Crawley Files: Referees’ boss Tony Archer should not be a protected species

CRAWLEY FILES: I want to open the floor to fans with an online poll — Are you happy with the job referees’ boss Tony Archer is doing? Vote here!

I want to open the floor to fans with an online poll: Are you happy with the job referees’ boss Tony Archer is doing?

The hope is Todd Greenberg opens his eyes to the fact it is not just Ricky ­Stuart who has had enough.

Or Bill Harrigan or Greg McCallum.

Or Des Hasler and Trent ­Barrett.

Or whoever else has blown up about refs in recent weeks.

Just listen to talkback radio any given day or see comments on social media relating to what fans are saying about the standard of refereeing in the countdown to the finals.

To say it is just losing coaches using referees as an excuse is the real cop-out.

It all came to a head with the failure to send off Sia Soliola for his late high shot on Billy Slater.

In my eyes, and it’s been largely ignored, what happened after was just as bad as the initial lack of action.

PAY WAR: Players going green in on-field protest

RESEARCH: Calls for a ‘brain bank’

WYNN: Kenny’s character will see him through

Incredibly, Archer’s statement condemning his own match officials apparently came after he consulted NRL judiciary chairman Geoff Bellew.

For the record, I don’t argue that the Soliola tackle warranted a send-off.

And I don’t argue with the five-week suspension that was handed out.

But I do argue with the way Archer was allowed to blatantly ignore/manipulate the NRL’s own guidelines that players, coaches and officials are supposed to ­follow when not commenting on incidents placed on report so as not to prejudice a fair trial.

By taking the unprecedented step of consulting Bellew was like a koala sitting in a tree pouring petrol on a bush fire.

Sia Soliola arrives for his judiciary hearing.

Does this now mean every player, coach and official can comment on similar cases?

Or is it only the NRL which is allowed to break the rules when it suits?

This was just another example of Archer and the NRL attempting to cover their arses amid public outrage.

If Soliola was sent, would there have been the same outcry?

No way.

It shouldn’t matter if the tackle occurred on Slater or any NRL rookie, they all deserve the same duty of care.

You can’t govern by what the public is saying, but surely the ­referees boss of all people should be the benchmark for sticking to the rules.

Archer bangs on every week about processes to save his own neck when referees stuff up.

But on this occasion Archer ignored the process.

Was it to defend himself?

It all points to a much bigger problem.

Fans are just as frustrated and angry as the coaches and players about the complete lack of consistency, on and off the field.

They are sick of seeing the underdog getting the bum calls like Newcastle did last Friday night when a blatant knock-on was missed/ignored in the lead-up to a Roosters try when the match was in the balance.

Coincidently, the same thing happened when the Knights lost to Manly and the bunker overruled the Akuila Uate knock-on for a crucial try.

Lachlan Fitzgibbon is sin-binned for the Knights.

Or when the Knights lost to the Wests Tigers and had two tries denied because of very dubious calls.

How do Newcastle get so unlucky so often, or is there more to it?

You are entitled to wonder.

And it’s across the game.

The NRL spent millions of ­dollars getting the bunker up and running and, really, what good has it done?

There has never been a greater lack of consistency.

When did mandatory penalties become discretionary penalties?

What the hell is going on with the play the ball?

The first thing a junior player is taught is how to play the ball.

Yet at NRL level it is a joke.

Players lying in the ruck, standing off-side, deliberately, you could go on and on about the inconsistencies.

We had two of the best rugby league referees of all time in Harrigan and McCallum come out this week and say that Archer should fall on his sword or be sacked as referees boss.

Should Tony Archer keep his job as referees boss?

Yet Archer continues to hide in the trees like a protected species, not talking to anyone other than through statements and carefully guarded NRL “interviews”.

What the NRL can’t hide from is that the standard of refereeing is at an all-time low.

With the NRL finals only six weeks away, the real fear now is that it could end up costing a team a premiership, if it hasn’t already robbed a rival of a top-eight spot.

In the old days rugby league was a simple game in which we all knew the rules.

These days there are that many grey areas in the way the rules are enforced that we have conned our selves into thinking the game is much more difficult than it ­really is. It all points back to leadership, or lack of it.

SAFE FOR NOW

IT was interesting to hear Michael Ennis ’s comments during the week that Des Hasler’s “time is up” at Canterbury.

Ennis is really proving himself in commentary this year on Fox League with his strong opinions and ability to analyse the game.

I remember talking to Ennis during pre-season training the year Hasler arrived at Belmore and asking him about the new coach.“ He just gets it,” Ennis said at the time.

But this week Ennis expressed a completely different view, and it wasn’t the old mate’s act you would expect from many recently retired players.

“It’s a really tough one for me. I spent a lot of time at the club, I played under Des,” the former Canterbury captain said on Fox Sports’ On The Couch With Sterlo program.

“In all honesty, his time is up. They’ve scored the least amount of points this season, they’ve been drastically disappointing. They really haven’t evolved, in my opinion, with the style of football they play.”

He pretty much summed up what most Bulldogs fans are saying, rightly or wrongly.

It’s worth noting that Ennis remains good mates with Bulldogs skipper James Graham, who holds a different view.

Graham backed Hasler on NRL 360, pointing to the fact the club has finished in the finals every year and made it to two grand finals in that time.

They both make fair points. I’m still not convinced Hasler should have recently been given a new two-year extension given the way the Bulldogs were playing. But surely if the board sacks him now, it can’t survive either. Which to me suggests Des is as safe as any coach in the NRL. Time will tell.

■ It was great to see Paul McGregor give Matt Dufty another crack in the Dragons’ No. 1 jumper after his outstanding debut in the win over Manly.

With Josh Dugan leaving the club, Dufty has a chance now to claim the fullback spot as his own next year, although he might not have to wait that long.

THEY SAID IT

“Tommy and I would bet, we wouldn’t get the other players to bet because they’d get scared and get nervous.” Paul Langmack, who has since been admitted to a private mental hospital, makes a stunning claim on 2KY that he and former Western Suburbs coach Tommy Raudonikis bet on matches during the 1990s. The interview was cut off, with host Stuart Clark claiming the line dropped out.

“There is no truth to it, not one bit. I’m denying it. It didn’t happen. I can only say I didn’t do it.” Raudonikis’s response.

“It is a really tough one for me. I spent a lot of time at the club, I played under Des. In all honesty, his time’s up.” Michael Ennis gives a straight answer on Des Hasler’s position at Canterbury.

“He was unconscious for two to three minutes. Bill was unresponsive. He was clearly disoriented. He had no recollection of the event.” Melbourne doctor Jason Chan at the Sia Soliola hearing.

“It is disappointing losing five weeks but I accept the punishment. Apologies to everyone who was affected by this, especially Billy and his family. I know this has put a bad light on our game. I love this game. It has given me so much.” Soliola after Tuesday’s hearing.

“Coaches have to come in here and own up to every question you blokes want to throw at us, and we do it week in and week out … why don’t the NRL get the referees to come in and answer some of these questions too? When do they ever have to face any accountability?”

Ricky Stuart raises a fair argument. We are still to hear from Tony Archer aside from a statement saying Soliola should have been sent off.

Originally published as Crawley Files: Referees’ boss Tony Archer should not be a protected species