The appointment of Shayne Hayne and Ashley Klein as referees for the first State of Origin has raised some eyebrows north and south of the border and will certainly influence the game plan implemented by Mal Meninga and Laurie Daley.
Daniel Anderson, in appointing both referees stated that “Shane and Ashley have consistently been among the best-performed referees each week.”
If this is the case then it is easy to see why the honeymoon period for Anderson is over and the scrutiny is building against him like it did for his predecessors.
The refereeing standards continue to be dogged by inconsistent and inept performances on a weekly basis, and in making these appointments Anderson is opening himself up for criticism like he will have never experienced before.
The problem lies in the contrasting styles between both referees. Hayne’s inability to penalise a side for not getting back the 10 metres, plus his ability to ‘find’ a penalty at the most inappropriate time should certainly ring alarm bells for both sides.
Klein on the other hand has a tendency to penalise a side out of the game and has regularly been criticised for his incapacity to get a feel for a game and let it flow.
Both sides have chosen mobile forward packs, with Queensland’s choice of four mobile forwards on the bench gaining the most attention.
The standard reply for this is to refer to Sydney’s surface and that the first game is always played in the middle third. What needs to be considered is the home ground advantage, and the fact that penalties are usually kept to a minimum in these big games.
If Hayne continues his form of not getting sides back the required 10 then you would probably prefer to have mobile forwards playing front row so you can take advantage of the leniency.
The best possible result for Daniel Anderson is that the performance of the referees is not even mentioned following game one, but if previous form is anything to go by (especially this year) then there is a terrible thought that this game, and ultimately the series, will be decided by the men in the middle.
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