Superleague Show - Saints v Leeds

[the pieman]

just watching the SL show from weekend

how could the Regan Grace try be given? i personally cant see any way that he is control or applying downward pressure to the ball

I know the ref went up to the VR with try, but surely anyone can see the ball was on top of his hand going over the line, and it fell out

[CheshireWarrior]

Frankie Halton no try against Huddersfield seemed a bit suspect too!

[the pieman]

Frankie Halton no try against Huddersfield seemed a bit suspect too!

i've not seen that one yet, i just looked up when they said it was going up to the VR for the Grace try

i just have the TV on in the background whilst working as i hate commercial radio stations, but want some background noise. I've never watched as many films in my life as i have since lockdown, but probably havent seen any of them and couldnt tell you what any of them were about

[CheshireWarrior]

Frankie Halton no try against Huddersfield seemed a bit suspect too!

i've not seen that one yet, i just looked up when they said it was going up to the VR for the Grace try

i just have the TV on in the background whilst working as i hate commercial radio stations, but want some background noise. I've never watched as many films in my life as i have since lockdown, but probably havent seen any of them and couldnt tell you what any of them were about

Well we all need to maintain our sanity and if it work it works, never going to be through the video ref though or dare I mention Mr R. Hicks......all rational thoughts out of the window!

[josie andrews]

An easy solution to fix Super League's video referee flaws with technology needed at every game

The current system continues to cause controversy.

It was a good job Salford Red Devils had long won the game before Joe Burgess' final try in their demolition of Wakefield Trinity. Had it not, the uproar that would have no doubt followed would have been of seismic proportions.

It was one of several major talking points surrounding the awarding, or not, of a try in Super League this week. If this weekend proved anything it's that the video referee is a vital system, but one that could be implemented better, too.

In a fast-paced, full-throttle sport like rugby league, it has to be accepted that the officials won't see everything or make every right decision. Anyone chasing perfection has unrealistic expectations.

But they need help. The awarding of Burgess' try would have been prevented if a video referee had been present. Burgess' foot was clearly in touch and would have no doubt been chalked off given the conclusive evidence seen above. No harm done.

But the current system is leaving those in charge of making big decisions in an awkward predicament. The on-field decision ruling, in which the referee is asked to give their verdict on whether a try has been scored or not before the video ref gets to take a look, has highlighted repeated flaws.

When a referee asks for assistance from their colleague watching in front of a screen it's because they're not entirely sure what has happened. So why would you ask them to take a stab in the dark?

In some cases, the officials ask for consultancy to double-check things. But there are other examples where the official has no firm knowledge of whether a player was offside, whether a ball was ground or all the other variables that occur on the field. They are forced to make a guess.

That guess is pivotal to the outcome. Once the official has made a decision, the referee with every angle possible to determine whether a try has been scored or not has to conclusively prove their peer made the wrong call. When the evidence is inconclusive, the on-field guess is the final verdict.

It's a poor system. It's hard to think of many examples where someone guessing would be given more influence on a decision than someone with all the tools to make the correct one.

As thousands watched the footage of Regan Grace's 'try' in St Helens' win over Leeds Rhinos on Thursday, the overwhelming majority believed the Welsh winger dropped the ball in the process of grounding it given the unnatural final rotation of the ball. But because the evidence was inconclusive, it was given. Had the video referee, a fully qualified match official no less, been able to give his own judgement, you'd suspect it wouldn't have been given.

Finding a solution is always harder than highlighting an issue and it's fair to say there is no perfect alternative. But there are better options.

One of the recent adaptations to the sport has been the introduction of shot clocks. There's no reason why one couldn't be put on a video referee decision. If by the end of the allotted time the evidence is inconclusive, the try could be ruled in favour of the attacking side.


That way, not only is the delay to the game kept to a minimum but the outcome of an inconclusive incident is consistent, always in favour of the attacking side. What we have now is a system that extends the length of a game too much, puts too much pressure on officials to make an uneducated guess and swaps between giving the advantage to the attacking or defending side depending on the initial decision.

Super League outlined plans to have technology at every game last year, but they were forced to shelve the idea due to a lack of time and resources to make it a reality.

We're doing some work in the background to work out how best to deliver it," Super League's chief commercial officer Rhodri Jones said back in February. "We've got to consider resources around match officials because suddenly you'd have to have more officials.

"Scheduling is really challenging especially when we have a televised fixture Thursday, Friday and now Saturday, trying to work out a schedule of fixtures where we can provide the resourcing to those matches, it's not as simple as just being able to do it straight off."

You'd hope that as improvements continue to be made, fixing the video referee flaws will be another.

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/ru ... dium=email

[josie andrews]

Personally I hate this I have/ I have no try situation it’s just ridiculous. Have the courage of your own conviction. Why say it’s a try/no try then offer it to the VR for them to see if you are right or try to find something you’ve missed to overrule it!

If you aren’t sure just ask for the VR to check it not to see if the decision you have made is right or wrong!

This ruling really does my head in

Get rid of it or the VR

[fozzieskem]

The Grace was ridiculous no way he got it down u less he has no bones in his arm/hand madness,now in the grand scheme of things made no difference to the results but come on

[josie andrews]

The Grace was ridiculous no way he got it down u less he has no bones in his arm/hand madness,now in the grand scheme of things made no difference to the results but come on

That’s when I switched off & watched a film on Netflix!

[Wiganer Ted]

The officiating of the whole Saints/Leeds game was appalling.
Wrong decision after wrong decision, the most ridiculous was a call that said Hardaker dropped the ball when being tackled by two players. The ball shot out of Zac's grasp landing 10 mtrs in front of him. The ref's call was that he had dropped it. If he had it would have dropped at his fee but to land 10 mtrs in front of him it had to have been ripped out. Replays proved the ball was stripped but the ref went with his original call gave Saints possession from which they scored.

So why when the ref gets it so wrong doesn't the VR tell him so he can changed his decision and come up with the correct decision rather than continue. There was a break in play so it could have been done.
That's just poor procedure or protocol which needs to be improved.

[josie andrews]

The officiating of the whole Saints/Leeds game was appalling.
Wrong decision after wrong decision, the most ridiculous was a call that said Hardaker dropped the ball when being tackled by two players. The ball shot out of Zac's grasp landing 10 mtrs in front of him. The ref's call was that he had dropped it. If he had it would have dropped at his fee but to land 10 mtrs in front of him it had to have been ripped out. Replays proved the ball was stripped but the ref went with his original call gave Saints possession from which they scored.

So why when the ref gets it so wrong doesn't the VR tell him so he can changed his decision and come up with the correct decision rather than continue. There was a break in play so it could have been done.
That's just poor procedure or protocol which needs to be improved.

Tom Grant the ref in question has been dropped this week!

That’s no consolation to Leeds or the teams chasing Saints, but makes it clear there seems to be an agenda at the RFL that Saints will win the GF again!!