There’s nothing more boring and predictable in rugby league than a coach deciding to blame the referees at a presser for their team’s loss.
We’ve seen this twice in the last two weeks – last week Ricky Stuart decided it was appropriate to blast the referees after the Canberra Raiders lost to the Melbourne Storm and this week Paul McGregor did the same after the St George Illawarra Dragons lost to the Newcastle Knights.
Let’s start with the game last weekend.
The Storm beat the Raiders 20-14. In the post-match press conference, rugby league fans were treated to a five-minute speech from Stuart on why referees need to be held more accountable. According to Stuart, he received ’47 texans’ (read texts) from people after the game commenting on how hard done by his team was.
The key for Stuart is accountability – apparently as a coach he has to sit in press conferences ‘every friggin’ week and answer questions’. His players are held accountable by the media, the fans and coaching staff. But for Stuart, the one group that is not held accountable enough are our referees.
I don’t have a problem with coaches making suggestions about how the game should be administered. Open dialogue is important. A game that does not take ideas and suggestions from key stakeholders is one that will not move forward. But I do have a problem with the way Stuart decided to conduct himself. Not because it was offensive or inappropriate – but just because it felt to me like he was passing-the-buck. It felt like a cop-out.
Interestingly, Stuart also blew up about how his team were treated by the referees, but there was no mention of the controversial incident in that game which very much worked in his team’s favour.
While Stuart was cranky about the decision to let the Storm play on after Suliasi Vunivalu picked up a Raiders’ play-the-ball following a Melbourne infringement to score, that was a decision that was eventually overturned by the bunker. A decision that wasn’t overturned though was the decision to let Sia Soliola stay on the field after he had almost taken Billy Slater’s head off with a high tackle.
(AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)
I often find that in rugby league, much like in life, sometimes the call goes your way and other time it doesn’t. I like to believe that in the end, it all evens up.
The reality is, Canberra were well and truly in this game, but they failed to convert their opportunities. They had 50 per cent of possession, had 11 offloads and made four line breaks. Conversely, they also had a 68 per cent completion rate, missed 30 tackles and made 13 errors.
Even without Billy Slater and Cameron Smith on the field, Canberra were not good enough to win.
Instead of going on a five-minute tirade about the referee’s, Stuart should have recognised that and owned it.
You know who else wasn’t good enough to win? The Dragons against the Knights on Saturday.
Let’s put this into perspective. The Dragons are a team that have absolutely surprised everyone this year, particularly after the way they started the season with six wins from their first seven games.
It has gone downhill in recent weeks and this fall from grace culminated in a loss against the bottom-placed Knights on Saturday. With this loss their finals hopes are in serious danger.
But instead of focusing on the Dragons sub-par performance, McGregor chose to focus on the calls that went against his team.
Granted, I see this game as slightly different to the game between the Storm and the Raiders because there were two controversial decisions made in the first half. The first was a ‘no try’ decision for Tim Lafai because Jason Nightingale was ruled to have knocked on while contesting a bomb (despite the fact that he was falling backwards). The second decision happened only a couple of minutes later. Nene Macdonald was called back after Trent Hodkinson dived on the ball in the lead-up to Macdonald’s 90-metre dash. This dive from Hodkinson was ruled as interference.
In his press conference, McGregor called the effort by the referee’s ‘embarrassing and incompetent’.
I wouldn’t go so far as to label the Dragons performance ‘embarrassing and incompetent’ but the facts are this. The Dragons had 50 per cent possession but only managed to complete 62 per cent of their sets. Despite having seven line breaks and 17 offloads, the Dragons also made 15 errors and managed to only score 14 points against a team that has only won three games in the last two years.
With all that in mind, it looks to me like refereeing is being used as an excuse.
There have been some suggestions that coaches are now blaming referees as a tactic. After Stuart’s five minute speech, there was very little time to question him about his team’s performance or about the Soliola incident. Likewise, McGregor on Sunday. If that’s the tactic, then it certainly worked to deflect attention from the poor games that each of these two teams have had in recent weeks.
While Stuart may not think that referees are held to account enough, I also think that as fans we often forget how challenging a job refereeing is. According to Todd Greenberg, a head referee, on average, makes 400 crucial decisions in 80 minutes. In all, 40 of these decisions are fifty-fifty decisions and could go either way.
On average a referee makes eight errors per game – which seems insignificant. The problem of course, is that not all errors are created equally.
Being a coach is one of the toughest jobs in footy. When the team wins it’s ‘full credit to the boys’, but when the team loses, the coach is the first one to be called out and held responsible.
But surely, coaches can be more gracious in press conferences and accept when their teams are beaten by the better team – as was the case in both these games.
Rachel
Guest
I notice you only reply to people who agree with you Mary, pretty pathetic really! I love the way Sia's late arm on Slater gives you and others fodder for vilianising a good ma and great sportsman who has played more than 200 games and has never been on report. It's cheap shots like the one you made along with a good portion of the media that taints an otherwise spotless record. He is one of the most humble, fair sportsman in the NRL,
Womblat
Guest
Been there done that keyboard warrior. 15 years, 1000 games, 350 of them A grade. How about you?
Farqueue
Guest
Agree totally. The refs can give a penalty in every set of six if they wish. They can easily decide who wins a game. A lot of tries come off the back of penalties. I'm not saying every game is corrupt but you can be sure that refs have teams and players they like more than others. I'm a diehard dragons fan and I was laughing by the end of the game about everything going against us. It was seriously bad. Milking penalties that only a dunce couldn't see they were obviously milking. The Nightingale no try is a shocker....It's gone a metre back.The McDonald try..An offside player is interfered with. We got a disallowed try and they got penalty 10 out from our line. So Nene gets tackled a metre out. We score off next play. It's a try. Cmon even Joey said dragons were robbed. NRL should be giving us 10 k.
Farqueue
Guest
Um no...I was at that game. .Stuart made the break...Meninga was supporting and shouldered an English support player running the same line.... Stuart passed ball back inside for Meninga to score in maybe the greatest game of rugby league ever played...Did I mention I was on the fence in the corner he scored. Also it was the second test to level the series . We won in Leeds next test...Was at that one too .
The Barry
Roar Guru
Every refs decision is fundamentally a 50/50. Give a penalty, don't give a penalty. Call a knock on, don't call a knock on. Unless referees have a long term bias against one team or a set of teams, of course by definition the decisions even out over time.
Peter
Guest
Mr Turner, just out of interest, has the team you barrack for ever, even once, been the beneficiary of a wrong decision by the referee? Apparently Mr Stuart's teams never have. (In this I include Mr Meninga's not being penalised for veering off- line to knock over the defending player, thus enabling Mr Stuart to score the try which won the Test and the series against. England.)
Nostradamus
Guest
I watch nearly every game each week, and when my team isn't playing and you have a neutral point of view I don't think a ref has ever cost a team victory. Except the Grass Hopper, he was a disgrace
matth
Guest
Agree 100%
Big Daddy
Guest
Gavin badger in my book tops the list. Good ref, good personality, knows how to get on with players and has their respect. The guy enjoys himself out on the field. Should be more of him.
Wayne Turner
Guest
I never said maths is fantasy land.I said your view is. Things do not even themselves out 50/50. The world and the world of rugby legaue is NOT black and white. Plus,you don't get it: What happens with other teams getting screwed vs the Knights.It does NOT even it out,because it's random different teams,to the one's that the Knights got screwed by earlier. This is your illogical thinking: https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/black-or-white
Albo
Guest
Geez Max ! "emoluments" ? Aren't they the residences just off Darlinghurst Rd ? I have no idea how much our match officials are paid for their fine work, but I suspect it won't be a performance based structure ! And I reckon some of them are over using the RDO 's !
The Fatman
Guest
Looove Stickys work. He is a gun at always being put out by Refs. Keep it up Sticky.
The Barry
Roar Guru
The more random the decision the more likely it is to balance out to zero over a period of time. Knights might be getting the rough end at the moment. But how many decisions did the Knights get the benefit of when they were winning comps. Probability is all about maths. Funny that you say maths is fantasy land but your 100% subjective, anecdotal "evidence" is fact. "They get benefits with other teams being screwed". Couldn't agree more. That's what makes it 50/50 and how it balances out in the end.
Rob
Guest
Mary, The Officials can have an impact on the result and unfortunately in a compettion where so many teams are evenly matched they can certainly influence the result. Being a Cowboys supporter I watched the Ref have a huge impact on the game last weekend. Being 16-6 down at half time the Rooster had to be the first to score in the second half or the game was as good as gone. Ref Aitken award 6 cosecutive penalties and basically gifted the Roosters field position and a glut of possesion. Two penalties being awarded after Roosters original errors and others late in the tackle count. By the time he stopped blowing penalties the Cowboys were behind on the score board. With 10min left and little in the tank he tried to even up the penalty count. I'm not saying the Cowboys should of won, but they were certainly taken out of the contest for a long period of the 2nd half by the man with the whistle. This is not a one off as a similar glut of penalties came when the Cowboys played the Sharks earlier in the year. The officals are making games interesting by choosing who and when penalties are awarded all the time and that is why fans are getting sick of the inconsistency. Many teams are copping swings in momentum based on Ref interpretations. For the record in 2017 the Roosters have won 4 from 4 under Aitken against the Tigers, Eels, Panthers and Cowboys for a differential +80 points. The Cowboys have played the Titans, Tigers, Eels, Panthers and Roosters and won 2-5 under Ref Aitken with a -70 point differential. Same teams, same Ref, vaslty different results? I hope he doesn't do a Cowboys game again. Ricky Stuart would go nuts if this stat was against the Raiders.
Wayne Turner
Guest
’inconsistency’ - Yeap one of my main problems with the refereeing too. Perfect example - One defending always penalised for being off side,yet in the same game,the other team does NOT for the exact samething.
Wayne Turner
Guest
Indeed,and spot on.
Wayne Turner
Guest
That doesn't resolve all these issues.Plus,I would have to have more unrealistic power to do it egs: Change rules - Dump the steal the ball rule.Too hard to police,and so often ruled wrongly.Have the ref on the field NOT ruling try or no try before sending it to the bunker. Only then would I consider becoming a ref,plus failures like Archer,Maxwell,Patten.Would all have to go.
Wayne Turner
Guest
No that's fantasy land,when the mistakes are all over the place,and random - Look how often the Knights get dud decisions by the refs,they benefited against the Dragons.Need to get that benefit about 5 more times to even it out.But,then they get benefits,with other teams being screwed. .The world,and rugby league is not black and white.It has nothing to do with maths.
Wayne Turner
Guest
I mean constant praise,for coaches,being only for Bellamy and Bennett.The one's you mention,not so often,even when their team is winning. No,I'm not anti-everything.Just pointing out that being an NRL is a harder job,than refs who never get the sack,for being hopeless.
Superspud
Roar Rookie
Ricky has long been a master at diversion from the real issue and this explains his poor coaching record. The inability to recognise and address the real issues has cost him. I don't know if he speaks to the players the way he speaks to media but there is always someone else to blame for poor performance.