NRL referees’ disgraceful record

[Toads]

North Queensland isn’t the only NRL team that’s been robbed by the referees

SAM CLENCH April 19, 2014 12:00AM

THE NRL’s incompetent referees have managed to rob three teams of victory in just 12 days.

The disgraceful run of howlers started in Melbourne on April 6, when the Gold Coast Titans were awarded a matchwinning penalty in the final minute of play against the Storm.

HOWLER ONE: Melbourne vs. Gold Coast

Titans prop Luke Douglas dropped the ball cold in a three-man tackle, but officials Ben Cummins and Brett Suttor ruled that it had been stripped out.

“I know it’s a Storm crowd, but I think most people would be reasonably upset with that penalty,” Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy said after the match. He doesn’t usually have such a talent for understatement.

It hasn’t been all bad for the Storm though. Bellamy’s players benefited from another ridiculous error five days ago, when they were allowed to play on after full-time to steal victory from the Dragons. This time, the lead referee was Matt Cecchin.

HOWLER TWO: Melbourne vs. St George Illawarra

“Technically, the siren sounded a split second before the Melbourne player ‘heeled’ the ball. So, in that sense, the referee’s call was wrong and the final play should not have proceeded,” the NRL said later in a rather bland press release.

The Dragons were so infuriated by the mistake that they asked the league to award them two competition points, despite the official result of the match. That request was slapped down.

Then, last night, a third act was added to the horror show. With North Queensland leading Manly 20-14 in Gosford, and less than 10 minutes left to play, Kieran Foran barged over the line to score the crucial, match-levelling try.

HOWLER THREE: Manly vs. North Queensland

Officials Gavin Badger and Adam Devcich missed two obvious infringements in the build-up. First, Manly fullback Brett Stewart passed the ball about a metre forward. It rebounded off a Cowboy, was picked up by the Sea Eagles, and they restarted the tackle count.

Then, a blatant obstruction by Manly’s Jamie Buhrer was inexplicably ignored by video referees Bernard Sutton and Paul Mellor, who awarded Foran’s try.

It was a gutsy win from Manly, who went into the match without star half-back Daly Cherry-Evans, and had to come from behind again after Jonathan Thurston kicked a field goal with five minutes left. But without that huge piece of charity from the referees, North Queensland would almost certainly have closed the game out.

Cowboys fans have been complaining about a supposed refereeing conspiracy against their team for several years now. If you couldn’t understand why they felt that way after the infamous “seven tackle set” in last season’s finals series, you certainly can now.

MORE: Cowboys robbed by seven tackle set

The conspiracy theory doesn’t stack up though, because North Queensland isn’t the only team being dudded. We’ve only pointed out the most flagrant examples of refereeing incompetence here. There are smaller incidents in practically every NRL game.

The referees aren’t just infuriating hardcore fans anymore. Their mistakes are losing matches. Three teams have been robbed in the last 12 days, and that simply isn’t good enough.

Source: www.news.com.au/sport/nrl

[C-Whiz]

The whole NRL refereeing, video refs, coaches and rules needs a total overhaul.

The problem started when coaches started whingeing about certain rules and technicalities to gain advantage for their teams (think back to Bennett trying to speed the game up for the Broncos back in the 80's, and his protege Bellamy finding new and exciting/dangerous ways of slowing down the play the ball with mind numbingly dangerous tackloing/wrestling techniques). Then add the "tweeks" to simple rules that has left everyone scratching their heads due to "interpretation" over the past 10 years, throw in changes to the fabric of the game to make it more exciting for TV, then add twice the incompetence on the field with 2 referees who have different "interpretations" in the same game, and top it off with video referees who are supposed to get wrong decision right, but have turned out to be the most useless, most incompetent, utterly frustratingly hopeless addition to the game since 1908.

It is getting too complicated, and getting mind numbingly boring like Rugby Union when we stop the game every 5 minutes to go to a video ref to make a decison on something that is pretty obvious to everyone else. Even worse, it is looking more like soccer with some of the dives players are taking, being coached to play for penalties, and ruining the image of being the toughest sport of all.

It needs someone to sweep all this BS out of the game, once and for all, get back to what makes the game great, fast, tough and pretty simple.

"Rugby League is a simple game played by simple people. Rugby union is a complex game played by w@nkers" - Laurie Daley.

Rant over. Thanks Toads, I needed that!

[C-Whiz]

OK, after this weekends debacle of refereeing/vidoe refs, on top of the previous 6 rounds, (and we haven't even started the Titans game), I thought I should say that the NRL is putting itself in a precarious position, because as a fan, I have almost had a gutful of watching NRL. This is not about Rugby League, this is about the officialdom of the NRL (referees, video refs and the decision makers of the game) taking it to the point where it is almost unwatchable because really exciting games of football are being totally spoiled by the whistle and correct decisions/results are being over-ruled which is absolutely corrupting the whole reason for watching and supporting teams and the game in the first place.

Before the Titans even kick off today, I just want to say, that regardless of the result, regardless of which way the calls go, the NRL is on a precipice of spoiling the game of Rugby League to the casual viewer through terrible calls from refs/video refs. I will have no interest in watching the rest of the season unfold if it is decided by referees/video refs making the wrong calls on the most obvious decisions at crucial moments of some of the best games of the season.

The NRL season so far has been decided by poor refereeing in the best games of the season. It defeats the purpose of having a competition.

I have had an absolute gutful of the absolute BS and incompetence that is the current NRL. One can surely ask the question if there is corruption behind the scenes of the NRL when it comes to helping determine the outcome of games. Plenty of people are thinking it. Surely it's time someone of importance started asking the very relevant question. The NRL can't keep getting such obvious decisions wrong, the sort of decisions we all get right at home, the sort we all get right at the game, the sort that commentators all agree on, but somehow the refs/video refs say the opposite and they just keep saying "we made a mistake" every time it happens, as if everyone will just accept that and move on.

I am over it. It is ruining the NRL for me.

[GCT_89]

I am over it. It is ruining the NRL for me.

Careful Whiz... Once the seed is planted, its hard to go back...

You wont like where this disheartened feeling takes you...

....It took me to Rugby and even AFL

[Smakked]

It is getting to the point of being extremely bad, Refs are now deciding games, TAB should have odds on that ****.

[Toads]

It is getting to the point of being extremely bad, Refs are now deciding games, TAB should have odds on that ****.

Yup, it must feel like it's pointless to the Cowboys 'n other Clubs to bother with training all week, then board a Plane to wherever, only to hit the paddock to have some Ref cancel out all your effort. Only to repeat the cycle for another week. You can't blame 'em when they throw their hands in the air..

[C-Whiz]

Careful Whiz... Once the seed is planted, its hard to go back...

You wont like where this disheartened feeling takes you...

....It took me to Rugby and even AFL

Haha, yeah, cheers mate, haven't go that desperate yet, but I was feeling pretty glum about the whole thing as team after team got cruelled over the weekend and the week before.

At least the Titans got beaten without any excuses about poor refereeing. Strangely, that feels refreshing.

I'm back to my dubious best for round 8.