Ugly statistics: Fears growing whistle-happy referees will ruin State of Origin
WITH a record average of penalties blown this season, fears are growing rugby league’s showpiece event could be reduced to a farce after referees boss Bernard Sutton delivered an ominous threat to both Origin coaches.
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SHOW us that ANZAC Spirit and don’t ruin Origin.
That’s the plea from rugby league fans to NRL referees boss Bernard Sutton, who has held private meetings with NSW and Queensland coaches Brad Fittler and Kevin Walters to warn this year’s series will be officiated in the same whistleblowing fashion as the first 11 rounds of the season.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal that Fittler and his adviser Greg Alexander met with the NRL referees boss last week while Walters sat down with Sutton on Tuesday.
The meeting was called well in advance of the much-anticipated Origin I showdown at the MCG on June 6 and in the wake of an NRL season unrivalled by controversy and spotlight on match officials.
A record average of 17.7 penalties have been blown per-game this season — with Fox Sports Lab revealing the last Origin match to accrue close to that number of penalties blown was in 1985 (18 penalties).
Sutton’s firm stance to both state coaches that the crackdown will continue will lead fans to fear that the most-watched television event of the year is at risk of being cruelled by the whistle blowers.
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“If the players comply with the rules to ensure they are back 10 metres and playing the ball correctly, we would expect Origin to continue to be an incredible spectacle and a showcase of the sport,” general manager of elite competitions Jason King said.
Fans can take some solace in that NRL match officials have proven they aren’t immune from handing the game back to the players.
This year’s absorbing and entertaining Anzac Day clash between St George-Illawarra and the Roosters with the Dragons won 24-8 with a four-all penalty count, was one of just four matches this season to have accrued 10 or fewer penalties.
Respected former referee Bill Harrigan said it was important the match officials continued to police their crackdown in Origin, but that their was an understanding of the difference between an NRL and an Origin match.
“The bottom line is, Origin is a different game — it’s a spectacle,’’ Harrigan said.
“I’m 100 per cent behind their clampdown, but whoever Bernie Sutton appoints has to have an empathy for the moment and the game.
“You have to realise that this isn’t week-in, week-out footy, which you have been clamping down on.
“A lot of the players have already incorporated that clampdown into their game, they know they’re going to get pinged.
“So the referee needs to find a balance with what the players have done each week and what he needs to do for the sake of the game and the entertainment.
“It’s the most watched sporting event all year and the last thing any referee wants, is to be out there and ruin it.’’
Alexander said there was little he and Fittler could do but accept the stance and ensure their players understood that their discipline would be scrutinised like never before in Origin.
“The referees sat us down as told us that the competition committee has requested that we referee Origin the way the game is being refereed at the moment in the NRL,’’ Alexander said.
“We can only take the referees at what they told us.
“All we can get our players to do is play by the rules.’’
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