The NRL contract for the Bunker is soon to be up for review. Reportedly worth $2 million a year, since being introduced, hardly a week goes by that it isn’t criticized.
Apparently the Bunker slows the game down, is too heavily relied upon, and it makes mistakes – or, more pointedly, the people in it make mistakes.
I have a solution.
The NRL should make it a job of the broadcast commentators.
For one, the commentary team are watching the same replays and angles as the fans. We often hear that the Bunker has many more angles and aren’t seeing what we are. One of the ways to build consensus among a group of witnesses is to have them watch the same thing and decide.
But the commentators are also shaping consensus and interpreting what fans are seeing at the time they see it. They also often decide and agree on the outcome ahead of the officials.
We also know that commentators, unlike the officials, are perfect – if you doubt it, just ask them. “A fool could see”, “anybody could tell” – well I say, make them the ‘fool’ who can see.
Phil Gould is reportedly about to review a range of NRL issues. Gould is one of the harshest and longest-standing critics of the Bunker and any people making decisions about football who aren’t him.
One of the key tools in change management is to take those who complain the most and empower them to make decisions and drive change. After that, if they are still complaining, you know you don’t have the problem, they do. The NRL could do it in this case.
Phil Gould (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
How else will this benefit the game?
Firstly, it saves the game $2 million at a time when money is scarce.
It will also make the commentators able to call the game in front of them without so much of their commentary being negative about the officials. They do it not only at the time of the play, but at halftime, full-time and after the game, asking the players and coaches about the terrible decisions made.
It is also of note that most of the commentators are ex-players and coaches – one of the main criticisms of the current system is that the officials, especially those in the bunker, don’t ‘understand’ the game.
I genuinely enjoy having access to the football minds of Peter Sterling, Phil Gould, Andrew Johns and Darren Lockyer on Channel Nine, and Cooper Cronk, Mal Meninga, Kevin Walters, Steve Roach, Braith Anasta and Michael Ennis on Foxtel. What I don’t like is having them dwelling on how much better the game was before technology, while criticizing the match officials and their decisions.
I prefer it when these former players educate me on what is happening – be it building attacking opportunities or demonstrating defensive cohesion and effort.
Currently so much of the drama the Bunker creates is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If the commentators watch the replay and, by consensus, make the decision, then they won’t spend so much time during and around games talking about those making the decisions. We get on with the game and so much of oxygen given to the drama disappears.
We could have sports sections dedicated to the actual game, while depriving shows on Nine and Fox the opportunity to slam officials and decision-makers.
These voices might even be able to shift focus to something positive that players, teams and coaches are doing, as opposed to being perpetually negative about the game that has given them all so much, and continues to pay their bills.
Removing the Bunker completely would just allow them to blame the referee and the touch judges for the same thing. With so much at stake from a playing and gambling perspective, it isn’t an option.
I love going to the football, but rugby league is the perfect game for television. They should make the most of the cameras and vision available to the experts, allowing them to earn and maintain their own credibility, instead of having the hottest take that week about what Graham Annesley isn’t doing.
Short Memory
Guest
Except when they do only look at it twice and award the try. And the third replay reveals it was actually a no try. Then all the armchair experts go ballistic screaming blue murder about how all they had to do was look at the next replay. Here's the thing - technology doesn't make errors. Human beings do. The bunker is pretty much the best technology available. But it will never eliminate errors completely. Getting rid of the bunker is not going to reduce the amount of human errors. It's just going to give the humans less good technology.
Wood.Duck
Roar Rookie
Refs cannot even define what a knock back is or a forward pass. If a ball is knocked back they rule knock on and every forward pass that travels forward, regardless whether it floated forward and the hands went back, is Forward. So how in slow motion can they possibly see the Saints player grounded the ball?
TIGER
Roar Rookie
If we leave every decision in the hands of the referee, the touch judge and an in-goal judge and have no replays at all then all the controversy will be left to a robust discussion with no further evidence to prove otherwise. No bunker, $2 million saved and no problem. Sorry, I forgot this is no longer just sport, it's a business and money talks. This is sport 2020.
Randy
Roar Rookie
I don't think Gould is for completely removing the bunker. I'm sure he said on 100% footy that the bunker would only be used for tries - grounding and checking sideline. There is no way you would remove the bunker completely, it would be madness and fans would go bezerk if it was totally removed.
Womblat
Guest
The best.
Cugel
Roar Rookie
Not really a failure, after all the vast majority of decisions are fine*, it’s just the obvious howlers they come up with that grab the attention. *Some fellow oldies may remember Kerrod Walters awarded a try against Manly in 1990 when he had dropped the ball cold. Peter Jackson threw his arms up in despair, seemingly the only one who didn’t notice the bleedin’ obvious was Graham Annesley. Cost Graham Lowe 10k IIRC. There’s no way we want to return to atrocities like that.
Cugel
Roar Rookie
Find a time machine and go back to the 80s - Warren Boland and Big Artie make today's whiners sound like Teller.
Cugel
Roar Rookie
Following week: Gould ‘I don’t care what I saw … the rule is brilliant so I’m not awarding the try
Succhi
Roar Rookie
I don’t think there has been any difference from the previous video ref to the bunker? Plus I think the commentators make it worse by their continual criticism of decisions on live TV.
Tony
Roar Guru
How about scrapping the bunker all together and leave it with the referees, touchies and in goal touch judges? The bunker was brought in to reduce human error but has been a failure. Also, get rid of the captains' challenges while we're at it. Have the refs focus on applying the rules as they see them and stop them coaching teams on the field i.e. telling them to hold, warning offside players, letting them know hen the ball leaves the scrum, etc.
Parasite
Roar Rookie
Time to torch the bunker, it's garbage or the people running it are a few roos short in the top paddock. RL is a fast game, the bunker continually slows the game down. The captains challenge is awful and the constant replaying to see if a try was scored or not takes 5 bloody minutes when even mr magoo could see if it was or was not a try after looking twice. I'm not that old but dear god please bring back the old footy, from around 1989 it was good.
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
Dump the bunker, live with the occasional ref error. Problem solved, 2 million saved, move on. Leave a tip on the fridge..
Womblat
Guest
Sooky and unbelievably arrogant. Your lack of differentiation between saying something and doing something is hilarious. I bet your lawn is 12 foot tall. "No point engaging further". :laughing:
matth
Roar Guru
The phrase 'inmates running the asylum' comes to mind.
Nick
Roar Guru
Salty and incredibly naive. You clearly haven't a clue how he operates. OF COURSE he wouldn't follow through on what he says. No point engaging with you further on this.
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
Great idea. Some commentators know everything & in addition possess degrees in medicine as they are able to diagnose injuries as soon as they occur. Bias may be an issue so if the Broncos & Knights qualify for the GF it will be evident that Joey & The Man With Many Hats Lockyer have been "assisting" with the results of games.
Womblat
Guest
And my admiration for you is entirely limited to how pointlessly combative you are. Gould said those things with not a pinch of tongue in cheek but a whole truckload. You are as deaf to that as you are to my point. If he was at all serious, he would follow through on what he says. I haven't seen him recently blow a whistle, sit in the bunker, front the media in Annesley's spot, or work for 12 months for nothing. Have you? He has only one solution. Dump the bunker. That's his only fix. And it's one more than what you've come up with.
Noosa Duck
Roar Rookie
No thank you Jay, nice though but I for one am getting sick & tired of the commentators refereeing the game as it is, instead of calling the play. Sick of the nit picking especially when you have the advantage of watching the game from the commentary area high in the grandstand with a wide angle view of all that is happening. I maintain that the bunker technology should be a replay function for the referee alone to make the decision if he is unsure of what happened. Otherwise we go back to what we had when the ref made a decision and we shut up & lived with it and gritted out teeth and got on with the game regardless of anyone elses opinion.
kk
Roar Pro
Agree. There ain't any fake in their take.
Nick
Roar Guru
Womblat, See Nat's post. Embarrassingly easy. He's also said (admittedly with a pinch of tongue and cheek) he could "fix the referees in his lunch break". He also spoke at length about how he can do a better job and how he was approached in 2018 on the 6 tackles with Gus podcast. I kind of admire you...obviously you've learned how to tune out Phil Gould a long time ago if you haven't managed to hear him say repeatedly how he can do a better job than the refs.