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Opinion
It’s been reported that the NRL will be continuing trials into ball-tracking technology that it hopes will enable it to determine whether a pass is forward.
Forward, as per section 10 of the laws of the game, ‘Knock on and forward pass’ means: “The direction of a pass is relative to the player making it and not to the actual path relative to the ground.
“A player running towards his opponents’ goal line may throw the ball towards a colleague who is behind him but because of the thrower’s own momentum the ball travels forward relative to the ground. This is not a forward pass as the thrower has not passed the ball forward in relation to himself.”
So in other words, it won’t be a forward pass, even if it ends up going forward, provided that it is initially passed backwards. Simple.
The NRL is apparently trialling two new ways to monitor forward passes during the preseason, one of which involves inserting a microchip into the game balls that can determine whether the ball has been passed either forwards or backwards.
Presumably, if the trials are successful, we can expect to see one of the forms of technology introduced sometime soon and no doubt added to the ever-expanding role of the bunker. The question is: will this be good for the game or another nail in its coffin?
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The introduction of technology to rugby league and other sports has become a controversial topic over recent years. Many fans will argue that the technology helps to get refereeing and umpiring decisions right and averts the risk of so-called ‘howlers’ which can adversely affect the result of a game, and to some extent they are right. Technology has enabled cricket’s third umpire to rule far more accurately on things like run-outs, boundaries, stumpings and no-balls and also on some aspects of both caught behind and LBW decisions. It has also assisted the rugby league bunker and the rugby union television match official to rule on tries, knock-ons and high contact. But it has its limitations.
The technology doesn’t always get it right, sometimes because the technology is itself inherently limited but more often because it involves another human conducting a subjective review of visual evidence and applying their understanding of the rules to what they see. Cricket’s predictive ball-tracking technology used to help determine LBW reviews has more flies on it than a garbage truck, while both league and union fans consistently shake their collective heads in disbelief at the inconsistency of decisions made after endless slow-motion, multi-angle video reviews.
The other issue with using technology to make refereeing and umpiring decisions is that the decisions are not made in real time and consequently interrupt the flow of the game. While this isn’t such a big issue in cricket, it is already developing into a problem in rugby league, a game which in all other respects, rightly or wrongly, they are trying to make faster with more action and fewer delays. We currently have a situation where a lot of time is burned reviewing aspects of play that should be dealt with by referees in real time. Is anyone enjoying the captain’s challenge?
The possible introduction of this technology will raise a number of questions for league fans, particularly around how it will be applied. Will it be applied consistently or only when requested by the referee or as part of the try review process, as is the case currently with the bunker?
If it is applied consistently, it will need to be applied to every one of the hundreds of passes made in a game, from the first pass in a set of six until the last.
Presumably then, depending upon the way the technology works, the bunker will be alerted to the detected forward pass by the technology and in turn will alert the referee, who will stop the play possibly one or two passes after the detected forward pass. Everyone will look suitably confused and wander back downfield to the mark for a handover to the defending side. Sounds pretty clunky to me.
If not applied this way, it will just be adding to the current anomalous use of the bunker. For example, under the bunker try review protocols they review virtually all aspects of the play in the tackle leading up to a try – everything from knock-ons and obstruction to the sideline and grounding. That’s fine in itself but highly selective and inconsistent, as the tackles leading up to the try-scoring play are ignored and any breaches by the attacking team that are missed by the referee in previous tackles are ignored by the bunker. So a knock-on by the dummy half on tackle one in a set that is missed by the referee can result in a try on tackle three or four.
Will this be the same for forward passes? If so, heaven help the game.
In late 2020 I published an article headed’I hate the bunker’ in which I said: “Recent reports are that the league is now investigating … technology, which will enable them to review and rule on forward passes … League wasn’t meant to be played this way. I guess then we can look forward to technology to determine whether defenders are offside. I can’t wait for that.
“Too much technology, together with the apparent inability to use it effectively, presents a real risk to the game.”
Nothing has come along yet to change my opinion. I’d like to see far less bunker intervention than more of it.
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