NRL head of football Todd Greenberg says Sunday’s timekeeping bungle at Brookvale Oval shows why big games need to be moved away from suburban grounds.
The NRL has made no secret of their desire for more matches in Sydney to be played at ANZ Stadium and Allianz Stadium.
Sunday’s incident where the timekeeper failed to hear or see the match referee Matt Ceccin call “time off” with 50 seconds remaining after Manly scored a late try to beat Penrith infuriated the Panthers.
“We have made our intentions pretty clear that we have great difficulty at suburban venues and that was highlighted again on the weekend,” Greenberg said.
“The timekeeper can’t physically see part of the ground, through the sidelines, and then with people standing up.
“It’s exactly why we are looking to move to bigger stadia for the bigger games.
“It’s a great challenge at those venues and we experience that in real time. We are playing at grounds that don’t have modern facilities.”
Despite the controversial finish the match was arguably the best of the season between two high-flying sides in front of a packed crowd – something that’s been the exception rather than the norm in the NRL this year.
Greenberg conceded it was important for the game to keep in touch with its roots but at the same time ensure such embarrassing problems do not keep arising.
“People say it is great to have that suburban aura, Sunday afternoon at Brookvale was awesome,” he said.
“But it presents a challenge to the modern day game for match officials and it’s a fine balance.”
There have been at least three timekeeping issues this season, but the most high-profile was during last year’s qualifying semi-final between Cronulla and North Queensland at Allianz Stadium.
In that game the match clock differed from the time shown on the stadium scoreboard and the official broadcast of the match.
It left players, supporters and officials in a state of confusion as Cronulla won the game.
But Greenberg said measures have been put in place to prevent a repeat performance.
“We will be playing finals in major stadia so that certainly helps,” he said.
“We’ve already announced a review into the tech opportunities for us to align all our time clocks with broadcasters and the game itself and the video screens.
“That’s something that will happen (at all venues) but that is at a significant cost.
“But we’re very confident, we are into the finals and we are ready to go.”
Penrith five-eighth Jamie Soward on Tuesday came up with a novel suggestion to help timekeepers by taking a leaf out of golf’s book.
“I think they (the NRL) are already talking about fixing it up, they are going to get those little people at the golf with the ‘shoosh’ signs,” Soward said.
“That should help us next time when we’re in a tight game like that.
“The refs will then be able to hear and 18,000 fans would have to be quiet.
“They can make a call and say ‘quiet please’ and that way we won’t lose 50 seconds off the clock.”
GB
Guest
Does Brookvale and Leichhardt even meet the criteria stipulated in 1998 with minimum covered seating, corporate areas etc?
Ranga
Guest
The troll actually got two comments through in 2 minutes yet I'm still waiting for my reasonable comment to go in? Is it really true the people at the roar are against people posting about Rugby League unless it's bad? Well i have heard that quite a bit and it's starting to look like they might have actually had a decent point.
Ranga
Guest
Why is my comment being moderated when the trolls is not?
Ranga
Guest
As I said afl fan, it's only your lot whinging and whining about RL in RL articles. If a living was to be made from afl fans posting their opinions on RL and its grounds and fans, we'd all be millionaires or the roar would be. keep posting and clicking on those dastardly RL articles, I sure the people who look to see how many comments and clicks certain sports get don't bother with what is actually said, just how many clicks and responses they get. And I;m also sure the NRL will make a motza out of all the bait it sends out too next time, so keep helping with the clickety clicks, you are adding value to your most feared foe :)
conchie
Roar Rookie
You sound like your whinging !.
Ranga
Guest
What other codes? It's only one codes fans whinging and they are afl fans. And you wanna know why soccer and union fans don't whinge and whine about the suburban Rugby League grounds like you insinuated? It's because they play at those same grounds that need upgrading and they wish for all that is good in the world that they were. That's the truth.
Monstrous
Guest
What annoys people from other codes is that on one hand the NRL demand their suburban grounds be upgraded with Govt err taxpayers money (and no NRL contribution) then say we are moving to another suburban ground which offers us cheaper rent (Tigers, Souths, Dragons etc) or we are rationalizing all games to big stadiums.. The hypocrisy is laughable...
Ranga
Guest
Is it untrue? RL in Australia gets over 3 million spectators through the gates each season, that's bloody fantastic especially for a nation our size and split even further in regards where RL is big and where it is not in this country. AFL rules half so that's at least 10 million people there who don't go to RL games because they are in states that don't even have teams to follow. So a base of 10 million or so in RL heartlands gives us a 3 million + number each year, as I said, not bad. It could be better and the NRL are working on this because they see where the game can grow. If afl gets 10 million a year through the gates which they do not, good for them, it has nothing at all to do with Rugby League. You and your mates keep bringing up afl in every RL thread that mentions crowds and or stadiums, who cares what afl fans in other states think, follow your own damn code and be done with it. I don't see you invading Union or Cricket threads raving about crowds which happen to be smaller than Rugby Leagues, I only see you afl people in articles that are having a crack at RL or Soccer (and I don't particularly like soccer either) but that's not the point. You must be having a crack because of fear, it can't be anything else.
Greg trilby
Guest
Is it untrue? Afl is the 4th top league world wide for attendances, so there is a point to be made is the stadium issue a reason for falling crowds?
Ranga
Guest
Nearly every RL article that mentions RL grounds gets filled with afl fans, why? Go talk about your own sport in the relevant places, if I wanted to continually read about afl, I'd click on the afl tab.
Knightblues
Guest
We have to improve and update our surburban grounds, what works for the AFL doesn't necessarily mean it will work for us.
The Link
Guest
Gus Gould said it the best, if games are still being played at suburban grounds in their current state in 20 years time, NRL clubs will go broke. Either that or pay the players less, but that's not happening. Centralisation in Sydney (in particular) into large modern stadiums for most games based on economics alone is inevitable, let alone Greenburgs points above. Some games at upgraded suburban grounds may still be possible, particularly for out of town teams, but will need upgrades to the likes of Brookvale, Leichardt, Cronulla and Kogarah to make them economically feasible. Can't see that happening for all of them, perhaps Brookie has the best shot with the current PM and NSW Premier being local members.
Rellum
Roar Guru
The only people that I can see really benefiting from no local grounds in a couple of guys in suites who have investments in certain stadiums, The teams they throw money at to play in the massive stadiums will eventually lose out with sponsors who see the small crowds as a reason not to get on board. Moving to more central stadiums might be the right decisions for some clubs but I can't see it being in the long term interests of the clubs.
The Hoff
Guest
The NRL is getting more and more out of touch with Sydney fans. We want suburban grounds to support our local teams. Leichardt , Brooky , and Shark park to name a few are where a lot of club supporters want to see their teams. Leave the finals to the big 2 stadiums but leave our home grounds alone. Todd greenberg makes me cringe .. he seems slimy
Liatrevlis
Guest
Get over it ! Penrith lead 22 to 6 ! The Cows getting robbed last year was a bigger issue ! The current crop of garbage refs is a bigger issue ! Having games on TV were there's 80,000 seats with 14,000 people attending is a bigger issue , but what would fans know
Liatrevlis
Guest
One Rugby league team in Melb ! They should pull a crowd
AR
Guest
You claim the Heart might have been better off at a smaller boutique stadium *somewhere* out in the suburbs of Melbourne. You make that claim without knowing exactly where, without knowing the tenancy arrangment, without understanding the public transport and access issues, without identifying a suburban fan base...you just claim "who knows they might have done significantly better."..? I guess we'll disagree, but that's pie in the sky stuff. Assoc.football clubs are not the same in Australia as they are in the UK or Europe. They're can't all have their own stadium. Virtually no-one can - in any code. The *one* thing that the Heart had going for it was that it played out of the best, most modern, most centralised stadium in the city - and at a bargain price.
melbourneterrace
Guest
you think a contributing factor in Heart’s downfall was the fact that it played out of AAMI Park? Yes it clearly was, Melbourne Victory locked up supporters in the inner city from day one. Heart coming in to play out of the same stadium with no point of differentiation was a huge part in why they got crap crowds. Why would anyone want to support what was a bad joke of a team when you could support the biggest club in Australia at the same ground. My god, one of the reasons Heart was able to exist was the tenancy deal it got out of AAMI Park! -They got a sweetheart deal to help them get off the ground which was due to expire and the expected renegotiated rate was expected to be similar to what Melbourne Victory get charged (which is expected). You think attendances were small at AAMI..? Try putting its games on in the suburbs away from a centralised precinct and public transport. - If they made a commitment to play out of the south east of melbourne which would have been a new market, who knows they might have done significantly better. Instead, heart bit off more than they could chew and their incursion into the inner city was so poorly planned and executed that the FFA would have been better off not even bothering putting a new team in melbourne and let have cannibalised Melbourne's support. And you’re wrong in suggesting AAMI Park didn’t need an extra ALeague team to be sustainable. Having 2 teams doubles the number of events at the stadium throughout summer. It’s plain commonsense for the stadium’s sustainability. - Just because it's common sense doesn't mean it wouldn't have been sustainable without heart, MOPT might better off for having the extra tenant but the ground wouldn't have got the go ahead if it was expected to be unsustainable ffs.
AR
Guest
So hang on...you think a contributing factor in Heart's downfall was the fact that it played out of AAMI Park? My god, one of the reasons Heart was able to exist was the tenancy deal it got out of AAMI Park! You think attendances were small at AAMI..? Try putting its games on in the suburbs away from a centralised precinct and public transport. And you're wrong in suggesting AAMI Park didn't need an extra ALeague team to be sustainable. Having 2 teams doubles the number of events at the stadium throughout summer. It's plain commonsense for the stadium's sustainability.
marco
Guest
I would go to the Scg over Anz any day. The area around the Scg and allianz will eventually be upgraded to make a more vibrant precinct. The Nrl cant afford to upgrade all the suburban grounds and they are rarely full anyway. Some teams will more than likely play more games at Allianz. They should only use Anz for games that are likely to draw over 30,000 and save the embarrassment.