One issue that has not be sufficiently explored in the wake of Friday night’s disappointing scenes is the role that rugby league media plays in aggravating controversial incidents involving officiating.
Much like the salary cap, blaming the refs is a go-to move for far too many in rugby league.
James Graham’s charge-down was a penalty, with protecting the legs of kickers having been emphasised for the last season or two. Whether Graham intended to scythe Reynolds’ legs or not is irrelevant – few intend to make a high tackle either but that doesn’t make it any less a penalty.
It is also abundantly clear that Graham and David Klemmer’s behaviour towards the referee after the penalty was awarded was completely unacceptable. One can only hope the judiciary takes appropriate action on Wednesday evening. Rugby league cannot become like football, where players routinely scream in the face of referees.
Sadly, the quality of the refereeing and in particular the video review system has been an ongoing talking point this season, and a culture of ref blaming seems to have taken hold. No doubt Bulldogs fans in the crowd were frustrated, but rather than blaming their team – who blew an eight-point lead and wasted a glut of possession and a dominant forward display – they choose to target, literally, the refs.
Of course there are many reasons for the petulant response of the Dogs fans, and the sentiments if not the actions are common to many fan-bases. However the attitude towards referees of many in the media cannot be helping. In particular Phil Rothfield of The Daily Telegraph and Phil Gould in his commentary on Channel Nine and published material, have made the NRL administration and referees in particular out to be public enemy number one for league fans.
Rothfield is the chief proponent of the ‘NRL in crisis’ agenda and he routinely makes mountains out of molehills to sell newspapers. If one were to read only Rothfield’s offerings one would assume the game is on the brink of extinction rather than a billion-dollar success story.
So it was no surprise to see on Friday afternoon that Buzz immediately jumped on social media to express his outrage with the penalty decision and imply that the very fabric of rugby league was soon to be torn asunder. To Rothfield’s credit he later retracted that sentiment and conceded that a penalty was in fact the correct decision. However by that time he had already succeeded in whipping up a frenzy among aggrieved fans, both Bulldogs supporters and Rabbitohs haters alike.
Meanwhile, during the broadcast it took Gould’s fellow analyst, Peter Sterling, all of one replay and five seconds to correctly label the incident a penalty. Gould however was still arguing the decision well after the goal had been scored.
(I did not see the pre-game show for Channel Nine’s Sunday afternoon game, so it is possible that Gould also changed his view in retrospect, and I’m happy to be corrected on that.)
Gould’s comments during the game reflect on ongoing trend, as he routinely questions the decisions of the officials with his trademark exclamation of “No, no, no, no, no!”
Gould’s analysis is front and centre of both one Friday night game and the free-to-air Sunday game, and every chance he gets he uses this prodigious soapbox to pillory the officials. He even went as far as to claim recently in one of his regular newspaper columns that the game is now entirely about referees and their process.
In particular Gould espouses an odious brand of wilful ignorance and retrograde thinking about high tackles and dangerous throws. He has been openly sceptical about the dangers posed to the game by concussion lawsuits, and criticises pretty much any penalty awarded for a high tackle.
It is unclear whether Gould simply doesn’t know the rules, or if he thinks the rules should just be ignored because the game isn’t as tough as it used to be.
Either way, this culture of criticism builds a narrative that referees are not only failing to apply some unwritten code of toughness but that they are also in some way setting out to ruin the game of rugby league as we know it – or at least as we knew in the 1970s, when it was played by ‘real men’.
Let us be crystal clear: Friday afternoon’s events, both on the field and off it, have many causes. However the rugby league media, and some individuals in particular, contribute to an overall mentality that the entire NRL administration is lurching from crisis to crisis, and referees as a collective are actively trying to ruin the game.
This sort of attitude is at best unproductive and at worst destructive. Fans deserve better.
Follow Lachlan on twitter @mrsports83
Mat
Guest
Knowledge of the game aside, Channel 9s callers are generally unprofessional imo, with the exception of Sterlo. He is a no nonsense commentator who I don't think fits with the rest of the clowns. Johns is handy as well, I think he takes the job seriously and in time might fit the Sterlo mold. The Gus/Rabs banter is cringeworthy. Rabs uses (or tries to use) terminology that he thinks makes him sound more intelligent, and rambles on about calls which have long since past. Gus thinks his one word "WOW" or "NOOO!" are enough to dramatise the situation. It's unnecessary. The second string team are more tolerable simply because they... call the game. I don't listen to commentary for their personalities, I listen for insight. This is why the Fox Sports matches are heaven to watch in comparison. As a Souths supporter, I'm sick of getting all the free to air telecasts. Never thought I'd be saying that...
Von Neumann
Roar Guru
My first reaction to the whole hotbed of events was "so now its come to violence against the refs" Can I just say that I am pleased with the rational/skeptical language being used in these articles. Such as acknowledging willful ignorance, argument, facts-based thought and rational judgement and the ethics that go along with it. There is no room for dogma in this. The refs after all report the facts, and the facts are what they see. The media is as much to blame for this as the commentators and the refs - but where the media (including the commentators) has effectively been insolent, the refs have been let down by what is probably at best described as the former-band aid administration the game suffered. So> An informed citizenry is the key to keeping the media in check. And an informed media is key to keeping real-time perceptions in check. The one or two last bastions of bias will be rooted out, since commentators, fans and players will all be in line. 1 And so> Transparency and consistency is what is needed all round - I think we will arrive at that. Some commentators don't even know the rules seemingly (Gould for one who is willfully ignorant) They should be schooled again by the NRL themselves. This would go a long way to ridding the coverage and many fans perceptions of being jipped by the refs when they are in fact not. There's limitations even these days to the refs ability to call. They do pretty well considering. 2 changed shit colors helped. 3 A video bunker system could prove integral to change, the center piece. 4 Refs should address only captains and then any player by their number or last name 5 The commentators need to be schooled by the NRL themselves about the rules, the spirit the game is played in (to remove bias/self limiting thinking from commentators, especially gould) 6 There could be an ex referee in the commentary box to help out as well, he could liaise with the coverage to the video ref bunker and communicate with them on air 7 It would not hurt to have the match officials tell the crowd about the decision over loud speaker. Investment at stadia may be needed for this, but they could start with ANZ and Alliance perhaps. This is not unlike what happened in the finals one year I think (dont know if they did and/or why it stopped) and also what happened at the recent world cup. Truly a breath of fresh air and clarity. 8 Players prevented from complaining to the ref overly much. Continued harassment to result in advancing the line 10 meters perhaps if improvement is not shown over time. 9 A standards system developed that reflects the rules and the spirit of the game that is to be adhered to. It may include things like limitation of wrestling, no abuse, no badgering refs trying to change the call, no fighting, and acceptance of punishments (to be determined), then made public so everyone is on the same page in terms of playing the game in the right spirit. Shouldn't need to be implemented really but for clarity's sake. 10 Coaches gag remains, but a timeline set for its gradual removal. Press conferences to remain lacking as much as possible in ref talk; a press violation may eventually only mean 'allowing the press conference to be dominated by coaching gripes'. Its ok to talk about a particular call briefly and without inflammatory remarks and it can't overshadow the press conference (As an example) 11 A refereeing academy to bring through youngsters. Does one such thing exist? 12 Main ref to be the main guy in charge, sole voice. Everyone else merely informs him. 13 Video ref bunker to inform ref and be reviewing plays if possible as a try is being approached/scored. Need to try and have 'instant' decisions again. Maybe 30 second limit for regular matches and 1 minute limit for grand finals and semi finals. 14 If a error made by a player is not having a serious adverse effect on the game, then it should probably be allowed to flow. The way Super League does it makes for a good game. 15 The way the NRL teams played in the world club championship to my mind was grubby by comparison to how the english guys played. That sort of thing has to stop. 15a Ultimately we can't have coaches and players or media personalities dictating the decisions and their perceptions like we do now. I think the above will help restore clarity and bring about a better culture around refereeing.
Justthetip
Guest
That's genius mate! How many kids would want to play league if thurston, Matty Scott or smith we're goin to ref.
Justthetip
Guest
I think your talking about every profressional sport
Justthetip
Guest
The video ref overturned 3 incorrect on field ref decisions in the cowboys panthers game. But I do think the video ref should be used sparingly and never to make in play decisions that slow the game down.
Justthetip
Guest
These are some really great ideas!
The Prize_Man
Roar Pro
and this is why i love Wayne Bennet. No excuses
The Prize_Man
Roar Pro
i also think coaches shouldnt be allowed to say something along the lines of " i can't say anything, i don't have the money". its exactly the same as sayingi disagree with the ref and happens at least a few times a week
Squidward
Roar Rookie
Spot on with the stero/gus/voss mix. Although sterling is very funny when on radio
Lachlan Bickley
Roar Guru
Hi folks Thanks everyone for reading and commenting. I had a feeling when I wrote this that it would be a popular topic but the response has been even better than I thought. I'll be trying to contribute to the site at least once a week so make sure and look out for my stuff Cheers Lachlan
81paling
Roar Rookie
Great article.Gould does so much damage to the game that he loves every week when he is commentating. His negativity is terrible for the game. We all remember his call of the greatest blunder in history when a ref made a call that was wrong but, did not even effect the outcome of the game. That night it was run as the headliner for 9 News & all it's promo's, how can this be good for the game, it is not. The NRL need to inform channel 9 now that these things will be taken into account when awarding the next broadcast license and then in fact follow through as at the moment channel 9 does very little to promote the game itself.
Ian
Guest
Is there any other professional sport in the world where penalties are seen as the referees' fault not the players?
turbodewd
Guest
But if he is legitimately highlighting problems every week that need solving...the truth hurts.
soapit
Guest
they do it in rugby every now and then when its clear their initial call was wrong
JohnnoMcJohnno
Roar Rookie
Just following on from your thoughts, why not make getting a referee's ticket compulsory for team captains/senior players. Might teach players more respect for the poor refs, and would teach them the rules. The players have a fair bit of time in the off season and it would help to get their brains thinking again.
yewonk
Guest
Hammer, nail, head. well done good article. could you write an article articulating the hypocrisy of a player allowed back into the game after spending time in prision for stomping on the head of the member of the public while someone who through an half empty plastic bottle onto the field gets life time ban?
Simoc
Guest
Phil Gould is just so up himself. He should be employed to polish referees boots before the game . At least that would be useful then. Luckily Peter Stirling is professional, unfortunately the only one in the commentary team that is quality. They just need to keep doubling the fines each time for referee criticism. Eventually the hip pocket will start to influence whats left of the coaches brain. It is such a pathetic cop out and so prevalent among the woosie NRL coaches.
Brando Connor
Guest
If the ref can change their mind then that invites players to debate each decision with the ref to try and change their mind. Which is where I think Jay C is coming from. Not just at the top level but down at grass roots level. Though I wouldn't have a problem if the video ref was able to make a call to the ref and say "hey that looks a bit suspicious hold up play so I can take a look." Review it and adjust the refs call on the field if there is enough evidence.
Jackson Henry
Roar Guru
Absolutely. I think Sterlo probably isnt in the same league as Gould in terms of 'football minds' (and that's not certainly not knocking Sterlo) but I do wish Gus had Sterlo's impartiality. It would make him so much more credible as an Analyst.
Nathan
Guest
The argument has been long winded about Klemer and Graham behaviour towards the Ref, and the actions they undertook which was directly related to the Refs DM skills? How about we reframe our viewpoints and ask, why aren't the Ref's accountable for thier own performances on thie field and why arent they under review? Perhaps,in the wake of of this viewpoint, a few refs might be sinbinned or further still dropped to lower grades for there lackluster performance on game day!