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We’ve got two choices. Either keep whinging about referees getting it wrong or allow them to use technology to get it right.
I believe that the latter is inevitable and we should accept that and start discussing how to do it well.
Every weekend we see wrong decisions made that could easily be rectified by the video ref. However, the man with the buttons is only able to overrule an on field decision on the basis of foul play.
So we sit and scream at the absurdity of watching injustice unfold for no good reason.
So I sat in front of Origin 1 waiting for an example of this to occur only for the damn whistle blowers to have virtually faultless night. Fortunately there was a great example in the cracking match between the Raiders and Bulldogs.
Full State of Origin 1 wrap:
>> ORIGIN 1 MATCH REPORT
>> FULL ORIGIN RESULTS
>> Live blog and highlights
>> Cameron Smith given man of the match
>> The Roar’s official New South Wales player ratings
>> The Roar’s official Queensland player ratings
The Doggies completely ambushed a complacent Raiders outfit who were 26-0 down after 18 minutes thanks to some barnstorming forward play and some Josh Reynolds brilliance. From there the Raiders ground their way back into the match until by the 53rd minute they had closed the margin to four points.
Frankly, after the Raiders abysmal start – and the Bulldogs great one – the Green Machine fully deserved to lose.
However, they had the momentum and looked good things to equal the greatest ever comeback in rugby league history.
Then came the inevitable controversy. In the 56th minute Sam Kasiano clearly stripped Paul Vaughn. However, referees Henry Perenara and Ash Klein ruled it a knock on. Although the replays showed it was a blatant strip, that could only be ruled foul play if the player had literally been ‘doing it all day, Sir!’
Directly after the strip Frank Pritchard scored to put the Dogs back out by eight. In a match effectively decided by a last minute field goal it was a decisive moment.
That the officials have since acknowledged that they got it wrong is ashes in the mouths of the Raiders.
However, these incidents happen every match. And it isn’t due to incompetence on the part of the officials. The referees are the very best we have. They’ve beaten out a huge field to get their positions.
They certainly aren’t just chumps grabbed off the street at the last moment. However, in every single game we see referees get calls wrong and be unable to reverse them in spite of replays that show they should be.
I’ve met a number of the whistleblowers and flag wavers and most are great guys. They aren’t corrupt, don’t have agendas and don’t play favourites. Ash Klein in particular is a superb guy. He wants to get every call right and hates it when he blows a call. He would have loved to have reversed the Vaughn decision, but he couldn’t.
We need to introduce mechanisms that allow for incorrect rulings, or for rulings that should have been made but weren’t, to be made.
There are two ways we can do this simply.
The first is straight forward. When there is a stoppage in play for a scrum, handover, drop out, etc, the video ref can review the incident that led to the stoppage and correct the referees ruling if necessary.
The second way is a little more difficult. It centres around each team getting two challenges per match.
These can be registered either by the captain yelling ‘challenge’ or the coach hitting a button to register a challenge with the video ref. This way the play can go on until the next stoppage. Once the next stoppage happens the referee will ask the captain if he wants to make a challenge.
If the captain still does, the video referee reviews the incident identified at the time the challenge was registered.
If the challenge is upheld then play will recommence in the manner necessitated by that ruling (eg scrum, penalty, etc). Further, the team will be able to use that challenge again. If the challenge is not upheld then it is extinguished and play will resume in the manner necessitated by the stoppage.
If this system had been in place on Sunday then Paul Vaughn could have told his Captain to challenge the ruling. The replay would have shown Kasiano’s strip and play would have resumed with a penalty to the Raiders.
Now I can already hear you Roarers warming up to give me an earful about how this challenge system will just cause more stoppages. Yes, it certainly will.
Apparently stoppages are the worst thing in the whole world. We want a free flowing and fast game at all costs, right?
Sure we do! Until of course a decision goes against us.
Then we want it changed, and if it isn’t changed then we want to hang the perpetrators high. We want the refs sacked, the linesmen sacked and the video refs sacked.We want Archer imprisoned and Smith impeached.
I’m as guilty as any of making those calls too.
So we are left with a choice: Do we want a fast game or do we want every decision correct and the play fair?
There’s an old rule when organising events. Good, quick, cheap – you can choose any two.
The same sort of logic applies to the game of rugby league. If we want a fast game it will be at the expense of correct decisions and fair play. If we want to get decisions right and to ensure fair play it is surely going to add stoppages.
So which is the lesser of the evils?
I fall firmly in the camp that wants to get the calls right as a priority. I don’t care if the game goes longer. I don’t care if that forces changes to TV scheduling. I don’t care if it makes rugby league more like the NFL. I want the calls to be gotten right.
All of those of you who place speed of the game first must then accept that you can’t then criticise the referees for getting calls wrong. If there was more time given to reviews perhaps the wrong calls wouldn’t stand.
The major push for limiting stoppages probably comes from the broadcasters who want every match to fit into neat little scheduling segments. It is ironic that they are often the ones that criticise the referees the loudest.
Whether we like it or not technology has given us the ability to view and review the game like never before. It is a no brainer that we take advantage of that technology to get the calls – and through that the results – right.
Isn’t that right you Cowboys fans ripped off by bad calls in multiple finals?
Isn’t that right Parra fans robbed in the 2009 grand final when Slater’s drop was incorrectly ruled a play the ball infringement?
Isn’t that right Storm fans denied glory in 2006 by multiple refereeing mistakes?
You bet it is right.
It is a matter of when, not if, video reviews of general play and challenges come into general use.
Why don’t we just embrace them sooner rather than later? We can only blame the refs for so much longer.