On Saturday my seven-year-old Newcastle Knights supporter (God help him) and I battled Pennant Hills Road on our way to Hunter Stadium for the Knights versus Raiders Round 13 match.
We sat in the Andrew Johns Stand among the die-hard Knights members, which gave me the opportunity to hear a lot of what they had to say about the game.
The types of people who pay their money to buy platinum memberships are the life-blood of the NRL and it doesn’t hurt to take on board their opinion.
In this respect I disagree with coaching great Wayne Bennett, who famously declared, “If I listen to the fans, I’ll end up sitting with them.”
The majority of comments were – no surprise – about the Knights. Apparently Beau Scott’s head “is already at Parramatta”. These fans are harsh critics, and I can tell you they can’t wait for Kurt Gidley to get on a plane and head to Warrington.
At his prime he was one of Newcastle’s favourite sons but these days they feel he’s past his best. “Get him out of the way!” “Oh, Gidley again.” “He’ll probably go off injured now.”
There was no love for poor old Kurt.
Yet the vitriol launched at the former international was nothing compared to the ire that the video referees attracted. After 25 minutes the Knights were trailing 18-0 when Akuila Uate crossed in the corner. There was a sigh more than a cheer as the fans’ expressed their relief that their team were at least back in the contest, because it was looking grim until that point.
That sigh turned into a louder groan as referee Grant Atkins referred the decision to the video referees.
I was about 70 metres from it but the reaction from the bay of supporters who had the best view indicated Uate had grounded the ball. Let’s face it – NRL wingers are of such quality that they score those tries more often than not.
Touch Judge Kasey Badger recommended try to the referee and with that ‘live decision’ it was sent upstairs. From the first replay it looked a clear try, and I’m not going to be critical on Kasey because she is a first-year rookie official and when you are establishing a reputation there is no such thing as a ‘soft check’.
Your career is at risk if you want to be cavalier.
Back to the video ref: as soon as the second replay was shown the fans’ frustration was evident. The boos and jeers were plenty, as calls of “it’s a try – get on with it,” were shouted by supporters.
I felt the same frustration, but my advantage is having lived through the video ref decision-making process many times before. I understand what goes on in the box and why it takes so long.
The solution is coming: the video referee ‘bunker’.
It’s already been trialled and the NRL suits are on board so its implementation is a mere formality.
Let me explain what happens today and what will be different when the bunker is introduced.
At present, the two video referees have no first-person control over what camera angles they are presented and when. The main video ref will ask the broadcast director for the vision that they want to view, which is relayed via a headset to the outside broadcast truck situated behind the grandstand.
The director will then provide the vision that appears on the monitor in the video referees’ box and on the big screen at the ground.
Take a kick to the in-goal that has a contest for the ball on grounding. A typical exchange would go like this:
Referee: “I have a try, can you confirm the grounding please.”
Video referee: “OK, got that. Live decision is ‘Try’.
Video ref to director: “We’ve got a kick here can we go back and check on side.”
Director: “Yes we’ll go to the kick”
(At this point the wide ‘eagle cam’ view of the ground will be paused at the point the ball is kicked and all the chasers are verified to be on or offside.)
Video referee: “Alright they are all onside to the left of the kicker, we’ve got these guys at the play-the-ball in front – just roll it through please – and they stay at the ruck and don’t chase. OK, happy with that, can we go through to the grounding please.”
Director: “Yes we have this one”.
(Now we would normally see the view from the corner camera at ground level.)
Video ref: “Right, we’ve got the attacking player diving at the ball, the defender is reaching out to knock it dead – that’s his hand there, right?”
(One point to note – the two video referees have separate roles. The grounding of the ball is the responsibility of the second video ref, the ‘football expert’, so someone such as Luke Patten or Ben Galea. The first video ref will be talking to him as the replays are shown.)
Video ref: “Can you go to the other side of the ground? I want to see it from there.”
Director: “OK yes, we’ll get that next – I’ve got this one lined up.”
(That next replay might be from the ‘back pack’, the camera man running or segway-ing along the side of the ground.)
Video ref: “Right, I can’t see the ball on that one – can we go to the other side?”
Director: “Coming up.”
Video ref: “OK yes there’s the defender’s hand – I think he’s got there first. Does he knock it back and then the attacker grounds it? Can we go back to the first replay please?”
Director: “From the corner?”
Video ref: “Yes please – the closest one.”
Video ref: “That’s it – OK, the defender gets to it first, but then the attacker gets there. Is that grounded? It looks like it’s inside the dead ball line from that angle. Have you got anything else for us?”
Director: “No that’s the best shot.”
Video ref: “OK can you rock and roll that forward and back for us?
“OK yes it looks like a try there. Just pause it with the hand on the ball. Yes that’s it. Alright, I’m going to the board [big screen]. Live decision is confirmed, we have a try.”
The green button is hit and – after the chicken commercial is shown – the green graphic ‘TRY’ is displayed.
Now without being privy to that conversation between the men in the box and the director in the truck, at which point are the fans going to start blowing up? How long did that section take you to read? As I can attest from what I saw on Saturday, the frustration is vented very early on. Most fans have an opinion after one replay.
So let’s consider the difference that the bunker would make to that process. To start with the video refs won’t have every face in the grandstand staring at them and yelling at them to “hurry the hell up!” They will be at a central position, away from any other distraction.
Secondly, and most importantly, the video ref will have access to all camera angles at once. There will be about nine different cameras to choose from and they can be selected immediately and slowed down or paused as required.
The video ref won’t have to ask the director to go back to the kick – he’s already checked that. He won’t even look at the back-pack angle because he can already see it won’t be any use. The video referees between them can select the best angle, assess the information and make a decision.
The fans are still going to disagree with decisions; that will never change. Yet I can guarantee from having been part of this for years that there will be a lot of time saved in the process.
The length of the stoppage will be minimised and we can get on with the footy quicker.
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