Little chance of avoiding ref error that cost St George Illawarra Dragons in NRL clash with Melbourne Storm
By Steve Mascord
Not every problem has a solution.
St George Illawarra fans are not going to like me for saying this, but I thought Tony Archer's statement on Tuesday about the tumultuous end to Monday Night Football was worded perfectly.
If you follow the Dragons and feel robbed by the decision to allow Melbourne one more play, you probably regard his description of a "technical" error as a smother. But it wasn't. There was a split-second in it. "The siren and the play the ball were all but simultaneous," Archer said. "But, technically, the siren sounded a split-second before the Melbourne player heeled the ball. So, in that sense, the referees' call was wrong and the final play should not have proceeded."
Why must we announce remedies to problems that won't work? Counting down in referees' ears won't stop misjudgments that span a fraction of a second. Tying the TV clock to the one at the ground won't stop this error happening again. These are simply promises made to interrupt the course of complaints for a brief period. The previous NRL administration was criticised for being "reactionary" but that's exactly what these promises are.
Under current technology, linking a laser gun to the time-keeping equipment and pointing it at the ball for the final few seconds might work. Or linking the time-keeping equipment to a microchip in the ball and having the Steeden change colour when time is up – that might work. But seriously, can you see that happening this side of touch judges with anti-gravity boots? No.
Players make mistakes that span minutes rather than milliseconds. We aren't going to stop referees making mistakes that literally encompass the blink of an eye.
The aspect of Monday night that should concern us more is the joint-venture side finished with 12 men because of the concussion rule. Teams should not be penalised for doing the right thing. Maybe we should have four under-20s players suited up and ready to cover for interchanges deemed necessary because of concussions.
