is another. At the end of the day"bad" calls do go both ways.

Being a Shark supporter,welcome back to our world Ricky ! Manly we're absolutely and constantly all over us in the play the ball and the refs did nothing..consistency is well and truly the key word as you pointed out..and there really are some sides that seemingly just don't get it

Clark to a point , mate they have enough camera angles they can watch the grass grow , how the hell do you explain an 8 tackle count ?? as humans we learn to count in pre school, most before then , they should focus on themselves (refs) just as much as they focus on players , plays, and coaches

There may have been errors, they are only human, it does happen. Ricky got the fine because you can't question a referee's integrity . That is common knowledge, the only thing you can do is suck it up. Although banning the shoulder charge was a farce. What they should have done is just slap a large ban on anyone who makes head contact.