- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Watching State of Origin on Wednesday night with a few friends, it occurred to us that the constant bagging of the refereeing subtracted from the overall spectacle on display.
This idea is not new to rugby league, with commentators and media personalities alike constantly finding flaws with refereeing decisions and focusing on them rather than the product we love.
It is unique to the sport and a contributing reason that the overall appeal is waning.
Prime examples from Wednesday night included the following.
1. The penalty count
Numerous times the 9-1 penalty count was either spoken about, or complained about. I hate to tell you, but Queensland deserved to have it look this way with poor discipline.
It had nothing to do with refereeing, nothing to do with bias, but it appeared that way from the comments on Channel 9.
2. The hit on Josh Dugan
Andrew Johns bagged the decision, saying that it was tough to be a penalty in club land, let alone Origin. I’m sorry, but Greg Inglis shoulder charged Dugan in the head, breaking his jaw.
It was a deserved penalty. Just because in the ‘old days’ it was soft, it was still a penalty and well picked up by the officiating crew.
They are just a few examples from Wednesday night, but a constant week-to-week theme in the NRL. We need to accept that referees are humans. Players make mistakes constantly throughout games, yet we want out officiators to be 100 per cent accurate every weekend. It’s just not going to happen.
Compare this type of attitude to the AFL and NBA or NBL, and I’m putting it to you that it is having a drastic impact on the appeal of rugby league.
AFL
Watching the Swans versus Hawthorn last night, the Hawks were winning by one point midway through the fourth quarter. This was the top-of-the-table clash in front of a record crowd, as big a stage as it gets.
A long bomb looked to have scored a behind but the umpires ruled it to have hit the post and the ruling was out of bounds on the full. It was a contentious call, one that could have gone either way, but the commentators let it go, got on with the game and it wasn’t spoken of again.
It’s the old adage that no one can name an AFL umpire, they just don’t cop the heat or constant negativity as their NRL counterparts.
NBA/NBL
Basketball lovers will know that referees have a tough job. Three officials have to watch ten athletes competing hard in a game that penalises contact. They make challenging calls night in, night out, but do so without the barrage of commentator negativity.
In the NBA, the referees are even awarded hall of fame status, with 15 referees awarded the honour at present. This respect for officials is the direction the NRL needs to go.
The attitude towards referees across our codes is significantly different, and the constant negativity around rugby league is hurting the game I love most.
When I started studying journalism one of the first things someone told me was ‘choose now’. Choose whether you want to be known as a positive writer, advocating for change and writing about the positive things sport has to offer, or a negative writer, constantly grabbing headlines and stirring the pot.
I love rugby league, I have since I was four years old. But it has changed. It frustrates me to try and work out why, of course I have my opinions, but we need to change the attitude and be more about change and positivity then headlines and stirring the pot.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.