Cronulla Sharks vs Melbourne Storm: NRL live scores, blog

100% right Adam - Friday night's game was made worse by the fact Melbourne's completion rate was terrible.

Don't know where you get the idea that the game has been reffed without strictly enforcing the rules for a 100 years... Here is the problem that I have had watching the game the last few years. Penalties were extremely inconsistent and the reason is because asking refs to limit the penalties they give makes for the inconsistency as well as the usual human error. So, let's say the match of the round was reffed the same way as last year, then 1 in 10 infringements would be penalised. This year, it's probably closer to 5 in 10. When only 1 in 10 are penalised, it makes that penalty worth a lot more and more random and seem more unfair. When 5 out of 10 are blown, it's harder to complain about each individual penalty and their impact on the game is less and they seem more fair too. I hate watching games and when my side gets penalised for something that the other team is doing just as much. It frustrates me no end, because I can see that my team deserved to be penalised, they did the wrong thing but why this time and not the other 9 times ? I would much rather both teams making the effort to get back onside, if they haven't dominated the tackle, then they don't deserve to slow it down. Allowing teams to get off the line before the ball clears the ruck actually means that the attacking team, unfairly, has less time and space with the ball. Once teams get with the program, there will be less penalties, the penalties themselves will be more transparent and game will be more open and faster.

The game is entertainment but it is above all else, sport and needs to be fair. Let's take the 10m rule. If you don't enforce the 10m strictly, how do you fairly enforce it? Having a feel for it? I would much rather the ref having some B&W rules to follow (eg all players get back the 10 before moving up regardless of their involvement in the play) than to be making judgments about the impact players standing offside have had on the decision making of the attacking team. The refs can't know if a play maker decided not to go one way or throw a certain pass bc the players were up fast. If the players were up fast bc they were offside but the ball doesn't go their way, it would appear that they weren't involved and so if it's the old interpretation, then no penalty is called against the players standing offside. To me, that's cheating and it's a helluva lot simpler for all players to get onside than for refs to constantly be making judgement calls on how badly a team is cheating.

For me the late 80's to the late 90's was the golden period in my time. He are some examples of game, not great ones or poor ones, just randomly picked ones from the Broncs history. Watch them or any game on youtube and you will see a big difference. Those days the games were just starting to become full professional so the players aren't as big and the defense not nearly as restrictive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmPGvv9r9zA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLOzL6eo7jk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6kpj2UFg8o And the 92 GF just for fun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N0AwAWn9CE

Incidentally I'm not suggesting that the crackdown be abondoned just because it's upsetting some people. The rules are the rules... my point was just that it should never have been allowed to degenerate to where it was needing a crackdown if the NRL and their officials had been doing their jobs all along.

100% agree. Do not break the rules - no penalty. Teams have made premierships out of getting away with cheating!

I am happy for scrums to change or for them to enforce the rules. If it is changed, either get rid of them and just have a turn over or force the scrum to lock in until the first tackle is made. If we did that maybe only have scums for certain rules, not for knock on's. Turn overs will speed the game up and bring in more exhaustion.

Surely the biggest talking point should be why did the Storm only have a 60% completion rate. Joe, my wife goes for Storm and they would be one of my preferred sides, but they are really struggling to compete without Cronk steering the pack around the park. I did't think it would be this bad, but Cronk is a massive loss for them. And yes, there could have been even more penalties called last night because of the other infringements that could be called according to the laws of the game. However, the NRL decided they would crack down on the 10m and the play the ball - two components directly related to an open and free flowing game. Playing the ball properly takes longer so we need the 10m adjudicated strictly. Not that hard. The players and the coaches need to just play the game that way.

Of course, it’s become a big fixture due to the rivalry. Round 22 at AAMI... it will be brutal haha

Joe, They are only blowing the penalties because the teams are breaking the rules, if they stop there will be less penalties. I also actually hope we do reduce the interchange, I’d be happy if it went to 6.

Agreed, but that’s perhaps the NRLs fault for cracking down on a certain aspect of the game early in the season, only to forget about it by Round 4. Well we are in Round 4 now. You could see the Storm last night almost baiting the refs to penalise them. I dare you, kind of thing. And they obliged. The refs aren’t backing down, like they may have in the past, and so it is up to the players and coaches to adapt.

If you get a chance Joe, watch a couple of the Ispwich jets games from 2015 (they've been gutted by poaching since). That was a perfect example of what attacking Rugby League could be. Soo much of the game now if defined by structure negative play that what you see on TV might as well be a completely different game to what you play with your mates on the weekend. That's where a lot of the backlash is coming from I reckon, the coaches are playing a very different game to what fans expect

I understand that EagleJack but so far this season it doesn't seem to be the case that players and teams are adapting. In fact its gotten worse each round and its pretty much every team.

But Joe the point is that penalties won’t be blown if the players don’t infringe. Defending your own line, it has been commonplace to stand offside. With outside backs, especially, running quickly off the line to halt a team from going wide. Teams do it for a reason. It has an impact. It has been illegal yet overlooked by referees for years. But now it is not and it’s good to see. Just like the shoulder charge is rarely used anymore, players will adjust and less penalties will ensue. Adapt or die.

Honestly, I reckon time should be stopped everytime the ball is out of play (including penalty kicks). At least then there'd be 80 minutes of actual game play

Do we get a return match this year? That is going to be fireworks seeing how this game ended! Hopefully the reffing stuff will have been sorted by then.

I have a different take on it and I guess as the season progresses we'll see if its correct. Blowing so many penalties means there is going to be a lot more stoppages especially when teams take the two points.(about a 3-4 minute break), This means less fatigue, unless you're playing in sweltering conditions. This means the defense is going to be much harder to break down. You're gong to see low scoring games and more tries off kicks. As the weather cools and if they continue this penalty rate this will only get worse. We'll be back to looking at reducing interchange. More ball in play means more fatigue levels, means more line breaks, tries and exciting games.

No one is questioning scrum penalties. We all know that in this area the rules have changed in practice and I didn’t notice a whole lot of scrum penalties last night. So ignore the offside rule maybe? Which rules should the referees have ignored last night?

It really isn't about the Storms success as I pretty much watch every game of every round, either live or replay. Couldn't miss Tigers games a few years back because they were so entertaining and also the Cowboys cause of JT and Bowen. I only started watching League regularly from 2006 and found nothing wrong with the game which is probably why this season is so hard to understand. I grew up playing and watching Union but got hooked on NRL when the Storm were founded in Melbourne...closest thing to Union back then. I just think the way this reffing debacle has gone it will ruin the game as a spectacle.

Broncs Tigers would have been a stinker if no penalties were blown, both sides seemed intent on throwing the ball away. Sharks have struggled in attack all season and the Storm have also been clunky when their wingers aren't firing. There's no guarantee the game would have been good without penalties