Penalties: interpretation needs to change

[The Who]

Not only are there too many penalties, often the punishment doesn't fit the 'crime'. For example, when a confused Croker played the ball the wrong way: why should the opposition get a kick into touch plus a six tackle set? Surely the punishment should be a scrum feed to the opposition. There was no intent to cheat or gain an unfair advantage; it was simply a mistake.
Penalties in many RL games change the course of a match. The interpretation of a penalty needs to change.
And while I'm on it, the knock-back has gone out of the sport over the past decade. Everytime a player drops the ball the ref blows it up, when in many of these instances the ball has gone backwards and it should be play on. It irks me.

 

[ricardo]

With you on the knock back. If the ball touches the deck it’s a knock on automatically irrespective which way it went. Bizarre.

I don’t care for games where the red blows the pea out of the whistle. Origin is a licence to go nuts, there’s only a handful of penalties each game and it’s the best spectacle in the game. So to be frank I don’t care if teams go early or passes from dummy half are fractionally forward as I just want a free flowing game not decided by the ref

 

[Ranga]

Agree 100% re penalties needing to be proportionate to the indiscretion. The one I hate is the penalty on half way where the kick-off goes out on the full. At worst it should be a scrum on half way, more reasonably a 7 tackle set starting at the 20m line, but never does it warrant the team receiving the kick off being able to attack from 30m out....

 

[COMMANDER]

Made mention of it in the game day thread, but deadset there was six legitimate dropped balls in the play the ball and the defensive team was penalised each time.

And yes I agree, it's touch football, even if you knock it back it gets pinged.

 

[globaleagle]

Totally agree @The Who It was fine back in the day when the footy resembled a lump of lead that could be punted 10 metres upfield then the defence only had to get back 5 metres; but these days when a player can kick it 40-60 metres upfield and the defence is usually 11-13 metres back.... a tiny infraction puts a team in attacking territory.

Now either the powers at be are total dimwits *cough* and don't realise this or they do but are happy to have it continue as it puts a team in a scoring position every 3 mins or so which is exciting for the game.

 

[MadMarcus]

I agree the knock backs being called knock ons are annoying in themselves, but when you have blatant knock ons then called play on (as Penrith did in the finals against us last year) it becomes infuriating.

 

[Tragic Eagle]

The rules are applied as the refs choose to apply them. If you walk off the mark it should be a penalty but players are simply told to step back and play it again. A player is concussed and it is so obvious he faces his own goal to play the ball. To penalise him is disgraceful and disgusting and simply hidden behind flimsy rules applied when it suits them. Quite frankly the Titans were given more than the rub of the green in my opinion and I am getting sick of it. I am tired of
seeing players lose possession in a tackle and Manly being penalised on suspicion whereas when it happens to us the majority of the time we don't get the penalty and it's a scrum. In close games those decisions are telling.

 

[MadMarcus]

I am tired of
seeing players lose possession in a tackle and Manly being penalised on suspicion

The penalty where the Titans got their penalty goal for this was one of the biggest jokes I've seen in years

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

The other one is the strip/ or dropped the ball, always a 50/50 at best.

I believe many of the penalties given for this are just bull****, most are that the player either simply drops the ball OR when there’s 2 or 3 in the tackle they milk it and hope for the best.

The scrum for a lost ball is perfect and is all that’s needed.