The NRL has been trialling ball-tracking technology which could revolutionise the was forward passes are adjudicated on.
Or it could be another grey area for the game as it gets too technical for its own good.
Footballs were implanted with a small device during the NRLW competition which tracks their movement through the air.
Recommendations will be presented to the ARL Commission on whether the trial was successful before a decision will be made whether it is used in the NRL for all forward passes, only in try-scoring movements or not at all.
The technology also has the capability to rule on 40-20 kicks, whether a a ball bouncing over the cornerpost went touch in-goal or if an attempted try has reached the line.
The Roar experts have their say and if you’d like to do likewise, fire away in the comments section below.
Experts Roar – player transfers
Michael Hagan (premiership-winning player and coach)
It’s a tricky one. I think it should only be used in try-scoring plays otherwise we’ll be pulling up the game too often.
You’ve still got humans involved, haven’t you, so it won’t be foolproof. If it’s close, let it go but if it’s an obvious forward pass, that’s when you need to step in.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Paul Suttor (Roar expert)
Why not give it a try. Apparently the boffins can adjust the degree for which they call a forward pass so in theory you wouldn’t suddenly have an influx of every second pass being called forward.
It won’t be much use if there’s too much of a grey area in the margin of difference – it needs to be laser accurate or it’s only going to cause more problems.
If the technology is such that the instant a pass goes forward, the referee can be alerted then it could be used for any forward pass but if it takes anything more than a few seconds, stick with the current system.
Forward passes are not a blight on the game but it only takes one to be let through in a crucial stage in a game for an outcry from the outrage brigade to demand heads should roll.
AJ Mithen (Roar expert)
A hundred times, no. There’s not one example of ‘forward pass technology’ that has proven effective live to air and although the NRL might think they’ve cracked the code, I’d be astonished if they’ve managed to do so.
What would be even more madness is if they decide to only use it in certain situations like try-scoring plays or captain’s challenges. It’s every pass or none of them, but letting 98% of the infractions go would be a very NRL approach to rule application. If you thought the bunker was copping it until now, just imagine when they rule a pass forward by centimetres, based on a system loaded with margins for error.
Stephen Crichton scores a try during the round seven NRL match between the Panthers and the Canberra Raiders at BlueBet Stadium. (Photo by Matt Blyth/Getty Images)
Danielle Smith (Roar expert)
Absolutely, and use it for the whole game. If you have a tool at your disposal that will make something better, why would you not use it? I stopped counting the forward passes that didn’t get called over the weekend, it would have been great if they were pulled up.
And don’t whinge at me that ‘we already have a ref and two touch judges, they should be able to call a forward pass’. They are human, and obviously make mistakes. Like the footy players who throw the forward passes – they aren’t supposed to, they train all week not to, but sometimes they still do.
Mary Konstantopoulos (Ladies Who League)
We seem to be at a place as footy fans where we want every refereeing decision to be correct but we also want it all done quickly too, getting cranky because there are too many stoppages in the game.
I don’t think this is technology we need and I’m comfortable with the way referees are ruling forward passes now.
I would be also interested to find out how much has been invested into this technology – could this money have been better spent elsewhere?
Stuart Thomas (Roar expert)
The Australian-invented Hawkeye technology has proven a resounding success in tennis, with something of a pointlessness now existing when it comes to the questioning of close calls.
Of course, the players have found other ways to engage with and subsequently abuse officialdom in recent times, thus alluding to a general need for professional athletes to vent when under pressure and feeling frustrated. The notion of forward passes in the NRL being adjudicated upon with similar accuracy is an appealing one, yet concerns around how the process would be formally implemented are numerous.
Key questions around which passes are actually checked, whether captain’s challenges should be used to do so and the time taken for decisions to be finalised are all fair and relevant. The processes around the use of what we now know as the bunker have been changed many times over the years and the chances are that Hawkeye’s forward pass decision making would also be an imperfect science to begin with.
I am still to be convinced that any such system could successfullly deal with a pass that leaves the hands legally and floats forward. Should the ARL Commission be able to overcome that challenge it might work, yet many will detest what could become just another layer of confusion in a game that is becoming increasingly over-officiated.
Mike Meehall Wood (Roar expert)
We absolutely don’t need more excuses for the game to be slowed down. Technology hasn’t stopped arguing over a hundred other things that keep many media outlets in content so I’m not sure that anyone needs more of that.
Also, I don’t think that it’s an issue that the refs/touchies actually get wrong that frequently. I guess there’s always the idea of getting better, but for me, I don’t miss the lack of video reffing at NSW Cup so I don’t really mind. It rarely makes any difference.
Joe Frost (Roar expert)
Of all the issues that need fixing in the NRL, forward passes must be close to the bottom of the pile. If it can be implemented for virtually free and with next to no issues, then sure. But if it’s going to cost a bomb and take a while to be considered reliable, then let’s leave this alone.
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Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Err, they won't be ruling a kick as a knock-on. Same as a drop kick. Hard to believe but true.
Dumbo
Roar Rookie
"A machine that alerts the ref in real time every time the ball travels forward out of the hands..." Err, Isn't that what happens every time half-back kicks through over the try-line for his chasers? And doesn't the ball come out of his hands, forward, if he is going to take a drop kick? And I reckon I've seen a few props held up on the opposing tryline, who spin round and push the ball backwards towards their own team - out of the front of their hands - without getting called out by the ref.
Griffo 09
Roar Rookie
Surely selling something is an outline of its intent. It may or may not do what it's intended to do, but you cannot sell something as not doing what it's intended to do.
Danno
Roar Rookie
I think the best view of a fwd pass is from the tv broadcast view, camera a lit bit above the action , where as the touch judge is looking at the pass from ground level while running with the play ,
Danno
Roar Rookie
“The problem is that the public is so brain dead that they can’t see that everything is a phu cking scam these days , there’s always someone on the take “ I agree with this 100%
Robbin Banks
Guest
It's not a long bow . The problem is that the public is so brain dead that they can't see that everything is a phu cking scam these days , there's always someone on the take . Who initiated bogus bunker ? Peter ( I'll fill my pockets whole I'm here ) beattie ? It's been a schitshow for years now , and I'll bet him or someone else lined their pockets until they overflowed . Now there's new technology, that's going to save the game , more like put another nail in its coffin. The reference to the crappy injection just hilights how ignorant the majority of the public are . FFS , now it's almost like it never happened and there's millions of people not asking , why the phuck did I just get jabbed 3 or 4 times ? I didn't, I don't wear a mask anywhere and I don't sanitise, yet for the life of me , I've been unable to catch this highly contagious, deadly virus . Open your phucking eyes before it's too late .
beachart
Roar Rookie
Simple.......If the player who receives the ball is in front of the player who passes the ball. Forward Pass. Why is that so hard for so many to grasp ??????
Maxtruck
Roar Rookie
No, I can play a round of gold in not much more time than some league games take
Abhi Beckert
Guest
If the tech is reliable then absolutely do it. Every weekend I see replays where passes are blatantly forward but they get away with it and score a try. At the same time occasionally a forward pass whistle is blown and the whistle shows it wasn't a forward pass.
Adam
Roar Guru
Nope. Just nope. I've got my doubts that they even have the technology remotely able to make the decision correctly. The MLB has been playing around with the idea of automatic balls and strikes and even that technology is flawed as different technologies are offering slightly differing results and they're really only looking at whether or not the ball breaks a two dimensional "window". I find it truly astonishing that the NRL thinks they've broken the code of measuring how a ball has left someones hands and any point in time and what direction it is in relation to a sideline/tryline. Because a forward pass is relative to the direction of the tryline (assuming that it is marked on the field laser straight and all the touch lines are giving us a perfect rectangle....) Putting my doubts for the technology aside, do they use is at all times (dummy halves pass it forward 2 to 3 times a set at times) or just try scoring plays? The inconsistency would be horrible as we'd either have 300 forward passes a game or we'd all complain about the ones missed in the 4 tackles leading up to the final play that actually sees the score. Further, if it's only on try scoring plays then i think the referees ability to call a forward pass would be further eroded as they know that they will never truly "have" to call a forward pass. A nice longwinded way of saying the NRL has no idea how this technology would be used and I'm not sure that their track record shows that they should even be trusted to try.
Adam
Roar Guru
Well maroon and blue at least
Adam
Roar Guru
I give you the longest bow ever drawn...
Adam
Roar Guru
Even better you don't even need androids. You could come up with an algorithm that could perfectly replicate a game of footy and it could be instantaneous with a powerful enough computer. We could have many multiple games on each weekend with multitudes of betting markets. Think of the money!!
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
The situation we have at the moment is that a ball player could throw the perfect pass to win this year's Grand Final which is flat but floats forward but it gets calls forward and the wrong team wins the game. Why anyone wouldn't want a fair solution to this issue is beyond me. I raised the issue on this forum a few years back and was told the technology wasn't possible. I disagreed and here it is.
Megeng
Roar Rookie
How about red and green LEDs in the ball that light up everytime it's passed
Robbin Banks
Guest
Geez fancy that , someone selling the idea stating that it does what's intended . Wind back the clock two years and see the old clips about the dodgy va xx ines , they were all saying it stopped the spread . The only thing it's stopped is people thinking , and this rubbish will end up the same . Just another scam with someone making millions out of it behind the scenes . Wake up F F S .
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
But do they really do a lot? They might run or look a lot but I'm missing seeing a lot of confident line calls. They should be marking the 10m, watching for onside/offside as they are in the best position. then looking for passes as they travel along the line. Is that too hard? And I think the second ref is a case of too many cooks.
Soda
Roar Rookie
To me it feels like almost every new "advance" in the rules has been about as well thought out as the introduction of the cane toad which is destroying the environment. I don't know how this won't be anything more than a howler producing machine especially when you consider that there is no general consensus on what constitutes a forward pass. Despite the simple name a pass that goes forward is not always a forward pass.
AJ Mithen
Expert
He’s the one who’s searching, searching to destroy!
Griffo 09
Roar Rookie
Well true, but I think they're asked to look at too much else. I'd be in favour of bringing back the second ref.