The absolute blatant errors made by the video referees this round (and the subsequent agreement on these wrong calls by the refs' boss) show that the system is very broken. Coaches have every right to complain when they are losing matches by incompetence.
It all started with Robert Finch/Bill Harrigan and gone worse from there. Calling players by their first name, "game management" rather than officiating the rules, warning players instead of penalising, etc etc.
But that's not the worst part - the single greatest issue with referees is the fact that they "study" up on teams and players before matches. They receive tip sheets on players; they go into a match thinking, for example, "I have to watch JWH, he tends to go on with the tackle too much". So they go into a match looking for these specific things to penalise - it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. How many times do you hear the ref yell to a player - "play it with your foot, [name]!". They're looking specifically for that player and not at others.
Refs are human - they are being filled up with too much information pre-game. Simplify their preparation and let them just officiate what is happening on the field.
So here it is, yobbo84's 5 keys to improving refereeing:
1. Refer to players by team/number only. No first names.
2. No tip sheets. Ref what you see on the field.
3. No "game management". Don't coach the players. If they infringe, penalise.
4. There should be two video referees:
- One to watch the game and provide backup as they do now (e.g. player X got tackled late there ref).
- One to adjudicate on tries. This person should NOT be watching the game. They shouldn't let the current game situation pressure their decision. When a decision gets sent up stairs they see the required vision and only that required vision.
5. Don't hire idiots.
Rant over.
