NRL right to draw a line for coaches moaning about refereeing decisions, says Gorden Tallis

IF I was boss of the NRL, the next coach that bagged a ref would get a two to four-week suspension — that would cut the whingeing, writes GORDEN TALLIS.

NRL coaches have been using referees as scapegoats. (AAP Image/Paul Miller)

I HAVE to applaud the NRL. For as long as I can remember we’ve been fighting coaches in the NRL over the way they talk about referees. But the NRL’s crackdown this week was a good sign.

For some reason, coaches seem to keep doing it to the point where their comments are now very calculated. They’re asking their CEOs and powers-to-be for the green light to go out there and bag the referees.

If I was the boss — and hopefully Todd Greenberg is reading — the next coach that bags a ref should get a two to four-week suspension. This would mean they’re not allowed near the training paddock or allowed to go anywhere near the field on game day. There’s your answer.

NRL coaches have been using referees as scapegoats. (AAP Image/Paul Miller)

THE reason I think it’s important to come down hard on extreme criticism of referees is because of the way they get treated these days. They make thousands and thousands of decisions every game. In every single play the ball, there are at least 10 decisions to be made in a split second. Earlier this year, a referee was spat on in Canberra.

In another code, a referee got punched. They are still human beings and we all make mistakes. But the respect being shown to them is getting lower and lower and it stems from the way coaches talk about our officials.

SPEAKING of issues in refereeing, there was something I noticed on Friday night between the Broncos and Panthers that has to be taken out of the game. It seems every team at the moment is being coached to give away penalties while defending their try line.

On Friday night, there was one Broncos set where if I was the referee, I would have given them five penalties. The opposition were standing off side, leaving early at marker, holding down in tackles or had their hands on the ball. But the referees don’t blow on every single incident because you just end up leaving the attacking team at a disadvantage and can kill their momentum.

It has to be changed. Here’s my idea. If you give away a penalty in your 10m, you have to stand behind the try line for that set of six. There should be a box marked outside the field and that’s where the offenders stand.

BRISBANE’S defence on Friday night was awesome. I don’t remember them wrestling much but they did an amazing job of slowing down Penrith. To have 50 points scored on them just a couple of games ago by Parramatta, it’s great to see how they have turned it around to come up with that performance on Friday. It shows that defence is just an attitude.

TO have any chance against Melbourne next week, Brisbane have to replicate that defence they showed on Friday night. But they also have to take a major step forward with their attack. Melbourne break you down. They will put so much pressure on Brisbane and will try to pull them apart.

Melbourne are freaks and you can say whatever you want about them but you have to play for 80 minutes. Brisbane did defend for 80 minutes but their attack has to improve by 300 per cent if they want to beat them.

Anthony Milford would excel at fullback, Tallis believes. (Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

I KNOW I have been saying for a few weeks now that Anthony Milford should be moved to fullback, but the more I watch him, the more I am convinced he is a No.1. If you want to see the best of him, he has to get out of the playmaking role.

When he runs, you’re on the edge of your seat. His footwork is divine. It’s unbelievable. His knack of beating players, his strength in tackles is first class. But when he has to pass it, it seems confusing for him.

There were moments of this on Friday. We’re not going to see the best of Anthony Milford until someone has the courage to put him at fullback.

Originally published as NRL right to draw a line for coaches moaning about refereeing decisions, says Gorden Tallis