Bearfax
Grizzly old fart
Look I don't like having to bag referees (of course anyone who starts a statement like that intends to do just that), but yes I have a major gripe about the refereeing system in the NRL. So what are the issues.
1. NRL referees don't seem to be sufficiently accountable. Players are carefully assessed, their fitness, their playing styles, their mistake rate, their infringement rate, their team work etc etc. Their stats are carefully monitored by their coach and so much of their career is dependent on their performances. Referees are probably assessed to a degree but it is obvious they have biases, conscious or subliminal, as can be seen in how differently teams are treated in different games. One ref hammers a team one week and the next week another ref can barely see fault. Its as if we have 21st century players with 1960's referees
2. The NRL continue to create discretionary rules, such as this ruck infringement rule, that results in 6 again. So many of these result from actions no different from most other plays, but the ref cherry picks, often for matters they wouldn't penalise. This exacerbates the pressure on a team if they are also getting caned in penalties. Its all to do with a Ref's whim and he is rarely brought to account for it. If the head of refs finally admit a mistake, it is really window dressing because the ref will rarely be dropped and it makes absolutely no difference to the outcome.
3. I am sure fans are becoming increasingly frustrated by what they see as consistent 50/50 decisions going to one side, and owing to these discretionary rules, a tendency in close fixtures for the ref to determine the outcome of a game. Penalties should be given for only blatant misdemeanours, not for petty issues like happens in RU. The game should be allowed to flow. The NRL is risking loss of support by allowing refs too much power.
Yeh I know Ye Olde Bear is being disturbed during his hibernation and looking for someone to snarl at and perhaps eat. But I bet if there was someone here who was watching most games and recording ref decisions, I suspect they would find refs are biased (maybe subconsciously), and the less discretionary power they have, the better the game will be.
1. NRL referees don't seem to be sufficiently accountable. Players are carefully assessed, their fitness, their playing styles, their mistake rate, their infringement rate, their team work etc etc. Their stats are carefully monitored by their coach and so much of their career is dependent on their performances. Referees are probably assessed to a degree but it is obvious they have biases, conscious or subliminal, as can be seen in how differently teams are treated in different games. One ref hammers a team one week and the next week another ref can barely see fault. Its as if we have 21st century players with 1960's referees
2. The NRL continue to create discretionary rules, such as this ruck infringement rule, that results in 6 again. So many of these result from actions no different from most other plays, but the ref cherry picks, often for matters they wouldn't penalise. This exacerbates the pressure on a team if they are also getting caned in penalties. Its all to do with a Ref's whim and he is rarely brought to account for it. If the head of refs finally admit a mistake, it is really window dressing because the ref will rarely be dropped and it makes absolutely no difference to the outcome.
3. I am sure fans are becoming increasingly frustrated by what they see as consistent 50/50 decisions going to one side, and owing to these discretionary rules, a tendency in close fixtures for the ref to determine the outcome of a game. Penalties should be given for only blatant misdemeanours, not for petty issues like happens in RU. The game should be allowed to flow. The NRL is risking loss of support by allowing refs too much power.
Yeh I know Ye Olde Bear is being disturbed during his hibernation and looking for someone to snarl at and perhaps eat. But I bet if there was someone here who was watching most games and recording ref decisions, I suspect they would find refs are biased (maybe subconsciously), and the less discretionary power they have, the better the game will be.
