Underachieving coaches trying to deflect from their own failures - Kimmorley
24 Jul, 2017
by Brett Kimmorley ESPN NRL
I think it is pretty obvious that the most noise about the quality of refereeing is coming from the two coaches who are struggling the most. Ricky Stuart and Des Hasler are in charge of two of the most disappointing, underachieving teams in the NRL, and they can only be trying to deflect the attention away from themselves by attacking the whistle blowers.
Stuart has been the most vocal, calling for the referees to be more accountable after his side went down in a close one to the Storm. Let's be clear, there weren't any calls that cost the Raiders victory in that game and I think Stuart was being disrespectful in taking a shot at the referees.
If Stuart had his way, the referees would face the media after every game to explain every contentious decision. Stuart's Raiders have all but missed the finals now, after being tipped to give the premiership a real shake this year, and he is trying to create a different headline.
Hasler had the hide to mention the referees again after his team was completely outclassed by the Broncos on Thursday night. His Bulldogs went into that game with the third-best defensive record, but a complete inability to score points. By the end of the night, their defence was in tatters as well and it had nothing to do with the officials. So in the post-match interview, Hasler said he shouldn't speak about the referees, inferring that they played a part in yet another horrible display by his Bulldogs. It seems both coaches would rather face a fine than publicly confront the real issues at their clubs.
One of the biggest reasons for sheltering the referees from the media and criticism from coaches is that we need young referees to continue coming through the ranks, otherwise we don't have a game. There is a big difference between being accountable and being open to constant attacks from all angles.
I think the officials have done a very good job this year with minimal major mistakes. If anything is to change, then perhaps Tony Archer could face the media on a more regular basis to explain changes in interpretations or things the referees are working on or are planning to crack down on.
Ironically the biggest mistake made by the officials during the Canberra-Melbourne game was
the failure to send Raiders forward Sia Soliola off for his high shot on Billy Slater. Slater may have lowered his height before contact, but he never changed his angle and I thought Soliola had him lined up and his arm was always going to make full-on contact. If that was not a send-off offence, then I have no idea what is. Thankfully Archer has since clarified things a little by saying that he should have been sent from the field.
More has to be done to protect the smaller players in our game, because most of the time they are the playmakers. If we don't have the playmakers in our game, it will become a field full of forwards charging into each other and battling to win the play-the-ball. Late and high shots have to be stamped out because it discourages the smaller players from coming through.
We should also reconsider having an 18th player to come into the team when someone is taken out of the game the way Slater was. Rugby league is tough enough with a full squad of 17 sharing the workload -- it becomes so much harder when you lose a player to foul play or to a concussion test. Every club dresses and warms up several extra players in case something happens before the game. Those players could remain on standby to step in as the 18th player when needed.
The game can always be improved with minor changes here and there - but what we don't need is referees being constantly attacked week after week by coaches who should be more focussed on improving the way they do their own jobs.
