NRL 2021 review: Two referees, judiciary, rule changes, head contact on table at end-of-season meetings

NRL management has called for feedback from all head coaches - and there’s on issue they all agree on - HAVE YOUR SAY.

Bring back two referees, get teams onside, stop making late rule changes, review the NRL’s head contact clampdown and overhaul the judiciary process.

These are the burning issues that will be raised as all 16 clubs prepare to vent their frustrations – and offer praise - during specially planned meetings over four days with NRL management next week.

News Corp can reveal four clubs will have zoom meetings over four days, with the respective teams’ head coach, CEO, head of football and high performance manager asked to attend.

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NRL coaches are calling for the return of the two-refereee system.

The main on-field issues will be thrashed out in meetings described as “feedback sessions” from the 2021 season.

NRL head of football, elite competitions, Graham Annesley will host the meeting along with members of his football department. The meetings – to run from Tuesday to Friday next week - will provide key season review information which will be submitted to the ARL Commission for evaluation.

News Corp canvassed several coaches and CEO’s on Thursday — and all vowed to raise a raft of issues at the meetings, which are each expected to run for two to three hours.

Reintroducing two referees will attract plenty of support, according to coaches, due to referees failing to enforce a strong 10 metres.

One Sydney-based coach said: “Sure, there were some blowout scores, but the 10 metres was stuffed. Teams just didn’t get on side. The 10 metres has gone to ***t, it’s almost gone back to the 1980s.

“The game is too quick for one referee. You can’t referee our game with one ref. We’re that far behind other sports when it comes to adjudication, it’s ridiculous. They need the head referee on the ruck and second ref at the 10 metres.

Clubs want an overhaul of the judiciary process.

“Sides were smothering other teams with line speed because they weren’t onside. They will say there were all those high-scoring games but that was just because some sides were inept defensively.

“And they will say there was the ‘six again’ but they were reduced from 12 to 15 a game earlier in the season down to about six later in the season because they didn’t want blowouts.”

Another NRL head coach added: “Since Origin, Gerry (referee Gerard Sutton) put the 10 metres away. He was the real noticeable one. He put it in the back pocket. Look at the grand final, Penrith were jumping off-side.

“With how fast the game is, put it this way, if I was a ref, I’d want two. The game is flat out and they have to make so many decisions on the run yet we have camera angles and a ***tload of commentators picking the eyes out of everything the ref gets wrong.”

The meetings will not offer a set agenda, more an open book to vent, criticise and applaud – and the contentious high tackle clampdown will also be heavily discussed.

“You don’t want to make forceful contact with the head but some of the ones that were charged were ridiculous,” said another coach.

The high tackle crackdown is sure to come under scrutiny.

“Let’s put a heap of fatigue into the players and fasten the game right up but then all of a sudden blokes are getting charged for slapping across the face.

“They’re fatigued because they’re in innocuous positions because of the speed of the game. You then charge the hell out of them. That is a direct result of rules changes but everything is put back onto the players.”

While generally grateful for how the NRL navigated the season through Covid, clubs will want answers around the judiciary.

A NRL CEO said: “An overhaul of the judiciary process is a key concern for all the clubs – the points system, match review committee, process, everything. That’s the one thing everyone wants the NRL to dig into.

“You can’t have so many players suspended. Is on-field player behaviour that much worse? Probably not. Why did we end up with 80 players rather than 40 suspended for twice as long? It doesn’t make any sense. As for the new rules changes, we can live with them.”

Another coach was frustrated at the NRL implementing rule changes so close to the season kick off.