Hard done by refs

[JDHD]

Had enough of people repeating that the refs don't miss tackles and drop balls and give away penalties.

When a ref makes multiple bad decisions in a game that go against a team then there should be grounds for complaint.
The Newcastle game comes to mind. Sure we were not playing our best and making errors but we still should have won if not for the refs....and it cost us a top 8 position.
(here is where everyone will comment: we weren't good enough, we didn't deserve to win, we should have been able to win anyway, they were a bottom 4 side.....).

I would support this stance of no complaints against referees if there was some form of self review and consequences for bad performances. Even a press conference by the referees boss during the week.

If I was in charge, I would video review each and every game together with the specific team of referees involved and point out errors or suggest areas of improvement.
This would surely lead to improved performance and more consistency across all the referees as the season progresses.

The fact that you think they don't already do video reviews speaks volumes about how we should value your opinion.

 

[Slippery Morris]

IMO the referees should run everything past Cameron Smith .....lets face it he owns them

What? They don't already do this? When did it stop?

 

[Slippery Morris]

The NRL Rule book is also written by Craig Bellamy. Seriously when was the last time they have ever been hard done by?

 

[denis preston]

Still amazes me that some people want to go back to contested scrums. If reintroduced to would mean another 10 penalty's a game. Good sides take the referee out of the game.

They give latitude in offside and in the ruck because the game is just too quick. About time to go back to 5 meters. Despite the closer the players were it actually produced a far more open game.

 

[dannyt]

I thought that we were very hard done by the refs in the 1980's, much more than in recent times. Kevin Roberts and Mick Stone are 2 refs who come to mind, who used to give us a hard time back then.

1984 and 1985 especially.

Still have nightmares.

 

[Belta]

I agree with some points raised on this subject. There is no question refereeing in the NRL in current times is a hard gig. IMO there should NEVER be public slagging of referees by coaches or players. I think if we accept we need adjudicators then we need to respect them as such we need to respect them as authorities of the game and not undermine their authority by publicly belittling them. Does that mean they should be free to govern without any criticism? The answer to that is of course not. They should be assessed and held accountable by their own superiors ie the referee bosses.

I do also understand why coaches are risking hefty fines and why it's hard for players to refrain from losing their cool, as contrary to what some on the forum believe, a 50/50 call going against you and in some cases more then one DOES have a MAJOR impact in many games. The fallout can be the difference to having a 'successful' season ie making the eight or a being a 'failure' ie narrowly missing the eight. So I get the issues and what's at stake but still agree with the notion that the coaches and players have to grow up but on the flip side the adjudicators need to be better

 

[Carlton]

I agree with some points raised on this subject. There is no question refereeing in the NRL in current times is a hard gig. IMO there should NEVER be public slagging of referees by coaches or players. I think if we accept we need adjudicators then we need to respect them as such we need to respect them as authorities of the game and not undermine their authority by publicly belittling them. Does that mean they should be free to govern without any criticism? The answer to that is of course not. They should be assessed and held accountable by their own superiors ie the referee bosses.

I do also understand why coaches are risking hefty fines and why it's hard for players to refrain from losing their cool, as contrary to what some on the forum believe, a 50/50 call going against you and in some cases more then one DOES have a MAJOR impact in many games. The fallout can be the difference to having a 'successful' season ie making the eight or a being a 'failure' ie narrowly missing the eight. So I get the issues and what's at stake but still agree with the notion that the coaches and players have to grow up but on the flip side the adjudicators need to be better

I agree that referees should not be spoken to disrespectfully or cop unwarranted criticism. I don't agree that the only people that should have the right criticise them are their "superiors".

If public criticism is respectful and doesn't question the referees motives I think everyone (including coaches) have a right to criticise poor performances. I think that the captain has a right to respectfully express his disagreement with a refereeing decision on the ground and that the referee should allow a short time to respectfully hear what he has to say.

Referees are only people and should not be above criticism when warranted.

 

[dragon-83]

NRL PENALTY DIFFERENTIAL LADDER:
WHO THE REFEREES FAVORED MOST

Michael Di Lonardo
Updated at 10:03 p.m. ET

Shane Flanagan and Trent Barrett's sprays after the first week of the finals have been brewing for quite some time now as both their teams have been on the wrong side of the whistle for the most part of the 2017 season.

MORE: Cult hero Anthony Don bags Titans top honours | Report: Blair agrees to terms with Warriors

The Sharks and Manly are both ranked third and fourth last on the penalty differential ladder as we uncover which side received the most favours.





And it's no wonder the man who benefited most from the referees last weekend, Paul Green, had nothing but praise for the men in fluro's performance after a year of having the upper hand when the whistle is blown.

The North Queensland coach did produce one memorbale rant when his side fell to Melbourne in Round 22, but even then they were still awarded more penalties as they tallied a total of 18 penalty count wins for the season.

'Penalty Broncos' was an online viral trend where rugby league fans would spread the word on every dimension of social media in spite of the whistleblower's favouring the NRL's so-called favourite son Brisbane, but it's their Queensland neighbours in the Cowboys who have topped the penalty differential ladder and been given the biggest advantage out of all 16 NRL clubs.

We broke it down in a table that reveals who won/lost the most penalty counts, which side was awarded and conceded the most penalties and finally ranked each side on their penalty differential, with the Cowboys topping the list.

Won Drawn Loss For Against Win % Diff
Cowboys 18 2 4 191 151 75% +40
Dragons 15 3 6 163 133 62.5% +30
Raiders 14 4 6 183 161 58.33% +22
Rabbitohs 12 3 9 163 149 50% +14
Knights 12 2 10 164 161 50% +3
Tigers 10 3 11 134 134 41.66% +0
Bulldogs 11 4 9 154 155 45.83% -1
Panthers 9 3 12 170 173 37.5% -3
Broncos 10 3 11 137 141 41.66% -4
Storm 8 3 13 172 183 33.33% -11
Warriors 10 2 12 135 147 41.66% -12
Titans 11 1 12 152 164 45.83% -12
Manly 5 5 14 146 180 20.83% -24
Sharks 9 2 13 162 186 37.5% -24
Roosters 9 1 14 134 160 37.5% -26
Eels 8 1 15 137 177 33.33% -40
Interestingly, the four bottom sides all made the cut in the NRL's top eight, with the Sea Eagles, Cronulla, Roosters and lastly Parramatta copping the biggest whack from the referee's without having the favour returned.

Hated by a vast majority of rival fans, Manly also suffered the most heat from Tony Archer's men, managing the lowest penalty count win percentage of 20.83% and coming out on top in just 5 out of 24 games.

On the other end of the ladder the Cowboys and Dragons sit on their high horse in the top two positions, leading the way with healthy differentials of +40 and +30 respectively as they got the rub of the green.

Although the Cowboys racked up a massive 191 penalties in their favour, it was the Dragons who had conceded the fewest with 133 - a good 18 less than the ladder leaders.

As for the Broncos who were caught up in a social media frenzy, they didn't even make the top eight, slotting in at ninth with a fair share of for and against.

http://www.nospam47.com/au/league/n...nrl-cowboys-broncos/p2zakx993xmd167d4e0bwgmyg

 

[SGMax]

What a poorly written load of drivel.
Penalty counts rarely decide who has had the rub of the green.
Refs also rule (or don't rule) on forward passes, long tackles, knock ons / strips, tries....
To suggest that winning the penalty count is the result of favourable treatment by the refs is soooo stupid.

The only thing that those stats demonstrate is that teams like the Roosters Sharks and Eels are being penalised most because they are pushing the envelope more when it comes to slowing the play the ball and are more willing to give away penalties to ensure that their opponents are not allowed to play to their strengths.

As for the Storm and Broncs, they don't show in these stats because they are tolerated more and less penalised regardless.