Professional Referees

[whall15]

With the appointment of Archer and Cecchin I was thinking that perhaps it is time to have professional referees.

It happens in Europe and instead of having a five-day a week job referees train to (supposedly) become better referees.

The main negative I see is cost, because I'd have no idea how much the NRL would have to pay referees to give up their daytime job to become referees.

If we had professional referees for a start we wouldn't see a police prosecutor and a commercial manager refereeing the Grand Final, also rather entertainingly Ben Cummins is an amusement machine operator.

 

[Pierced Soul]

um i think some of the refs are fulltime i.e. professional

 

[betcats]

Dont think it matters, there are still plenty of shit refs in europe.

 

[timka4]

Yeah I thought the referees were full time now?

 

[Raiderdave]

ah ...... they are fulltime :sarcasm:

 

[whall15]

Ah shit, sorry. I just assumed that they mustn't have been because of the job profile thing on the website.

 

[Twizzle]

some are already full time and it didn't make them a better ref, so we're really no better off

 

[Quidgybo]

The top five or so referees have been fully professional since the Super League war in 1997. Since the NRL was formed, that number has expanded to firstly include a full complement of refs to cover 8 first grade games and then further to cover the two ref system. I'd guess that today we have at least 20 active full time refs. I have no idea of the extent beyond that.

Leigh.

 

[Scott Gourley's Lovechild]

The main problem with refereeing in the NRL is the current 2 referee system in place. It is quite plain to see that there just isn't 16 top flight refs in the game. Go back to the 1 referee system and give them the authority to blow the pea out of the whistle to clamp down on rough play in the ruck.

 

[stoodamire]

Anyone know the rough salary they are on?

 

[Stranger]

About 110K

 

[Quidgybo]

The main problem with refereeing in the NRL is the current 2 referee system in place.

No, the main problem is that it's a bloody hard to game to referee with anything like 100% accuracy and Australia has a culture of not giving the man in authority a fair go. With the game moving quickly over a large field and three or four bodies in most tackles it's very easy for a referee and both touch judges to be unsighted on crucial calls. The two ref system doesn't solve these issues but an extra pair of eyes viewing from a fourth angle doesn't hurt. Rather than trying to rollback a system that the men who actually have to do the job have universally supported, we should be asking whether we need even more eyes out there, not less.

It is quite plain to see that there just isn't 16 top flight refs in the game.

And there never will be if we halve the number of opportunities for refs to learn the first grade ropes. The fact is that after three years of the two ref system we now have more active refs with forty plus first grade games of experience than at any time in the history of the game. But no matter how many or how few refs we have on the field there'll always be those that claim there aren't enough quality refs. It was true when we needed 8 each week under the one ref system, it was true when we needed 4 in the old days and it's still true today.

Leigh

 

[dragondad]

The whole squad is full time, the touches and a few Toyota Cup are part time.

One of the refs who made his debut in 2008 is on 80k.

 

[muzby]

i think we need to mix it up a bit and go for amateur referees..

doesn't have to be every weekend, but maybe every now and again, pick a lucky punter from the crowd, throw him or her a whistle and let them control the game..

it has the added benefits of:

• makeing the everyday fan feel closer to the game
• reducing abuse from the crowd - we are less likely to pick on one of our own
• the money that the ref would normally get paid can be donated to charity, or given to glen munsie
• we could see some new interpretations on rules
• provides the losing team with more opportunity to blame the ref

gallop.. i know you read these forums... make it happen!

 

[Pierced Soul]

reducing abuse from the crowd - we are less likely to pick on one of our own

hahaha bullshit. anyone with a whistle is fair game!! :lol:

 

[Scott Gourley's Lovechild]

No, the main problem is that it's a bloody hard to game to referee with anything like 100% accuracy and Australia has a culture of not giving the man in authority a fair go. With the game moving quickly over a large field and three or four bodies in most tackles it's very easy for a referee and both touch judges to be unsighted on crucial calls. The two ref system doesn't solve these issues but an extra pair of eyes viewing from a fourth angle doesn't hurt. Rather than trying to rollback a system that the men who actually have to do the job have universally supported, we should be asking whether we need even more eyes out there, not less.

It is a very hard game, I used to be a referee myself in both League and Union. Union has more rules, but the ref's are respected more even if they make a stuff up. League is simpler to ref, but if you bugger up you don't hear the end of it for weeks.

There are too many eyes out there at the moment in my opinion. The 2nd on-field referee is pointless, all he seems to do is get into the ruck and shout "held". The touch judges have lost a lot of their power over the years, I would like to see them get involved more. The big thing is ref's have to reclaim their authority. Calling players by their names isn't a sign of authority, it lowers you down to the players level. Call them by their number, let them know who is in charge.

And there never will be if we halve the number of opportunities for refs to learn the first grade ropes. The fact is that after three years of the two ref system we now have more active refs with forty plus first grade games of experience than at any time in the history of the game. But no matter how many or how few refs we have on the field there'll always be those that claim there aren't enough quality refs. It was true when we needed 8 each week under the one ref system, it was true when we needed 4 in the old days and it's still true today.

Leigh

That is fair enough, but I think the progression of referees needs to be rethought. Having our "2nd string" refereeing U20's I think is wrong. They should be refereeing either Reserve Grade or Qld Cup, since the standard of competition is higher and those players know the tricks on how to pull penalties etc.

And get more of the old referees involved again. Just like in rep teams where they get past greats into the fold to motivate and inspire players, the ref's should bring in former representative level referees to motivate and inspire.

Just a few thoughts.

 

[St_Jubbsy]

Cecchin to referee grand final- Bill Harrigan continuing to ruin the game....

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

i think we need to mix it up a bit and go for amateur referees..

doesn't have to be every weekend, but maybe every now and again, pick a lucky punter from the crowd, throw him or her a whistle and let them control the game..

it has the added benefits of:

• makeing the everyday fan feel closer to the game
• reducing abuse from the crowd - we are less likely to pick on one of our own
• the money that the ref would normally get paid can be donated to charity, or given to glen munsie
• we could see some new interpretations on rules
• provides the losing team with more opportunity to blame the ref

gallop.. i know you read these forums... make it happen!

Not sure if serious..

 

[thorson1987]

Not sure if serious..

It's Muzby, i don't think i have ever seen a serious post from him.

 

[muzby]

It's Muzby, i don't think i have ever seen a serious post from him.

Yep, same here..

I've just plain stopped reading his posts..