Two referees for full Toyota Cup season

[Pumba]

Two referees for full Toyota Cup season
By Paul Kent

THE grapple tackle and all its ugly step-children are on notice after the NRL yesterday confirmed plans to once and for all introduce two referees.

Next year's Toyota Cup will feature two referees for the season duration, with the plan to step up to NRL for the following year's competition.

The plan needs only to be ratified at the end of this season.

NRL chief operating officer Graham Annesley said the NRL believed it was time to either commit to the experiment or shelve it forever.

"Although we have been experimenting with it, it hasn't been tested over a significant period of time," Annesley said.

"In the end we decided we needed to bite the bullet and go with it or otherwise stop experimenting with it altogether."

The two-referee system has been trialled on an almost annual basis for several years without fully exporing its impact.

While not directly intended to attack the grapple issue, the two-referee system could be the NRL's best chance to stamp out grapple tackles and the myriad other wrestling holds that blight the game.

Under the current model being considered, a referee will not be strictly in charge of the ruck, but able to drift in and out of the game with the other referee also in flotation mode.

It will give the referee a greater chance for recovery and, suffering less fatigue, offering a better chance to pick up fouls.

A sub-committee was formed to identify the problems referees experience during games, comprising coaches Matt Elliott and Ricky Stuart and referees boss Robert Finch and his assistant Bill Harrigan.

"The model they're looking at doesn't particularly have one referee at the ruck and one at the 10m," Annesley said.

"They drop in and out of play as possession changes.

"Clearly not having one referee right through the consistent stress of the 80 minutes of one game should be beneficial."

The NRL has struggled to eliminate grapples since wrestling coaches first began working with NRL clubs, despite a number of new charges being introduced.

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[Mr Angry]

Good news.

 

[Rohan]

Great - 2 nevilles rather than the standard 1.

 

[Gallus Gallus]

great all we need is more penalties, knock ons and more reasons for not awarding a try..when will they learn that we want the game to flow and not for the game to be about who is the best ref in the weekends games

 

[BeeeeeRad]

great all we need is more penalties, knock ons and more reasons for not awarding a try..when will they learn that we want the game to flow and not for the game to be about who is the best ref in the weekends games

I disagree. This will speed up the game more I think because we will noy have to go upstairs for strips/knock ons, less checking of tries. It should also help refs pick up more forward passes or other things that can be missed. Most of all it gets all the bull sh*t wrestling from the game and trying to slow the ruck down.