The Bunker

[The Elephant In The room]

Two tough decisions simultaneously could create quite a logjam

Just assume Morris was in, and move along to the next decision?

 

[franklin2323]

If NHL can do 10 or so concurrent games correctly. No reason NRL can't. Though they just do goals not sure how it will work for checking things like high tackles & 40/20's etc

 

[maple_69]

Goal scoring decisions are typically far less complex in NHL than tries in the NRL to be fair. I'm not sure how often they actually consult that war room but you never notice it so it is either rarely or it works well. Either way too many cooks spoil the broth.
I'd like one on field ref, two touch judges with increased responsibilities (honestly what are we paying these fairies for) and 3 remote, impartial observers who can be called upon. Decision making should become a lot more consistent and even if we don't like the interpretations it will be a lot more clear cut when a rule needs to be changed.

 

[POPEYE]

Vossy will have to be told that speaking over the video ref as he explains his reasoning defeats the purpose

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...struction-furore/story-fni3fbgz-1226889990699

NRL again considering the idea of a video referee bunker, following the Kieran Foran obstruction furore

Todd Balym
The Sunday Mail (Qld)
April 20, 2014 12:00AM

A VIDEO referee bunker is back on the agenda as rugby league continues to be plagued by “try” howlers.

Head of football Todd Greenberg confirmed the NRL is again investigating the idea of a bunker as fans, coaches and players have lost faith in the current system.

Controversial obstruction tries that decided the Good Friday Manly-Cowboys and Bulldogs-Souths games caused outcry.

A Kieran Foran try late in Manly’s 26-21 win left Cowboys coach Paul Green fuming.

“If that is not an obstruction, I will walk nude through Pitt Street,” he said.

Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire and his players also complained that John Sutton was impeded when Bulldogs winger Corey Thompson scored the key try.

“It’s tough, we thought Johnny was impeded,” Souths halfback Adam Reynolds said. “(The Bulldogs player) definitely stood in his path to stop him making the tackle. We all thought that was against the rules.”

These are the latest video referee blunders this season prompting calls for change.

Five years after it was shot down as the “stupidest thing I have ever heard” by the likes of Phil Gould, the NRL is reviewing technology from the NFL and NHL that could revolutionise rugby league.

Greenberg sent a team to the US last year to research the costly technology and confirmed it remained under review by the game’s bosses.

“We sent some people over to the States last year to have a look at a whole pile of technology that happens in the NFL and NHL, so we will keep exploring it, but we’re not in a position to make any comments on it at the *moment,” Greenberg said.

“It is certainly something we have been looking at for a number of months now.

“It has a big expense attached to it and there are some issues with it but we will continue to look at it.”

What is clear is that the *current system is not working.

NRL coaches have no faith the right decision will be consistently made, players believe obstruction decisions are nothing but a lottery and fans are becoming more disenchanted with the game every week.

Greenberg said Foran’s try was awarded because of last year’s decision to allow discretion into the video referee box, but maybe too much was applied in this instance.

“That process has held us in good stead since that time,” Greenberg said. “Obviously what happened (on Friday night), there were concerns about the decision itself and how much of that discretion was applied.

“Referees make hundreds of decisions live every weekend across the game, they are not going to get them all right.”

The NRL have worked hard this year to roll out a series of rule changes and this week announced a crackdown on lifting tackles. But Reynolds has questioned whether there’s too much change in such a short space of time.

“I personally think there is too many changes going on at once,” the Rabbitohs halfback said. “I’m all in favour of the game evolving and it’s good that we’re trying to pick up new things.

“But we’re having to adapt a bit as we go and that’s hard.”

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

It's a stupid idea. It's a stupid idea because of this is where we're at with officiating. It's so stupid and pathetic that it's come to this.

 

[some11]

Sack the genius who made the decision and re-train all the other f**ken nuffies to get it right.

 

[ShaneO85]

the NBA are also working towards their top officiails being in the NBA HQ for these kind of situations. You don't want a heap of people. You do want the head honcho of the refs there though because it is then his neck and reputation on the line. I would say Archer (or whoever is head of refs atm), An ex player (top flight not plodder and preferably with a function brain [not clint newton, not adam mcdougall]) and a current top flight ref or something like that.

 

[gypsy]

To reduce errors, we need to look offshore. The current crop of officials aren't up to it. Let's send scouts to Europe/Asia to poach the best young whistle blowers on the globe.
We may see our first $1 Million/season referee, but will be worth it.

Also, the current penalties (pardon the pun) for Refs getting it wrong, are pathetic. Cecchin somehow got the match of the round this week, after his howler in Melbourne last Monday. He should be refereeing schoolboys/pub footy and have to work his way back.

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...et-trials-of-refs-bunker-20141011-114nfd.html

NRL encouraged by secret trials of refs bunker

Date
October 11, 2014 - 10:00PM

Adrian Proszenko
Chief Rugby League Reporter

The NRL has conducted secret tests on a prototype for a video referees' bunker and is sufficiently encouraged by the results to keep pushing towards implementing the technology.

The NRL has engaged former Australian cricket coach John Buchanan and league Immortal Bob Fulton to oversee a widespread review of the refereeing ranks.

The priority is to investigate the feasibility of a "central command centre" in which video referees can review contentious decisions.
On the panel: Bob Fulton.

On the panel: Bob Fulton. Photo: Getty Images

Fairfax Media can reveal the governing body has already trialled a version of the bunker this year in which officials reviewed decisions in real time.

While video refs normally have their choices of vision dictated to by the host broadcaster, those in the bunker utilised Hawkeye technology.

This allowed them to see all of the different camera angles and replay options in a single room and then decide which ones they wish to look at, and in which order.

"We trialled it in two or three games early in the season at [Allianz Stadium]," said the NRL's head of football, Todd Greenberg.

"What we picked up from the Hawkeye technology was we had greater control over those replays and the speed of those replays. We found the average decision-making time was quicker. You don't have to wait for someone to give you a feed, you're actually seeing them all and saying 'I'll take that one, then that one'.

"That actually speeds the process up, giving the video referee the opportunity to call the shots."

The next step is setting up further bunker trials at an off-site location, as the initial tests were conducted at the ground. The NRL is hoping to be in a position to do this by the mid-point of the 2015 season.

"If we're going to genuinely trial the bunker, we understand if the speed and access away from the ground is instantaneous," Greenberg said.

The bunker system is already used in American sports including the NHL and NFL. League officials inspected those facilities during the last off-season and another study trip may be conducted as it is determined whether the system is worth the seven-figure investment.

Buchanan and Fulton will continue to monitor that process and other potential changes to the officiating ranks.

Buchanan spent preliminary final weekend with the video referees, met with ref's boss Tony Archer and was present for the match review process. Fulton will enjoy similar access during parts of the Four Nations tournament.

One potential innovation for them to consider is captain's challenge, which has been trialled throughout the NYC competition. However, the preliminary feedback suggests there is considerable work to do.

"We've collected all of the data from the 20s … at the moment, decisions can take up to 2½ minutes, which is cumbersome," Greenberg said.

"Until we find a technology piece that goes with that to speed the process up, we won't go with it [in the NRL]."

 

[POPEYE]

Toddy reckons the trial of the bunker system had decisions taking two and a half minutes, naturally unacceptable but why. Doesn't take that long on Million Dollar Minute to push a button, with people smart enough to tell from one look at each camera angle it should get done in 30 seconds

 

[umina panther]

Big night on the piss Pops?

 

[AlwaysGreen]

Olive Oyl says it's more like 2 and a half seconds.

 

[POPEYE]

Thanks for the bump boys, now I can pack the laptop away for the trip to paradise. Surely even galloots like yourselves must think Toddy's Two and Half deserves a thread

 

[Card Shark]

Bunker or no bunker, the dopes will still make mistakes .

They will still play double-movement tries in slow-mo, try & find reasons to overturn a refs decision, be inconsistent etc etc

We will all be complaining next year about the video refs.

 

[Danish]

We need to overhaul the current refereeing system.

Let's hire 2 of the dumbest merkins responsible for the rotation system in cricket and some of the most baffling origin selections of all time to front the review panel...

 

[thorson1987]

Toddy reckons the trial of the bunker system had decisions taking two and a half minutes, naturally unacceptable but why. Doesn't take that long on Million Dollar Minute to push a button, with people smart enough to tell from one look at each camera angle it should get done in 30 seconds

Nowhere did Greenberg say the bunker would take 2 1/2 minutes for a decision.

That 2 1/2 minutes is what it can take in regards to the captains challenge in the U/20's

One potential innovation for them to consider is captain's challenge, which has been trialled throughout the NYC competition. However, the preliminary feedback suggests there is considerable work to do.

"We've collected all of the data from the 20s ? at the moment, decisions can take up to 2½ minutes, which is cumbersome," Greenberg said.

 

[Twatface Magee]

Toddy reckons the trial of the system had decisions taking two and a half minutes, naturally unacceptable but why. Doesn't take that long on Million Dollar Minute to push a button, with people smart enough to tell from one look at each camera angle it should get done in 30 seconds

Lol @ your lack of comprehension skills.

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...eo-referee-bunker-system-20150324-1m6p1y.html

NRL set for mid-season trial of video referee bunker system

Date
March 24, 2015 - 6:44PM

Brad Walter
Sports Reporter

The NRL is set to trial an NHL-style video referee bunker midway through the season to determine whether it produces better and faster decisions.

NRL head of football Todd Greenberg said the video referees would operate from a central command centre with access to every available camera angle, but the current video refereeing system would remain in use for the selected games and to provide a genuine comparison.

Greenberg said it was hoped that the bunker system would provide greater accuracy and consistency by video referees in quicker time.

"A video referee sits in a box with one screen and he only sees what the producer from the broadcast gives him," Greenberg said. "Sitting in a central command area you would have a screen for every camera at every opportunity in the game in real time.

"That's a fundamental difference to how you make decisions, so we have got to work our way through it to see if it is plausible.

"We would measure the difference in decisions on how long it takes and get feedback from the people involved in making those decisions on what it was like seeing every camera angle in real time."

The bunker system was secretly trialled at several matches last season at Allianz Stadium but the central command centre was located inside the ground.

Greenberg said the next step was to trial it off-site.

"We are hoping by the midway point this year we will have some sort of recommendation of whether it is plausible or not, both with the technology and also the expense," he said.

Video referees have been in the spotlight this season, with NRL referees boss Tony Archer having to admit that Melbourne were denied a fair try in their 24-22 round two loss to Manly, while also conceding a try to Newcastle centre Dane Gagai in last Sunday night's 20-18 win over Gold Coast should have been overturned.

There was criticism of the decision to deny a spectacular try to Penrith winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak in Monday night's 20-12 loss to Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium but Fairfax Media understands that Archer is backing the match officials involved.

"I think what this would do is highlight a couple of areas we focus on with video referees," Greenberg said. "One is consistency in decision making and clearly if you have less people making decisions on key moments in games you are going to get more consistency, and it is always about accuracy.

"Everyone expects that we get every decision right and clearly we are trying to, but if you put accuracy with consistency and you overlay that with making sure it is done in real time and we don't hold up the game, you can understand why it is problematic sometimes. So it is a difficult part of the game but a really important one that we are putting a lot of resources and energy into."

 

[Danish]

Why must the NRL always change the rules of the game mid season?