NRL referees must learn to let the game flow or risk harming it
Too often, NRL referees are more intent on forcing themselves on the play, rather than letting the natural drama of a footy field flow. If it carries on, rugby league is in trouble, writes ANTHONY GRIFFIN.
Opinion
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The NRL is entering dangerous territory when it comes to refereeing and match reviews.
Just six weeks out from the finals the stakes are getting higher each week but the rule interpretations on and off the field are becoming more confusing.
Which is why the Monday press conferences of head of football Graham Annesley are becoming frustrating to watch.
This is not a criticism of Annesley, a lot of the issues he is dealing with stem back long before he started in the role.
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There are two problems with the referees and those who oversee them.
The first is that they lack the correct temperament. Instead of taking a back seat and concentrating to make sure the fundamentals of the game are in place (e.g. the 10m and no foul play), they are forcing themselves upon games.
Armed with a list of rule interpretations and instructions as long as your arm, they more often then not become part of the game instead enabling it to flow.
Take this year’s Origin decider as an example.
With more than $15 million worth of talent on show and the rugby league world watching, there were 12 penalties in the first 30 minutes.
We watched two referees, who were obviously under instructions, blow the pee out of the whistle.
This was a red flag for me. The game had lost control of the people who were supposed to control it for us.
They had big enough egos to think they could destroy the first half of the decider to give the game what “they” thought it needed.
Thank God somebody got to them at half-time because they should be seen as little as possible.
Various rules committess have armed referees with the responsibility to create artificial play-the-ball speed to produce more attacking football, but why should every team be entitled to the same ruck speed?
Surely the attacking team has to earn the right to play the ball quickly and if the defensive team is good enough to control the opposition, why should it be penalised.
This unrealistic quest has led to the invention of a thousand interpretations which lead to referees blowing the pee out of their whistles (peel, hand on ball, crowding, etc).
If they let play flow for 10 minutes without a penalty, fatigue would set in.
The ruck would naturally speed up, which would create a great game for the players and fans.
It would then also become easier for referees to interpret whether a player or team was deliberately gaining an illegal advantage and penalise accordingly.
The second problem is their mindset, or perceived identity, that has been gradually building since referees went professional.
They are not the “17th team” and should not be encouraged to think this way.
They play an extremely important role and need to be respected for this.
But it doesn’t help anyone take them seriously when they are out there with the players warming up before a game.
I walked past a senior referee in the tunnel before a game last year. He had his tracksuit zipped up to his chin, his headphones and his game face on.
I thought anything could happen here, and it did — 20-odd penalties later the game turned into a rabble.
The way our game is being officiated has reached a critical point.
When was the last time four officials were sacked over their perfromances in the same game?
Referees don’t need game plans or target players to watch. They need help to understand their fundamental role.
Better education on empathy and how to control a game without blowing their whistles will help gain the respect of players and fans.
Finally, Canberra coach Ricky Stuart called last weekend’s sin-binning of Kalyn Ponga a disgrace. I couldn’t agree more.
Ours is the most brutal and dynamic contact team sport in the world, yet very few players are injured illegally in today’s game.
To the credit of our administrators over the past 30 years, they have stamped out a lot of the dangerous stuff.
The NRL match review panel rightfully did not lay a charge on Ponga. There should be more of this.
Collisions are part of our game and one of its major attractions.
Accidents will happen in every game, every week, but rugby league has never been cleaner or safer.
If we are worried about mums and dads not wanting their kids to play rugby league, there is not much more we can do.
If fans start turning off TV sets or not showing up to games, then we have a problem.
Originally published as NRL referees must learn to let the game flow or risk harming it
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