SMITHY: Refs the real victims in February footy

The Indigenous All Stars match hopefully did plenty for the country and our cultural attitudes to each other.

But it did very little for footy folk trying to find out what season 2015 has in store by way of rule changes or refereeing models.

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It did nothing to encourage an exciting season of wonderful footy or indicate which players are in for big years. It was dead-set boring and Channel Nine’s commentary gave ‘flogging a dead horse’ new meaning.

Likewise the Charity Shield.

The draw in that historic blood-and-thunder fixture was a fair result, as neither team played well enough or tried hard enough to deserve the trophy. A draw flattered both teams – no result would have been more accurate.

The preseason matches have been slow in tempo and lacked adventure in attack. However I can understand coaches wanting to control possession and not subject their players to defensive overload; most teams have been using rookies so that conservative approach is appropriate in most circumstances.

Those who could claim to be most disappointed are the refs and rule makers. The footy played in trials bares such little resemblance to the real-deal NRL that it provides nothing for those charged with overseeing games come early March to accustom themselves to the pace or the relevance of new rule interpretations.

All the talk of refs targeting ruck speed has fizzled so far, but the really top players with the huge attacking weapons have not started firing yet – some haven’t even started playing. It’s only when those kingpins are pumped up that we’ll see the real deal.

For the supreme players, winning is the only thing on their minds. They fight for dominance in the play the ball, and every single play and action is a massive contest for a slight edge to be gained.

When these guys are back and firing, refereeing goes from a preseason doddle to a nightmare of split-second decision making.

A rule goes from sounding like a good idea in discussion to something that is tested, bent and abused to ensure a win is secured.

Maybe we will see a little more of it this weekend in the World Club Series. At least those three Aussie teams will be charged with embarrassment if they don’t go close to full throttle – you can be sure the English teams see this as a great chance to show Super League is better than we Aussies think.

Meanwhile, the other 13 clubs back home will be fine-tuning and fiddling with their squads with nothing more important on their minds than getting a glorified opposed training session over and done with. And a no-injury result is way more important than the one on the scoreboard to those coaches and players getting ready for the NRL.