They (NRL/RFL) should stop tinkering with the rules for a start and keep it simple.robjoenz wrote:Rugby league is a fast sport and referees have to make decisions on the spot, not appropriate to go to the video referee for every decision, got to go with what's in front of them.stevocod wrote: Yep like the weather refs, they blow hot and cold, or is that the whistle! Seriously though this is a snap decision and officials in all sports need to consult both their linesmen and come up with a suggested course of action.
Too many games are spoilt by rash quick decisions. To think sports like football bemoan the use of video technology, yet controversy is still rife there. But if people just take their time and decide rationally, we may not have spoilt games.
You may say we weren't good enough too, but that quick decision affected the morale of the team and good field position, hence the scores mounting against us.
Let's face it, it's a highly charged emotional derby and Klein should have factored that into his mind pre-game, do they pre-plan games? It doesn't seem to be the case. Yet these guys are somehow now, fulltime!!
Since the departure of Russell Smith, only Ian Smith has seemed to be fair (even when we lose!!) and with no real shockingly bad decisions. Yes we all make bad decisions and mistakes as human beings, but this is not the first time Klein has made bad decisions on TV and probably not his last, yet he is never demoted and Ian Smith is, you tell me the logic in that Mr. Cummings.
Are these guys performance levels monitored and is the word professional appropriate, as it seems to be as Amateur as it ever has been!
Naturally, referees get some decisions wrong, this frustrates people. A lot of decisions are 50-50 calls too... an attacker is looking to offload, the tackler is trying to lock the ball up, the ball comes loose, what's the decision? One set of fans think one thing, the rest think another - a decision has to to be made. One set of fans is left frustrated.
Out of interest... what sort of pre-game preparation do you think a referee should do? How do you think preparation for a big derby should be different to any other type of game? Should the approach to refereeing be any different once the game has started? If so, why?
If refereeing is getting worse, what can be done about it? I mean past the usual calls of 'sack Cummings.' What actually needs to be done to directly improve standards and consistency without detriment to the game?
For example a ball must be passed backwards (not level, momentum(?)hand position)
A knock is a knock on irrespective if the player was looking at the ball or not (is this eye position?! )
The ridiculous tackling in the air rule. I fail too see what is wrong with this when executed correctly as all other tackles should be. Often pens are given for tackling a player "in the air " when he is on the way down and inches from the floor.
Etc. Etc. The rule makers are making a simple game "technical" and therefore impossible to ref. The game is rapidly being caught by RU as a spectacle and if the new rules for RU in the Southern Hemisphere are taken up internationally could soon be overtaken.