Play the ball

[T-Boon]

Watching ESL this morning, the play the ball is an abomination. When they do actually touch it with the foot you kind of wonder whether that means they haven't been to training.
Is this a sign of how things are going to be the start of the NRL season, coaches pushing their negative influence on the game yet again in this respect?
Should we change the rule book to please the coaches here or what?
Maybe if you don't touch it with the foot it should just be that the ref makes you play it again.

 

[Wizardman]

Watching ESL this morning, the play the ball is an abomination. When they do actually touch it with the foot you kind of wonder whether that means they haven't been to training.
Is this a sign of how things are going to be the start of the NRL season, coaches pushing their negative influence on the game yet again in this respect?
Should we change the rule book to please the coaches here or what?
Maybe if you don't touch it with the foot it should just be that the ref makes you play it again.

A clear miss with the simply has to be penalised. Making them play it again is not enough of a deterrent to speed up the ruck...players will just know at least they retain possession.

 

[Legion]

Watching ESL this morning, the play the ball is an abomination. When they do actually touch it with the foot you kind of wonder whether that means they haven't been to training.
Is this a sign of how things are going to be the start of the NRL season, coaches pushing their negative influence on the game yet again in this respect?
Should we change the rule book to please the coaches here or what?
Maybe if you don't touch it with the foot it should just be that the ref makes you play it again.

Every year it's the same thing. Players push the boundaries, then the refs crack down on it until players learn they'll give away a penalty everytime. Then voila!, they learn to play to the rules.

Making them "play it again"? You can't see teams taking advantage of that to slow down the play?
'Oops, I did it again. Sorry ref.'
'No worries son. Try again, you can do it'.
lol

 

[Zadar]

Go back to the 5m rule, and let them play tunnel ball for all I care.

 

[Wests is Best]

The play the ball has gone down the same path of the second row feed over the last 30 years.
Coaches rule the game. Refs get criticized just for doing their job, and slowly the game suffers as a whole.

The game started going downhill when coaches realized that fast play the balls was the way to beat a defensive line without using talent!

I would love to see the attacking team penalized more in our game

 

[T-Boon]

At the very least, when reviewing a try the video ref should start with having a close look at the play the ball and they should actually go "yes, the play the ball is legal. Moving on to obstruction or the put down or whatever else is questionable".
Like the review in cricket they start with is it a legal ball or a no ball.
Last year I am pretty sure I saw a couple tries where I was sure the play the ball was illegal but they didn't go back and look at it.

 

[T-Boon]

Hopefully it will be sorted out with the captains challenge system.
One of the jobs of the markers should be to yell out to the captain whether the play the ball was illegal and the captain can decide to challenge it.
Maybe that will rub it out.

 

[LineBall]

Apparently there was supposed to be a crack-down on the play-the-ball in the Super League this year. It was flagged before the competition started.

As far as I can tell, it never happened.

The other thing that's an issue is when they say 'make a genuine attempt' to use the foot. Why make this part of it open to interpretation? Either say it must be played by the foot, or not. Either way, make it clear cut.

 

[T-Boon]

The problem for the game is that the fans are watching it now and its very obvious an at least in my case it makes you want to puke. I cant stop thinking of it as basically a no-ball.

 

[T-Boon]

Every year it's the same thing. Players push the boundaries, then the refs crack down on it until players learn they'll give away a penalty everytime. Then voila!, they learn to play to the rules.

What happens is the coaches lean on their friends in the media who then start to bitch about the refereeing none stop during the coverage until the NRL folds and lets the coaches win again.

 

[Legion]

At the very least, when reviewing a try the video ref should start with having a close look at the play the ball and they should actually go "yes, the play the ball is legal. Moving on to obstruction or the put down or whatever else is questionable".
Like the review in cricket they start with is it a legal ball or a no ball.
Last year I am pretty sure I saw a couple tries where I was sure the play the ball was illegal but they didn't go back and look at it.

The problem with that is, as @LineBall said, "make a genuine attempt" is open to interpretation.
With a no-ball in cricket, it's a clear cut case of was a part of the foot behind the line when the foot landed?

We see it at the start of every season where a team pushes the boundaries of a rule to gain advantage, or they come up with a new one like the Chicken-Wing tackle.
Interestingly, often it's not until fans of the game [or the media off course] complain that the NRL Chiefs have a Pow-Wow, then the refs boss does an interview where he says that the refs have been instructed to crack down on the issue and within 2-3 weeks the problems gone.

One of the biggest issues is that refs are told how to referee a game. It's ridiculous.
The refs need only to be told - Here's a bloody rule book. Read it thoroughly. Adjudicate according to the rules.
If teams like Melbourne want to push the boundaries & receive excessive penalties, then too bad too sad.

The 5-min sin-bin needs to be reintroduced for repeated infringements.
Sooner or later they'll learn.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

Honestly, couldn't care. If it goes on the ground in a controlled manner (ie not fumbled or bouncing) and moves backwards towards dummy half, let's go. I could give a f**k less unless there's a clear loss of control.

 

[Legion]

Honestly, couldn't care. If it goes on the ground in a controlled manner (ie not fumbled or bouncing) and moves backwards towards dummy half, let's go. I could give a f**k less unless there's a clear loss of control.

It's not that many of us give a toss either. It's the inconsistency of 'interpretation' from refs that pisses us off.
The rules need to state in black & white exactly what's required.

 

[julian87]

Watching ESL this morning, the play the ball is an abomination. When they do actually touch it with the foot you kind of wonder whether that means they haven't been to training.
Is this a sign of how things are going to be the start of the NRL season, coaches pushing their negative influence on the game yet again in this respect?
Should we change the rule book to please the coaches here or what?
Maybe if you don't touch it with the foot it should just be that the ref makes you play it again.

ESL has been bad for a few seasons in this regard. Much, much worse than the NRL.

 

[The Rosco]

A dodgy PTB where it's intentionally just rolled under the foot is breaking the rules for advantage.
It creates a nice even roll, no wobble, at a nice even speed, and delivered straight with correct weight so it's not travelling at 30km/h when it hits the dummy half's hands.
All this "genuine attempt" bullshit is just that. Let's apply "genuine attempt" to the sidelines. . . ."but ref, I didn't really mean to run 2 metres into touch, I tried to stay in. Can I still have that try please" ?
Rules are rules. They should all be applied at all times. These are the rules of the game, and one is just as important as the others. ( Look at how the drunks, idolators, fornicators and liars got off scot free after Izzy's social media posts LOLOL)
When we start saying " oh the PTB rule is silly, lets just blah blah blah" . . . . then we are just leaving the authority of the rule to our own interpretations. And we apparently all have different points of view. You think scrums are stupid, I think they should crack down on PTB and facing square. Who's right and who is wrong ?

 

[T-Boon]

I guess they are relaxed about it to compensate for all the slow down in the wrestle.
But it doesn’t compensate for the wrestle because the worst thing about the wrestle is how ugly it looks. Like that weasel tackler who comes in after two others have him and then grab his legs is the ugliest sight in sport.