From Sporting News, not sure I agree with Matty here,
'The refereeing has never been better' - Matty Johns defends on-field officials
A number of former players have praised the level of officiating in the NRL, while claiming the bunker is primarily responsible for the majority of incorrect rulings.
“The on-field refereeing – I actually think people are unfair about it,” Matty Johns said when appearing on
SEN’s
Breakfast with Vossy & Brandy.
Johns argued that refereeing used to be far more inconsistent, but people’s nostalgia had skewed that fact over the intervening years.
“If you go back and watch a lot of the old games, you realise you look back with rose-coloured glasses,” Johns claimed.
“But it was the age where everyone just got on with it. I think, as a general rule, the refereeing has never been better.”
Australian Rugby League Commission boss Peter V’landys has helped to implement a number of key rule changes in recent seasons. These were introduced with the main aim of increasing the speed of the game.
However, with the focus on making the product as quick as possible, in order to receive increased revenue from broadcast deals, the game has become more difficult to police.
The referees have had to adapt on the fly to a number of these rule alterations, including the set restart.
“When you consider the pace of the game and the changing rules – it’s never been harder to adjudicate,” Johns said.
Greg Alexander agreed with Johns’ assessment of where the game stood in relation to the officiating.
“It’s not the on-field bloke, it’s the bloke that sits up in the box,” Alexander said.
“He makes a [decision] after everyone’s seen something different to what he has seen. That’s what makes people irate.
“The referees make split decisions in seconds and we can all live with those.
“It’s the bunker. It’s not the on-field man. It’s the bloke who gets 10 looks at it.”
“The one where they get two minutes to stare at it- that’s where they’re wrong,” Johns added.
Last weekend, the bunker came under fire once again after it decided not to overturn a referee’s decision during
Newcastle’s match on the Gold Coast.
“The ball is grounded- we all see it,” Andrew Voss said.
“The bunker does not see it. The only person on the planet who didn’t see it was the bunker.”
Jacob Saifiti seemingly scored under the posts for the Knights, but it got sent up to the bunker as a ‘no try’. Despite video evidence showing the ball being grounded, the bunker refused to award it.
“I called that game, so I was on the Gold Coast and we were live. We saw him score the try live,” Cameron Smith argued.
“The bunker replays it and replays it and say ‘we’re supporting the on-field decision’.
“We’re sitting in the commentary box just bewildered.”
Smith conceded that one week out from finals, his confidence levels in the bunker to act decisively wasn’t where it should be.
“Low. Confidence is low…. Below 50%,” he said.
Meanwhile, Johns claimed his confidence levels had waivered after witnessing their inability to rule correctly over the weekend.
“I do not busy myself too much as far as match review and bunker- I don’t think about it a lot,” he admitted.
“But with the Saifiti one when you see it down and go ‘well, I know it’s a try, but will they give it?’
“Yeah, I get it. Confidence is pretty low.”
