http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...point-extra-time/story-e6frexnr-1226422947044
A POWERFUL NRL committee will lobby for golden point to be dumped in 2013 amid growing fury over dour football and timid officiating.
No sudden-death tries have been scored since the 2010 finals, with Monday night's Sharks-Roosters clash the 19th consecutive golden-point match to be consumed by incessant and speculative field-goal attempts. Of equal concern is that just four penalties have been blown in 110 minutes of that period of extra time, lending weight to claims referees are afraid of deciding matches.
The agonising 10 minutes at Toyota Park - which ended without a result - now shapes as the killer blow after members of the NRL's rules and innovation sub-committee yesterday vowed to have the concept overhauled.
The most vocal critic was Roosters coach Brian Smith - until recently a "staunch supporter" of golden point.
"We need to come up with a better way of adjudicating the game," Smith said.
"You know the refs aren't going to give a penalty, so that means players stand offside. "And that stifles any attacking opportunities.
"Everything about the situation produces negative football and that's not what the concept was designed to encourage.
"It's definitely wearing away at my staunch support. It's no longer a spectacle - it's a lucky dip. And that's not what it's supposed to be.
"It should be a fairly high-agenda item to look at when the season is over. It's time to take a good, hard look at it."
Smith and Penrith's Ivan Cleary are the only two coaches on the committee, which was established last year to submit proposals to evolve the game's rulebook.
Cleary branded golden point a "lottery" after his team's loss to Parramatta in round 16 and echoed Smith's sentiments about inconsistent refereeing.
"The referees are absolutely not going to do anything in golden point, which means it's not a game anymore," Cleary said at the time.
The Daily Telegraph contacted referees bosses Bill Harrigan and Stuart Raper after Cleary's remark and both were comfortable with their whistleblowers' performance in golden point.
But NSW Origin coach Ricky Stuart - another member of the committee - agrees with Cleary and Smith.
"Once the game gets interpreted differently in regards to the last 10 minutes and the previous 80 minutes, there's no use having it," Stuart said. "Why can't teams be rewarded with a draw?
"God help the next two teams that play golden point after this story.The first team standing offside will be penalised because of reaction to this pressure."
Smith accepted some responsibility for the number of drop-goal attempts on Monday night, most of which were taken from halfway with little chance of success.
