The problem with the NRL bunker taking a commonsense approach to the obstruction rule is that commonsense isn’t always that common.
Grey areas are creeping back into the interpretation of what does and does not constitute an obstruction which, after a relatively settled period of black and white rulings, will cause a few grey hairs among the NRL coaching brigade.
Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou was perplexed after a crucial call went against his team in the 26-22 loss to Penrith, a result which could ultimately prove the difference between whether his team makes the playoffs or not.
Good sport that he is, the rookie mentor was at pains to say the bunker’s decision to award Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards a try in the first half was not the reason his side lost but he was still confused by the ruling.
“Honestly, I’ve given up trying to figure out what that rule is,” he said in the post-match media conference. “[Izack Tago] stops in the line. There’s no way Lachie [Ilias] can get off that.”
What he was referring to was Tago running a decoy, with the Penrith centre stopping in the red and green defensive line between Campbell Graham and Ilias, making contact with the halfback’s outside shoulder, which has been called back for obstruction in pretty much every case the past few years.
Dylan Edwards makes a break to score. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
There was a similar incident the previous week when Knights centre Bradman Best was awarded a try in Newcastle’s loss to Brisbane but Adam Reynolds cried foul, claiming he was impeded.
Before we get too deep in the weeds, both tries should have been awarded. On neither occasion was the defender going to stop the four-pointer.
Graham’s poor read in defence was the reason Edwards scooted around the edge to cross the stripe and that’s why Demetrio didn’t blow up deluxe.
Too often we’ve seen legitimate tries disallowed.
A decoy runner will make slight contact with a defender a long way from where the attacking team crosses the stripe but because there was a tiny chance of that impeded player sprinting across and making a Scott Sattler cover tackle, the bunker computer says no.
Jason Demetriou. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
The NRL rules state the refs or the bunker are able to “determine the significance of contact” when a decoy runner impedes a defender’s involvement.
As in, they can use their discretion, or commonsense, to decide whether a defender has legitimately been impeded and would have made the subsequent tackle or they were 100-1 to stop the try.
It’s been in the rules so it should have been applied, not a late-season adjustment on the run.
The problem now is that there can be different interpretations depending on who is the bunker official on duty night to night and when that’s the case, rat-cunning coaches and captains will be putting the pressure on for discretionary calls to allow tries that up until recently had been open-and-shut cases when the letter of the law was applied.
The NRL has swung like a pendulum do from one extreme to the other over the years when it comes to this most contentious aspect of the modern game.
Block plays only came into the game less than three decades ago but they’ve created confusion ever since.
In recent years, the NRL’s policy of having clear guidelines over the inside/outside shoulder, who initiates contact and stopping in the defensive line was far from perfect but it was consistent.
The elusive and eternal search for consistency from match officials that you hear coaches bleat about is a myth, usually designed to divert pressure onto the whistleblowers when the actions of players over 80 minutes decide the vast majority of matches.
Yes, Tigers fans, there are exceptions to that rule – the Cowboys got away with one that day, but the NRL was never going to give you the two points back.
Coaches hate “black and white” application of the rules because there’s no wriggle room for them to push the boundaries.
When it comes to the problem of coaches whinging about the obstruction rule, to paraphrase Michael Jackson, “it doesn’t matter if the rules are black and white”.
NRL head of football Graham Annesley in his weekly media briefings has mastered the five Ds of dodgeball when it comes to giving his views on refereeing decisions – Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive and … Dodge.
The former referee and politician has shown he has the referees’ back when they have backed their judgment on 50-50 calls while also criticising them, and dropping them when necessary, when they get it wrong.
He will be forced to go into bat for his officials a lot more as we hit the business end of the finals with coaches being given another chance to vent their spleen on this topic.
The NRL has been hammered for rule changes seemingly at the drop of a hat in recent seasons. This is just a tweak in interpretations but the off-season would have been a much better time to make this decision rather than again making changes on the run.
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Abhi Beckert
Guest
You don't need to stop on a dime, you just need to not run faster than the ball carrier is running.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
This has been a flaw in Rugby League since the four tackle rule came into existence in 1967. In US football the play occurs in sections of intricate moves that end with the ball carrier hitting the ground. There is no self degrading laying on the tackled player as there is in RL and definitely no 3rd man like I saw last weekend. After 3 plays the offense punts or if they are close to the line they are rewarded with a kick for field goal worth 3 points. In Rugby League because of the obsession with continuity they need to play the ball fast to take advantage of a defense moving backwards. The defence need to slow the play the ball down so they lay on the tackled player and peel off slowly to give their team time to get ready. In RL we bash and barge to get close enough for a bomb and reward the team that don't make it past the 40 metre line with a 2 point field goal.
Laurian de Kauwe
Guest
London Panther, that is the point. If a coach says he doesn't understand the rule, then we have a problem. I have no problems with refs making mistakes as they are just human. The problem lies with the nrl who have made the rules, then given the refs the ability to interpret them any way they like. This is wrong. Back to Forty Twenty's point about Grey areas. Sorry but rules should not allow for grey areas. the answer to: At what point do you penalise someone for being offside? An inch , six inches , a foot? Two inches? - a millimetre. You are either offside or onside. there should not be any 'grey' areas. Laws should be simple and easy to understand. Its like speeding. If the sign says 60km/hr and you are travelling at 61km/hr you are over the limit. End of story. The point being missed here is that rules need to be black and white. However, refs and touch judges are human like all of us and do miss some 'breaks' of the law. They may miss a forward pass as they might not have been in line with the play or they did not see it as they were watching a previous play etc. That is fine as that's what happens in games and in life. However, when they use technology and its proven that the rule has been broken, then we should act on the rule not change it slightly for the situation.
criag
Roar Rookie
Maybe they should just ban decoy runners. I think if you did it years ago it was probably a penalty.
Albo
Roar Rookie
And especially as his comments were pretty accurate ! :silly:
Heyou
Roar Rookie
I object to any obstruction. So many great comments all making some sense to me. That tells me that not one great rugby league mind here can agree on ‘obstruction’. I’m blinded by shepherds. I’m overcome by madness trying to figure out why the NRL keeps dickering with the rules by the week. I despise ‘obstruction’. I keep going back to read the obstruction rules to remind myself about why the ref/bunker and players call out ‘obstruction!’ I despise ‘open to interpretation’ even more. So now I’m going to read the obstruction rules yet again to see if I’m still a moron who just can’t get my head around the fing NRL rules for fing OBSTRUCTION! I’ve got the ‘end of season looms’ blues. It’s got me cranky.
JennyFromPenny
Guest
The defensive choice to be made is the clear sign that an obstruction has occured. The decoy runner is illegal (imo). He has no right to be there (other than, by design, to confuse (ie to obstruct) the defence.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Some of the rules are black and white and some aren't. The penalty try rule is based entirely on the opinion of the ref or bunker. The refs do have discretion because the alternative is ridiculous. For example the ref might believe the marker isn't exactly square in the last seconds of a grand final but it's only fractional, as is very common, and the offender doesn't get involved in the play. He can blow a penalty to decide the result or he can do what they do constantly in games and use discretion. Nobody penalises crooked feeds in scrums or penalises the winger on the other side of the field if he's an inch off side. The game would just be a series of penalties and nobody would watch it.
London Panther
Roar Rookie
But that isn’t grey on the rules; that is grey on interpretation. And that is fine; I don’t think anyone here is asking for infallibility. I agree with Laurian that the rules are there to be followed by the referee; if the administrators don’t like the rules they can change them, but the referee shouldn’t have discretion.
London Panther
Roar Rookie
And to be fair to the South’s coach he didn’t make a mountain out of it; just said he didn’t understand the rule (which made for a great headline).
Clint
Roar Rookie
Well executed a#rse ball for mine. If Graham stays out on Edwards the pass goes short to Tago (he's behind the ball when the pass goes to Edwards and a legitimate pass option at this point) and he's one on one with Ilias. Sucked him in a beauty.
Robbo
Roar Rookie
The problem there is that I might think I'm about to get the ball but then don't and I can't stop on a dime - let the bunker review all contact and decoy play in try scoring situations - damn straight - and let them make judgement calls
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Grey areas are unavoidable. Many passes are either slightly forward or slightly backwards and nobody can tell which it is on a regular basis. Can you tell if a player is an inch onside or an inch offside? At what point do you penalise someone for being offside? An inch , six inches , a foot? Two inches? Plenty of grey in many areas. It's just the reality.
Nathan Absalom
Roar Guru
Yeah, that's the way I see it. Thought it's been one of the better couple of threads that has moved away from "this ref's hopeless" and toward the question of how rules should be applied and why. For the most part disagreements have been civil and respectful and a few people have mentioned they changed their mind, one way or another, after reading the thread. Should be more discussions like this on the site.
Succhi
Roar Rookie
Get rid of the bunker - just refer all decisions to the commentators - Gus, Freddy, Joey, Lockie, Brandy and the Cronk. They are quick to criticise the refs and obviously are never wrong.
Rob
Guest
Should have been penalised for running off the mark just like Crieghton did the weekend before. Lodge is tackled once he hits the ground with the ball and a player has a hand on him. That’s a black and white rule since forever,
Rob
Guest
I’m with you both and totally agree with Albo’s definition. Obstruction has always had an element of discretion and I’m really tired of defenders playing for penalties before the football. In saying that I just think officials have to work on has advantage been gained by the attacking team that prevented the defender a reasonable opportunity. When Dearden was held up against the Dogs they rule Flanagan was denied an opportunity to get involved from a decoy given the time Dearden took to get the ball down. Had Dearden just scored with out struggling over the line Flanagan was no chance. Good call officials. Taumalolo against the Sharks totally nuts. Even if the player got to Taumalolo he was in no position to stop him from scoring.
Womblat
Guest
Forget it Rob. He's like a dog who's caught the car and won't let go, admit defeat or even understand why he was chasing it in the first place.
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
Yeah I’d love to see him get special recognition in this case, especially given he was very classy in the way he was so apologetic. That has to count for something.
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
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