Opinion: Cowboys debacle shows it’s time to allow the odd forward pass
The obvious question being posed among NRL fans after the Cowboys-Eels debacle is why can’t the bunker adjudicate on forward passes, writes Peter Gleeson.
Peter Gleeson
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Here’s one for the most powerful man in rugby league, Peter V’landys. Why don’t we just be done with it and make the game a hybrid of gridiron.
Yes, why don’t we just allow the odd forward pass?
Give NRL teams four forward passes a game and be done with it.
Ridiculous?
You obviously didn’t watch last night’s Cowboys-Eels debacle where Parramatta’s first try came off the most blatant forward pass since Dally Messenger first pulled on a pair of footy boots.
The obvious question being posed among footy fans right now is – why can’t the bunker adjudicate on forward passes?
The argument from NRL officials is that TV angles make it almost impossible to gauge forward passes.
What a load of rubbish.
TV angles actually make it easier to gauge whether a pass has gone forward as last night’s howler showed.
If it’s close, the bunker can leave the status quo, allowing the try. But if it’s a metre-and-a-half forward – as the Mitchell Moses pass was – call it back.
And yes the Cowboys led by 8 points with 20 minutes to go, and yes, they had plenty of chances to ice the game after the original forward pass debacle.
But the hard cold fact is they lost by four points and that forward pass cost them six points.
It changed the way the game was played. It sucked the momentum out of the Cowboys’ fast start and put them on the back foot.
I’ve been watching the NRL since I was five and the Cowboys were robbed last night. They were the better team by a fair way.
If Peter V’landys is the innovator and genius he’s purported to be, he should allow the bunker to look at forward passes.
That decision last night wrecked that game of footy.