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Blow that whistle, ref

25th July, 2017
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Cam Smith talks to Gerard Sutton. (Channel Nine).
Roar Guru
25th July, 2017
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1502 Reads

Yesterday, Warren Smith published a superb article discussing his opinion on the current refereeing debate, and to put it simply, he is spot on.

Without stealing any of his content, please read his article first as mine is more of a continuation.

My favourite quote from the story is this.

“But what we really need to talk about is how, at some point in the past, the people in charge of the game decided that the best thing the referees could do was to not referee. You know, they could rule on knock-ons and stuff, but we don’t want too many penalties”

Google the definition of a referee and you will find that it is ‘an official who watches a game or match closely to ensure that the rules are adhered to and (in some sports) to arbitrate on matters arising from the play.’

So then why do we want referees to put the whistle away and to finish a game hardly noticed? It is literally in their job description to do otherwise.

For the current state of the game, one that I believe rewards sneakiness and luck (in the ruck mostly) over fitness, talent and determination, I blame two parties.

I blame the referees for not making players accountable, and I heap just as much blame on the players.

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How often lately do we see players offside, playing the ball incorrectly, or with hands all over the ball in the ruck. This is not the referee’s fault. What is their fault is their lack of whistle blowing when players break the rules.

The more players get away with this trickery, the more it will happen. The more it happens results in the game continuing to slow down, and no-one wants that – except maybe Melbourne.

The referees get hammered week in week out for their decision making, which has way too much grey and not enough black and white. Just as Smith says, ‘No whistles, lots of managing.’ We have to draw a line in the sand now.

(Channel Nine).

So to the referees, please start blowing your whistle, and I mean at every chance. It is the only way that players will learn that their rule breaking is punishable. Liken it to a child who gets away with throwing a tantrum in a shopping centre, no punishment; hmmm I might just do that again.

What I would like to see is the referees ‘ensure that the rules are adhered to’ for a full weekend of NRL football. Hand on the ball, penalty, back chat, penalty, one player is offside from the kick off, penalty.

Pretty soon it will be the players under the pump, not the officials, because you see the perception will change from “why did the ref blow a penalty on occasion X and not Y” to “F*** me my team is ill-disciplined.”

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Can fans handle the pain in short term, probably not, so being a realist I understand it is unlikely to happen. But a one eyed Panthers supporter who watched Manly lose a penalty count 14-4 two weeks ago (when his team was no doubt just as ill-disciplined) hopes he is wrong.

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