Bentham and Ganson address fan concerns

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josie andrews
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Bentham and Ganson address fan concerns

Post by josie andrews »

Former referees Phil Bentham and Steve Ganson have addressed fan concerns regarding the new play-the-ball definitions.

The RFL released the new definition on Tuesday, and there was concerns about the way it was going to be policed.

Ganson said: There was a lot of debate that went into it. Part of it is, that its a genuine attempt to play-the-ball. So the onus is one the ball carrier to make a genuine attempt to play the ball.

There has been a lot of work done with clubs and coaches, so it shouldn’t be too difficult. Its not a case of you must play the ball and if you miss it by an inch, you’ll get penalised.

“There’s a way to play the ball, so if you make a genuine attempt to play it, then there shouldn’t be a spate a penalties.

“Don’t think this is one of these incidents where the referees are saying were going to have a clampdown now and were going to do four weeks of it and that’s the end of it.

“This is what the law committee wanted, which consists of people from various areas from the sport. We are listening to what spectators and the media are saying about the game.

“In terms of these rulings its not about ‘we’ve got you and now were going to do something’ its about what we want the game to look like.

“We don’t want players that just place their hands all over the ball and slow the ruck down. The clubs are fully aware of this is up to them. They have a big a part in this as the referees. Were all in this together.”

Bentham added: I’m sure you can picture the play-the-ball’s where the player is off balance, and hasn’t quite got control of what their doing.

“So that stability is what we’re bringing in. They’ve got to have balance, they’ve got to have control and they’ve got to have some stability when they’re playing the ball. Rather than just putting it and diving over the top of it. That’s what we’re looking for.

https://www.seriousaboutrl.com/bentham- ... rns-26273/
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shaunedwardsfanclub
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Re: Bentham and Ganson address fan concerns

Post by shaunedwardsfanclub »

So we have now introduced a grey area!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Firestarter
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Re: Bentham and Ganson address fan concerns

Post by Firestarter »

There is no such thing as an attempt to play the ball...... you either play it properly, or you dont....... ffs sort the game out....... how many games are gonna be won or lost with debatable ptbs this season?..... i watched the recent leeds/bradford game on sky and i dont think i saw a foot on the ball once....... it really is that easy if the player HAS to put his foot on the ball....... if this happens wire/saints and leeds are gonna have lots of problems imo
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Levrier
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Re: Bentham and Ganson address fan concerns

Post by Levrier »

One of the most beautiful things about Rugby League is that it is a simple game. Why not frame the laws to keep it simple, for example 1. " The ball must be played with some part of the foot" or perhaps 2. "Both feet must be on the ground and the ball must be played backwards between them with the hand" or even 3. "The ball must be placed on the floor and the player playing the ball must step forward over the ball". None of these ideas are sacred and all may lead to other difficulties like, what happens if a man stepping forward over the ball is impeded? but they are all specific. If you do not want that what about 4. "The man playing the ball must regain their feet and roll the ball backwards".
If you look at the oldest films of rugby league, on The BFI site, at play the balls, the person playing the ball sometimes got away with hoofing the ball 30 meters sideways into the path of the onrushing players. It is not rocket science or an article of faith so we should be able to tailor the laws to fit the needs of the game. :ugeek:
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