Phil Gould erupts over NRL refereeing and use of technology
Phil Gould has had an absolute gutful of an ugly trend that’s only getting worse in the NRL, labelling it an ‘absolute disaster’ that’s ‘ruining the game’.
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The standard of refereeing in the NRL has all got a bit too much for commentator and Bulldogs football manager Phil Gould.
Refereeing and the NRL’s Bunker is in the spotlight yet again, with the league’s football boss Graham Annesley conceding were a series of mistakes last weekend.
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The blunders included a phantom hip-drop call against Dogs hooker Reed Mahoney against Gold Coast’s Moeaki Fotuaika.
Mahoney was penalised and placed on report during the game in an incident that subsequently wasn’t charged by the match review committee.
As part of a discussion about the referees on Channel 9’s 100% Footy, Gould started by saying: “I’m not saying a word.”
He then proceeded to unleash many, many words.
“I’ve been telling you for years,” Gould started. “No one is in control. You’ve given the referees too much control of the rule book. You’ve given referees too much control of the game.
“The one thing that was advised to me 30 years ago by very smart people in this game, ‘do not give referees control of the rule book, do not give referees control of video refereeing’.
"It’s been a disaster. It’s been an absolute disaster.
“Some of the things we’re getting in the games here, so old mate here (Mahoney) gets put on report for a hip-drop that’s not a hip-drop.
“He gets put on report and he’s penalised. Two minutes later he gets hit on the jaw with an elbow, no penalty, but he gets charged the next day.
“How do you justify all that?”
When it was suggested Gould shouldn’t talk about the Bulldogs, he fired back: “I can talk about the Bulldogs any time I like, particularly when they get it wrong, and they get it wrong a lot.
“Just keep watching. You can single out incidents in every single game. You know why they’re getting so much wrong? It’s the nitpicking in the Bunker.
“They must have a giant magnifying glass in there sometimes to pick up stuff that no one could possibly see. It goes on every week.
“The nitpicking by the Bunker to disallow a try. They want to find something that no one else can find. They want to find it and just spoil the moment.
“It’s ridiculous and it’s ruining the game and the problem with that is that our officials keep supporting it and saying you can’t criticise it and they should be allowed to continue doing what they’re doing. That’s ruining the game as well.”
Gould was then asked what he would tell the referees about these issues if he was given the opportunity.
The former NSW Origin coach slammed the hypocrisy of some incidents while also singling out referee Gerard Sutton.
Sutton sent Raider Hudson Young and Manly’s Sean Keppie to the sin bin in the 57th minute of their clash on Sunday and Gould said it continued a trend for the whisteblower.
Should Victor Radley have been marched for this 'headbutt'? 🤔 https://t.co/iCoCLlxr1Jpic.twitter.com/L5H7xYPaam
— Telegraph Sport (@telegraph_sport) May 19, 2023
“You’d need to simplify the whole lot mate. There’s a whole lot there to unravel,” he said.
“The referees are extremely divided on this. They’re extremely divided on how they’re told to referee and the systems and the processes they’ve got in place.
“Go and talk to the referees and retired referees about the processs and everything that happens down there. They hate it.
“If you go and watch junior league games and lower grade league games, I watch them every week, there are tries that are disallowed in the NRL that would not be disallowed in any grade of football from under-6s right through to reserve grade, right through to NSW Cup.
“There are HIA’s that wouldn’t be sent to the bin, there are players not put on report, there are players that would not be sin binned.
“We had an incident there where a bloke (Victor Radley) headbutt’s a bloke, put on report, penalty - no sin bin.
“Old mate pushes each other over there in the in-goal (in the Manly vs Canberra match) when the game is over and he wants to send two to the sin bin. Why? Because that referee loves sin bins. It’s on his record, he loves sin bins. He sin bins more than any other referee.
“They look for it.”
Fellow panellist Paul Gallen suggested to Gould that rather than helping clarify incidents, technological advances had in fact worsened interpretations.
“There’s our problem,” Gould replied. “So how’s technology working for you? It’s creating more controversy than no technology. Of course it is.
“It’s killing it. For grounding of the ball in the in-goal only, that’s the only reason (technology) should be used. Grounding of the ball in the in-goal. End of story.”
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