For the first time in rugby league history, a captain’s challenge system will be will be trialled in the NRL this weekend during the St George Illawarra vs Newcastle game.
In a limited set of circumstances, captains can challenge the decision of a referee, sending it to the bunker. The decisions a captain can challenge, however, are restricted to those around try-scoring.
A captain will only be able to challenge a referee’s decision to award try or no try, but tries will only be sent up to the bunker if a challenge is initiated.
Referees during this game will no longer have the safety net of sending it to the bunker, and will be required to then make a call on the field. The captain of either team can then challenge that call, which will then send the decision up to the bunker.
Each team will be given one incorrect challenge a half, but the challenge will remain if the referral to the bunker proves the captain correct.
As far as we can work out, the challenges won’t ‘stack’, so if you’ve still got your incorrect challenge from the first half, it won’t carry over into the second, giving you two.
There will also be an additional challenge given in the last five minutes of play and the in golden point.
NRL CEO Todd Greenberg said the game had been considering a captain’s challenge system for several years, but did not previously have the technology to be confident the correct decision would be delivered.
“However, the bunker gives us the opportunity to trial the captain’s challenge with state of the art technology to help determine whether a try has been scored,” Mr Greenberg said.
“We will assess the trial to determine if there is scope to use the captain’s challenge more widely in the future.”
On the weekend, however, the bunker can be utilised by the on-field referee for 40/20 rulings, line drop outs and 20-metre restarts, foul play, double knock-on rulings and to determine which team touched the ball last before going over the touchline.
NRL Head of Football, Brian Canavan thanked the Dragons and Knights for agreeing to trial the captain’s challenge during a regular round match.
“This will give us a chance to evaluate the captain’s challenge in a live NRL game where teams are still playing for two competition points,” he said.
With nothing at stake for either side, as both are out of the finals race, it makes sense to trial this initiative here.
How the Captain’s Challenge will work:
– Can only be used to challenge a try or no-try ruling
– Captains will have 20 seconds following a try/no-try decision to challenge the decision.
– No replays either at normal speed or in slow motion, will be shown on a big screen at the ground until the time allowed for requesting of a captain’s challenge has elapsed.
– A captain may request a review of any try/point-scoring decision made by an on-field official in relation to: groundings, knock-ons, obstruction, double movement, offside, touchline /touch-in-goal/dead-in-goal, tackle in the air, steals involving two or more defenders, foul play, as well as goals and field goals.
GTW
Guest
A bit strange that they stopped the Captain's Challenge in NYC this year, then look to reintroduce it now? Maybe they're trying to give the other 15 Team Captains what Cam Smith has always had; the right to question decisions. How will Smith handle cutting back his challenge's to once a half?
Boz
Guest
No thanks.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
I like that Ced.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
"Can only be used to challenge a try or no-try ruling", so in golden point time a team can't challenge defenders being offside to stifle the field goal. Same with a defender moving behind the try line trying to put the kicker off attempting a conversion.Sadly, neither according to the above. It isn't too late to change it to read "Can only be used to challenge a scoring attempt"
bigJ
Guest
Oh please this is going to make a bad thing worse, probably a good thing its dragons v knights as both teams are bottom feeders and like footy 101 said there wont be much points in the game. Just another bloody stupid thing that the NRL has come up with. Why not get the player's mum and wifes to way in on every call as well. That will make the calls smoother.
Cedric
Guest
if anything, there should be a captains challenge on the bunker decision; SOLUTION; They should then go to a group of four mates already preordained who are in a garage watching the tele and have no affiliation with either side. They have to have been drinking beer at a steady pace, and are a bit glassy eyed and unsteady on their feet. Their decision will be final!!!!!!!! No more howlers!!
MAX
Guest
The Captain's Challenge is an alliterative catastrophe contrived by an emotional committee wanting to justify their overpaid and wasteful existence. The Bunker is best left alone. The CC is the unwanted picnic blow fly.
maximillian
Guest
I agree. Cricket already has a similar situation & there are still plenty of howlers after the challenge has been used, so Im not sure how this is going to be better for the NRL? I suppose 1 positive is coaches/commentators/media/fans blaming refs is a weekly occurrence in the NRL. Maybe now they can put more blame on the captains to get the reviews right & let the refs get on with it.
matth
Guest
This will seem wonderful until a grand final is won or lost on a terrible refereeing decision (when unsighted for example), where the captain has already lost his challenge.
Jimmmy
Guest
Say What ????!
Mongo
Guest
they announce it mid week of the game - surely the teams need more timewhat a gimmick to deflect attention away from the Socceroos and AFL Sydney derby...
turbodewd
Roar Guru
The NRL gets something right for once! :)
Alex
Guest
I'd prefer an NFL style coaches challenge where the coach on the sideline throws a flag to indicate he wants to challenge the ruling.
Squidward
Roar Rookie
Perhaps a coaches challenge who has a screen may be better. Can the captain see everything at once. Especially ones like Gallen, Graham that always seem to be in the middle busting their butt. Can they trust their wingers that they actually scored when they say. I love how Smith is the article photo. Been using captains challenge for a decade now
Squidward
Roar Rookie
Well played
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Has there been any consultation with the RLIF on this? There will eventually be three rugby codes the way the NRL are going, rugby league, rugby union and rugby stuff...
The Barry
Roar Guru
I'll definitely give it a go. However, if there's a genuine 50/50 that the captain refers but gets it wrong, it's not necessarily a bad decision. But what happens if there's an absolute howler after that. Or two howlers. Or three. The refs are going to have to call it live with no video, even if they're unsighted or have no clue how it went down, be it grounding, sideline, double movement, obstruction or whatever. The coaches will be howling, the fans baying for blood, the refs under immense pressure and the "well your captain got his challenge wrong" argument won't count for anything. I don't see how that takes pressure off the refs as people have suggested. I don't see how the risk of re-introducing howlers because the refs are making unsupported decisions because a captain has made one bad decision and with no recourse to review is good for the game. It strikes me as the sort of thing that for 3-4 rounds we could be saying "how good is this?" but when it goes wrong it has the potential to go massively wrong. But - I could have it completely wrong and am certainly open minded to giving it a go. As someone above said I'm not sure how much one game will tell us.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
The only saving grace in my mind Barry is this part: "Referees during this game will no longer have the safety net of sending it to the bunker, and will be required to then make a call on the field. The captain of either team can then challenge that call, which will then send the decision up to the bunker." If that means the bunker is ONLY used during a captain's call and that there are a limited number of such calls available during a match, then I can accept it.
Bnick
Guest
Only the nrl could take a good concept an f#*k it seems stupid an will have more ppl whinging an frustrated nrl are so out of touch it's not funny why not leave the game the way it is an add a captains challenge for any ruling that seems more logical give them one challenge if they get it Wrong that's it for the game if they get it right they keep there challenge this would help in getting more decisions right -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
Jimmmy
Guest
Baz , give it a go. If it stops every try being refered ' just to make sure ' it will be an improvement. I really think it takes some pressure off the Refs as well . If the captain loses his challenge and can't appeal a bad decision so be it Its his fault for the bad decision to appeal previously. The bunker like DRs in cricket is just to get rid of the howler. The small bobble, the marginal obstruction etc.we must all learn to live with. Constant reviews are ruining the spontaneity of the moment.