Round 11 of the NRL is drawing to a close, and yet again we have witnessed some incredibly exciting rugby. Teams pushing the boundaries, scrappy fights and bad refereeing all featured in this round.
Anyone would mistake these antics for the State of Origin, which starts this Wednesday.
It would be far too easy to concentrate on the negative aspects of the adjudicators for this weekend’s rugby league games, so for now let’s focus on the positives.
We shall start with Friday night’s game, the Bulldogs versus the Roosters.
This game had so much promise, with the reigning premiers playing against the under strength ladder toppers. The referees successfully turned this game into a high-scoring match by making several crucial errors.
It was not just the on-field officials that were to blame either, several decisions were referred upstairs and they still got it wrong. Sonny Bill Williams disguised a forward pass extremely well by throwing the shortest pass that has ever been seen. This try was one of the only tries on Friday night not to be reviewed by the video ref.
One try that was reviewed and shouldn’t have been a try involved Anthony Minichiello. In ultra-slow motion and at full speed it was easy to tell that he was in front of the kicker, but alas the try was awarded anyway.
I am not sure what was happening in that referee’s box on Friday night but it seemed that there might have been a party going on. After Shaun Kenny-Dowall clearly planted down the ball over the try line he was denied by the video referee only to hear soon after that the decision was overturned as the ‘no-try button’ was mysteriously pushed.
What constitutes a punch? A rule was passed down after Origin last year stating that if a player was to land a punch onto another player that they would be sent off to cool down for ten minutes.
Many punches were witnessed on Friday night however no one was sent off. The difference between these punches was that the fist was not closed – instead the palm of the hand was thrust into the head and jaw. Anyway, we are concentrating on all the positives of the refereeing world. What I did really enjoy about the referees on Friday night is the way he blew his whistle – great rhythm.
The NRL is beginning to catch up with other sports around the world and now offer a referee camera, providing a view of all the action as he sees it. It’s an excellent addition to the view of this fast-paced game and having an extra camera on the field would surely help the referees come up with the correct decisions.
For example, in the Warriors and Titans clash, the head mounted camera could have been helpful when the Warrior’s forwards pushed in the scrum forcing a turn over. The referee was left confused and told the Titans that pushing in a scrum was fine and the Warriors would be given the ball. Players have not been pushing in a scrum for over 20 years now due to the impact on the players’ necks. An incredibly interesting call from the on-field referees, however the head camera is a brilliant addition.
The officials adjudicating the Broncos versus Wests Tigers game did make one important decision. It is hard to believe but the decision to penalise Pat Richards for taking down Lachlan Maranta without the ball was correct. This happened at an extremely pivotal time of the game and that is why the decision attracted controversy, however Pat Richards was definitely in the wrong.
It has been a marvelous week of rugby league and world class refereeing. We have had video referee errors, seven to one penalty counts, a good old fashioned pushing scrum and game-changing bad decisions. I am glad that it was easy to write about all the positive things the referees are accomplishing on the field.
Hopefully with all this encouragement and positive vibes, the referees can rise above and not completely ruin Origin on Wednesday night. Well done boys!
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