Tony Archer’s time as the National Rugby League referee’s elite performance manager should end now.
Before I go on, let me make it clear that I am very much pro-referees and touch judges.
A great many Australians have an anti-authoritarian streak that can be traced back to the convict days and the Eureka Stockade. That streak can also manifest as an automatic dislike of referees.
If a great number of us rugby league fans can be fairly described as the unwashed, the referees and touch judges can be described as the unliked and the unrespected. If they have a great game, few will notice, but if they make a contentious or wrong call, they can fully expect to be lambasted by the players, coaches, fans and commentators.
They are the ultimate scapegoats and, just like Milhouse Van Houten, only their mothers think they’re cool.
However, for the game of rugby league to be well run, it is essential for us to have good, brave referees and touch judges, who strictly uphold the rules without fear or favour.
In order for that to happen, we need an elite performance manager who creates an environment among his officials that cultivates those attributes. Who puts his staff first, takes bullets for them, and gives them the support, direction, training and protection that not only helps them to do their job well, but makes them feel secure and happy in their roles.
Tony Archer does not seem to be that man at all.
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Since taking over in 2013, he has presided over a period that has included:
- Massive inconsistencies in the use of video replays;
- Rates of sin binnings for professional fouls plummeting to all-time lows;
- Send offs becoming virtually extinct; and
- The rate of penalties conceded exploding.
These facts strongly suggest that the officials are not doing their jobs well. This then brings into question whether Archer inspires or has the confidence of his whistle blowers and flag wavers.
Recently he has performed an action that suggested more strongly than ever that a big part of the problem – if not the central part – is that he is a dreadful boss.
A few weeks ago, Archer publicly ascribed blame and apportioned punishment to one of the senior members of his team when there was neither need nor justification to warrant it.
As a result, I’d be very surprised if any of the officials under his charge feel secure enough in their roles to make the crucial decisions we rely on them to make, for fear of being singled out and dropped from first grade.
Just ask Rickey MacFarlane.
“Who’s he?” I hear you ask. He’s a first-grade touch judge.
Or he was, anyway.
If you looked for his name in a game in Round 7, you wouldn’t have found it, as he’d been dropped by Archer.
Why?
Rickey is the guy who called the pass from Anthony Milford to Ben Hunt forward in the Round 6 Broncos-Roosters clash, which led to a try not being awarded.
“Of course he should have been dropped!” I hear you cry. “It was a howler!”
You are right, the call wasn’t good. The pass appeared fine watching live, and with the benefit of slow-motion replays, it looked like a great pass.
But don’t be too harsh on Rickey MacFarlane for making that call. Under the circumstances, I’m surprised we haven’t seen more like it.
Because Archer completely dogged one of the NRL’s very best touch judges just weeks earlier over not calling a marginal forward pass.
Jeff Younis is a great touch judge, if not the best. I know this because he got finals gigs over my mate Daniel Eastwood, who was an awesome touchie. As a result, I’ve never been that fond of Younis. He may well be a lovely guy, but I may have wished him a pulled groin or torn hammy now and then. However, I know he’s fast and makes great live calls. More often than not, he does State of Origin matches and grand finals.
In the Round 3 game at Panther Park, between Penrith and the Roosters, the home fans screamed at Younis to call the pass from Latrell Mitchel to Daniel Tupou forward. He didn’t. He was soundly booed when the subsequent try was awarded.
The try turned out to be the match-winner.
Then, just hours later, Archer carried out the poorest piece of leadership from a referee’s boss since Graham Annesley humiliated Bill Harrigan in 2002.
Archer came out publicly and voluntarily declared:
“You can see a pass here from Latrell Mitchel. From the vision you can see that the touch judge is in good position to rule on the pass. After reviewing all the available angles and slowing the play up, I have determined that the pass is forward. It’s my expectation that the referees should have ruled that way.”
He then dropped Younis to reserve grade for the following round.
Tony, that was piss poor.
Firstly, have a listen to your own words: “After reviewing all the available angles and slowing the play up…” So in order to make your decision and establish the ball went forward you watched multiple angles and slowed the play up? Yet you not only dropped Younis for not calling it live – from one angle and in real time – you voluntarily branded it a howler to the media and hung Younis out to dry down in the reggies.
Secondly, there was no requirement whatsoever for you to give your opinion on the issue, or even respond to it. Yet you willingly volunteered it.
Thirdly, in the Round 6 game between the Sea Eagles and Dragons Jason Nightingale physically manhandled Daly Cherry-Evans off the ball and stopped him from getting to dummy half, directly allowing Gareth Widdop to pick up the ball and score. How any official could not call that back is beyond me. It was a howler.
Archer defended the situation saying that the video referee was only able to review from the point the ball is played and that, under those parameters, everything was just hunky dory.
So just like the forward pass in Round 3 that got Younis dropped, the incident couldn’t be reviewed by video. And just like in Round 3, both Gavin Badger and his touch judge were clearly in a great position to make a call. However, unlike Younis in Round 4, all four officials and the video referee backed up for first grade last weekend.
That’s at best inconsistent, Tony. At worst it is incompetent.
That sort of ‘leadership’ is almost guaranteed to make every member of your team not trust you and be concerned for their own positions.
Referees and touch judges get paid well per first-grade game. Getting dropped isn’t just humiliating, it is very costly. And remember, unlike players who can go to other clubs or competitions – or even codes – when they fall out with their coach, referees have nowhere else to go except the English Super League.
So now put yourself in Rickey MacFarlane’s shoes.
After seeing that even a touch judge of Jeff Younis’ undoubted status can get dropped and publicly maligned for missing a marginal live call, poor old MacFarlane must have been worried about getting a call wrong.
With the score at 14-8 in the 46th minute of the Broncos-Roosters match, Milford streaked into space. He was caught by Mitch Aubusson but got a pass away to Hunt, who went over.
It’s a fair guess that MacFarlane was sweating on forward passes, determined not to miss one. With a split second to make the call, MacFarlane told lead referee Gerard Sutton that Milford’s pass went forward.
It was a howler of a call and Rickey was in reggies last weekend. His name is not listed against any of this weekend’s first-grade games either…
I suspect MacFarlane completely misunderstood the message that Archer sent when he so publicly dropped Younis. The message wasn’t “don’t miss forward passes” it was “don’t stuff up during a game because if you do I’ll be the first in line to publicly bag you out.”
The beatings will continue until morale improves…
This is consistent with his message at the 2014 season launch for officials, when the newly-appointed Archer told his charges something closely along the lines of “Some of you have some insurance banked from your years of service and from the standing you have in the game. However, when performances don’t match expectation that insurance can be withdrawn, and when it runs out it’s not there anymore.”
However, how many of them thought that withdrawal would include being blamed in the media just hours after the game, for a marginal call at worst?
That Archer could treat any of his officials that way is appalling. You would never see one of the NRL club coaches do such a thing in public. The likes of Trent Robinson, Ricky Stuart, Craig Bellamy and Wayne Bennett would never dream of it. A coach can lose his playing group by doing that and then everything can quickly fall to pieces. That can happen with referees too.
In fact, I’d argue – given the above-listed facts – it has happened.
Roosters captain Boyd Cordner, in the News Limited press, said, “I thought [the pass] was OK. If the NRL has come out and said [it was forward] so be it … that’s footy and it can be tough for the refs at times. They’re human. I couldn’t imagine refereeing.”
Spot on Boyd. Now imagine being one and having the added worry that your boss was more concerned with joining in with the media in bagging you out than standing up for you.
Archer should have zero interaction with the press. The press are remorselessly looking for stories, scandals and scapegoats. They mostly don’t have fairness high on their agenda either.
Archer should back his charges to the hilt. He should be the first to rally behind them and show support. He needs them to know that he stands between them and all criticism – just like Wayne Bennett always does for his boys, drawing the flack upon himself whenever he can.
While Archer might address matters differently behind closed doors, the referees and touch judges must have complete faith that in public they have no greater advocate, supporter and defender than their coach.
Right now, I’d be surprised if any of them feel that describes Tony Archer’s approach to leadership.
And because of that, we will continue to get officials too scared to sin bin or send off players, no matter how deserving they are, and we’ll continue to see the sort of bad decisions that mostly come when people feel panicked and unsupported.
Get your act together Tony, or get out.
Michael Clare
Guest
A very insightful comment. What technology has demonstrated over the past few years is that scientific analysis does not improve refereeing standards. The whole concept is somewhat dubious to begin with - you may as well try to catch the wind. Sport is not a computer game and frame by frame analysis on a two-dimensional screen replayed and replayed endlessly until you see the so-called "truth" does not work that well. So often the "verdict" delivered by those in charge still end up being endlessly debated by fans long after the result What do you really gain for all that time and money? "Paralysis by analysis" and less spontaneity are the unpleasant by-products of this quest for perfection. Call me a dinosaur, but I prefer real-time decisions made by real people in real time and this includes making honest (even glaring) mistakes - it's called being human and I comfortable with it. 100 percent accuracy in sport via technology is a fool's dream - it diminishes the spectacle, slows down play and the end result is still too often inconclusive anyway. Critics of my view argue the answer is still more technology, better technology etc. No thanks!
GregB
Guest
This is typical of most things for NRL at the top levels starting with the dysfunctional NRL Commision where we have John Grant which almost every CEO would be happy to see the back of and Tod Greenberg offered up to the public as the great white hope in taking the NRL into the future only for Joe Public to see a rehash of the same shortsighted self serving decisions plaguing OUR game. The bunker was sold to the paying public as the be all to end all only to be shown up as a costly white elephant making bigger mistakes than ever. Constant modifications will only make the public more distrustful of those in control and less likely to accept it in the long term. My suggestion is get rid of Tony Archer as an abject and total failure as Referees Director and go back to ONE on field referee, two touch judges that are allowed input during the game as it used to be and replays shown ONLY IN REAL TIME. Decisions should be made as it's seen by the eye at normal speed, the game existed quite well for decades in this manner and we accepted the on field officials decision as that - a decision made by the officials there on the field - not by a team of analysts that pull the game apart frame by frame and still manage to stuff it up. Please NRL give the game back to the public and stop continually changing it thinking you're adding some extra positive dimension, it's not working! You're detracting and ruining the game, just train the refs to be better judges and give them back the authority to make on field decisions without the microscope treatment.
doogs
Guest
I agree. Rugby refs are definitely met with more respect than League refs. This running at the ref and venting leaves me cold
doogs
Guest
Totally agree TB. It is more than blaming "refs". Our culture is basically looking for anybody to blame but ourselves. Just a miserable way to live. It is not just about referees. It's people citing conspiracies, favouritism, players too old, players too young, the captain does not drink, commentators thinking they are important etc etc. Everybody deserves some empathy. As frustrating as it is when one's team cops a lame call it is all part of it. I don't mind people having a bit of a rant about a decision going against them, but when they whine about some hidden reason for it all, the person loses me. Anyway, this article is so timely. I support the Broncos and I thought they had a bum call go their way as I felt Milford was stopped in the tackle. Archer agrees and has sold his referee's team down the river. That came out today. I really don't know why he has to. Surely he could apologise to the club involved rather than making a public statement. I understand he would be under huge pressure in that job - and hell I would not want it - but it would be wonderful for him to stand by his men (Tammy Wynette). The Aussie way used to be "Standing by your mates" but it is more and more becoming "every man for himself".
kk
Roar Pro
MC, you were post 110, but it was worth the wait. Excellent read.
Michael Clare
Guest
An interesting discussion. I won't even try to respond to all the interesting points raised. But to me it's obvious that rugby league, for better or worse, is more driven by referee decisions than most other games. One prime example, in rugby league is the team receiving the penalty on their own line going fifty odd metres down the field via kick for touch. So often these penalties result in tries or big momentum swings. I believe that many diehard fans feel these fifty-fifty calls result in tries that are (for want of a better term) "referee generated." Penalties in league happen about every two minutes or so on average and that's a lot of power if you're holding a whistle in your hand - hence this discussion. I suggest there is far too much latitude given to the attacking side at present and this creates trouble with consistency for referees. You need to allow tacklers time to get off a tackled player. Every game you see the player with the ball barely standing up or walking over the tackler or dropping the ball trying to play it too fast and receiving a penalty for their efforts. This is the worst aspect of rugby league and the NRL encourages this obsession with a quick play the ball via their instructions to referees. They are, I presume, terrified of the game not being an exciting enough spectacle if tacklers were given any latitude at all. The big problem with this approach to refereeing a game is the subjective nature and inconsistency regarding "play the ball" decisions. Round 8, for example, has suddenly seen referees penalising defending teams as players drop the ball while rushing to their feet to play the ball. The harsh play the ball calls against Newcastle against North Queensland Saturday night verged on downright bias. I am not a Knight's supporter, just an observer. I'd like to see far fewer penalties from referees (it will probably never happen I know) and perhaps it's time the kick for the touch line after a penalty be abolished. Soccer and touch football works well enough this way and it would slightly reduce referee's power to influence games. Let the players decided a match.
coastal
Guest
Great write up Tim, as usual. As a fellow Raiders fan, I watch and analyse them more than any other team,and obviously have my biases, which I admit to freely. But the tactic of defending offside that Cronulla introduced against us during the finals series last year, and has been picked up by some other teams, is a perfect example of Referees not standing up and making the calls when they need to be made, and having it heavily influence the sport. There is a black and white ruling of where a defensive line is supposed to be. The warriors used this style of defense against the Raiders last week, and mid way through the first half, over 'sports ears' I heard the ref comment to the Warriors captain 'We need a better effort on the 10 meters'. WRONG. They are either onside or offside, make the call. Without support from their manager, they are far more likely to continue to allow tactics like this slide, and not make a stand and 'be the nail that gets hammered'. Why rock the boat when the boss might throw you overboard. I also agree with a poster above that the commentators have a massive influence on how the referees are perceived in the media - watch some super league and the commentators more often than not simply commentate on the game, rather than offering their opinions like the ex players we see here. Listening to Joey and Gus continually harp on about how refs get calls wrong has created and acceptance of ridicule within the media - something which is not as evident in Super League or Rugby for example.
mushi
Guest
I think it’s across most sports. I was reading an article on the problem of attribution bias in professional investors and the obvious analogy the author ran was how people blame referees and luck for their sports team losing so it feels like many see this as universal. Then when we look at the head of referee’s, or whatever the title du jour is, every one of them has been ran out of town right. They meddle too much... they’re too hands off They aren’t transparent … they throw people under the bus There isn’t any accountability… their punishments are too severe They are asleep at the wheel... they have knee jerk reactions They don’t give the referees leeway to exercise judgement... They need to stick to the black and white. At some point is it our spinning head of expectations that is the problem or is it every guy that’s ever had the gig?
mushi
Guest
It happens in basketball a fair whack.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Rugby isn't in the same ballpark as league, officials are treated with far greater respect at every level in rugby. Not even close. That would also align with your simple ratio. Soccer is closer but with league there's a refs fault element in almost every game. I don't see that in soccer. Anyway, even if I concede soccer, it still puts league in the top two refs fault sports...
spruce moose
Guest
As I commented in a previous article Tim wrote. The media are just as much to blame. If the media could back the refs every once in a while, the game would be better for it.
spruce moose
Guest
I've had it up to here with you and your 'rules' Peter.
qwetzen
Guest
The Barry said: "I don’t see it to anywhere near the same level in other codes / sports." Clearly then you have zero interest in soccer or RU. Those two are light-years ahead of anyone else in the Ref Whinging Stakes. I believe that it's a simple ratio which determines the whinging volume. The lower the scoring then the higher the whinging volume will be. eg. A soccer ref can make one mistake and your team loses 1-0, but an AFL ump can make a hatful of errors and it'll make no difference to the result. On another tack... What's happened in the NRL to the NFL inspired Video Challenge?
Lidcombe Oval
Guest
Easy to be an arm chair critic - all these so called experts who think they can do better never have the bollocks to actual try it themselves though- A generation of knockers instead of doers or leaners instead of lifters
The Barry
Roar Guru
Brisbane is an AFL heartland? I'm not saying blokes at the pub don't whinge about the refs. I'm saying that in rugby league there's an endemic culture from fans, players, coaches and media of actually blaming results on refs. I don't see it to anywhere near the same level in other codes / sports.
AJ Mithen
Expert
Much as I'd love to see that Spruce - think of how badly that would get shredded by the press. The players can do no wrong - it will be the refs that cop it for actually doing their jobs!
AJ Mithen
Expert
Great article Tim - it's interesting to contrast the approach of the NRL ref's fraternity and the AFL's - the AFL fiercely defend their guys even when admitting errors. Hanging blokes in public is a sure fire way to see an even bigger drop off in people interested in reffing, which is already at crisis levels.
Tim Gore
Expert
It's certainly an impression that's easy to get.
Tim Gore
Expert
I actually don't know! I know they've made lots of things that used to be scrims into hand overs. But I really don't know.
Tim Gore
Expert
My mate Dan Eastwood explained to me the physics of forward passes and why just because it went forward didn't mean it was forward... I glazed over. I like your idea.