So what’s going to happen with the whistle for the first State of Origin on Wednesday night?
Will it be blown to ensure the defending team is back onside, which includes the outside backs, or will it be kept in the pocket like previous years?
Will it be blown to ‘sin bin’ repeat offenders for slowing the play the ball, especially near the goal-line, or will it be thrown away after the first 20 minutes?
Will it be blown to ensure players actually play the ball correctly, or will the whistle stay nice and warm inside the pocket of the referee all night?
State of Origin is renowned for the whistle rarely coming out, and I’d suggest that if that’s the case again this year, this scenario will favour Queensland, who’ve gotten away with ‘Blues murder’ for years.
Why? Because Queensland know that State of Origin is different and that basically anything goes. Remember the late canon-ball charges of Nathan Myles into the ribs of NSW players when they were being held up in a tackle? It’s a prime example, and yet nothing was done about it.
Maybe this year it will be different.
(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Interestingly, the start of the 2018 NRL season saw a spike in penalties. For example, over the course of the first five games of Round 4 a total of 120 penalties were blown at an average of 24 per game and just 41 in the final three games at an average of 13.67 penalties per game.
Eventually players and coaches have gotten the idea. Players have been getting back onside, they’ve been getting back the ten metres from the play the ball, they’ve started to get off the tackled player, they’ve started to play the ball correctly and they’ve actually started to play more football. The reason for this is simple: they know they’ll be penalised if they don’t.
NRL CEO Todd Greenberg and his administrators have a big decision to make for the first State of Origin on Wednesday night: to blow the whistle if a penalty is there, which then sets the standard for the series, or to throw the whistle away, which is what most experts are predicting.
If referee Gerard Sutton and assistant referee Ashley Klein are consistent with how referees have managed the NRL games for 2018, then the first State of Origin on Wednesday night will be different. There’ll be more penalties, and I’m all for it. Ultimately this approach rewards the better, more disciplined football team.
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For those fans who might suggest that more penalties will spoil the spectacle, I’d argue that there have been some terrific NRL games this year, and the extra penalties at the start of the year have actually changed the way teams are now playing.
Once players and coaches know that they’ll be penalised for not being back onside, for not getting off the tackled player, for repeat offences that stop the momentum of an attacking team and can lead to a ‘sin bin’, they change the way they play to win the game. It’s not rocket science. Players aren’t stupid, nor are coaches. They’re all highly paid professionals. They just need to know the parameters that they are playing in and what they can or cannot get away with.
Please, Messrs Sutton and Klein, blow the whistle for State of Origin 1, and may the best team win.
Mumbles
Guest
I'm tipping a close game (wink, wink).
Lance
Guest
I guess you’re going for Queensland Nat. Poor Billy seems to have felt a little tightness in his hamstring right at the last minute. Gagai’s suddenly got finger injury supposedly and might be pulling out as well. Smith pulled out a few weeks ago when he realised the refs will be cracking down on ‘cheating’ this year...They’re dropping like flies. ‘Deserting ship’ still feels apt to me.
Nat
Roar Guru
Deserting ship? One called it last year. On called it at the start of the year and Smith weeks ago. How many more trophies do you want them to lift? You all waited for these blokes to retire so what's the excuse when you get beaten by then next gen? Oh, the refs...
sham
Guest
You are in agreement with Buzz hardly adds to the credibility of your argument.
michael
Guest
strange how blokes like the johns brothers are for small penalty counts but are gloating about the return of the non block play....cant they see its the defense being back onside that allows conventional football instead of these crap runners that blight the defensive team...if we dont have penalties then what game are we playing....the rules are what delineate between afl,soccer and rugby league....not to mention union...blow the pea out of the whistle...i dont care...because the game is a stagnant stink when players lie over each other....then when the ref says held ...they count three...then get off with a final press on the back of the players neck for extra delay....
Lance skelton
Guest
You must be in the minority Michael. NRL viewership is stronger than it has been for several years. Like many viewers, I like players being ‘pinged’ for trying to cheat. But they’re not stupid. They’re changing the way they’re playing, and the game is better for it.
Lance
Guest
Hmmm. More people are watching the NRL this season than ever. Sorry you’re not one of them. I like the crackdown on ‘cheating’. Players and coaches are finally getting the message.
Michael Clare
Guest
The refereeing this year has been consistent ... consistently annoying and a blight on what's trying to happen on the field i.e. score tries ... stop tries. I am well and truly "over" the NRL's pedantic and unprecedented crackdown in 2018. Goal kicks are determining more matches than ever, stoppages longer than ever, numerous dubious sin-binning decisions (including a player who was punched in the face because he sledged an opponent) and all the rest of the whistle-blowing circus that now calls itself rugby league. If origin is refereed as per most NRL games this season, people will eventually switch off in large numbers and watch something else more interesting and free flowing. I no longer watch every match - first time in years since I got Foxtel.
Lance
Guest
Really? Who said anything about the Blues going to water? Looks like it’s the Queensland team who are going to into the water metaphorically speaking. They’re deserting ship one after the other.
Matt P
Roar Rookie
By most, you mean ridiculously one-eyed NSW punters.
Lance Skelton
Guest
I detect a level of sarcasm. But most punters would agree with me on this. Queensland have been getting away with all sorts of nonsense knowing that referees for SOO have been told to put the whistle away.
Nat
Roar Guru
You and Ol Steveng have plenty to talk about. The Blues go to water and that's the refs fault.
Matt H
Roar Guru
Yes, QLD have been the only team offside or holding players down for 12 years ...
Paul
Roar Guru
Greenburg made it clear a week or more ago that this game was going to be refereed using the same principles as Club games, so if either side wants to play offside, etc, they should be pinged. Hopefully they'll simply play by the rules and we can have a great game.
Chris Love
Guest
Agreed on the cleaning up of the ruck and offside penalties. Possibly had a huge bearing on the retirement of Cameron Smith.
Mycall
Guest
Agreed. And if the refs are forced to blow penalties to stop the players from cheating and ruining the spectacle, then the next step I would like to see the boss of the referees come out and not only defend his refs, but call out the players that are still trying to cheat. The players are allowed to get away with too much and rarely get the blame for the penalty crack down (much like the salary cap cheating). If the 30 top players of the competition, playing in the biggest spectacle of the game are incapable of playing within the rules, then the next step is for Greenberg to sit down with the RLPA. The players wanted to be partners in the game, well now is the time to show it. They need to play not only in the rules of the game but in the spirit of the game and stop ruining the spectacle with cynical penalties. One step towards that goal is to stop calling it "gamesmanship" when it is cheating.