Paul Munnings has been the Daily’s sports editor since 2001, joining the paper after spending 10 years at the Tweed Daily News. Unfortunately work prevents him from playing more golf and watching more sport on TV – or writing a longer blurb for his blog!

Raiders are right to bleat about West

August 27 | Paul Munnings

In rugby league in the days before video referees were invented, mistakes were made that decided games.

In rugby league with video referees there are also mistakes made which decide games, and one of those came at Suncorp Stadium yesterday.

There has been a feeling emanating from Bronco-land, and some of their supporters, that the reigning NRL premiers haven’t been having much good fortune this season.

Much of that has centred on the season-ending injuries sustained to their key players, particularly skipper Darren Lockyer.

But yesterday, against the Canberra Raiders, they were given a helping hand into the top eight thanks to one of the most dubious video ref calls of the year.

The Raiders were well on top, leading 13-6 in the second half, when the contentious call came.

Halfback Todd Carney moved in for a tackle and as his arm reached around to wrap up Bronco Shane Perry it came into contact with the ball which only fractionally earlier had been popped out.

Carney picked it up and scampered away to score near the posts, apparently giving his side a 13-point lead and even more momentum.

As is almost normal these days, referee Shane Hayne decided not to make a decision of his own, sending it to video referee Graeme West who came up with the verdict that Carney had played at the ball.

How he settled on that decision confounded Raiders supporters and the impartial television watchers.

Tackling a player and having your hand touch the ball is not playing at the ball.

Sticking your arm or hand out in a deliberate way is playing at the ball.

The Raiders were robbed and the off-the-hook Broncos retaliated by running away with the game in the final 20 minutes.

Like referees in the past, there are good and bad video refs.

The number of correct decisions has gone up, but so has the frustration level of having to wait for replay after replay to determine try after try.

Just like the AFL has its Heritage Round where clubs revert to their old-style jumpers maybe the NRL could have a round where all video refs get the weekend off.

Let the referees be in sole charge of the game like they used to.

Force them to make vital decisions and see if the game really is that much better off these days.

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Posted by jboast from Buderim

on 27 August, 2007 at 9:21 a.m. ( Suggest removal )

The game is spoiled by these video refs constantly getting it wrong and what is worse is the apparent inability of the ref on the ground to make a decision.
The Raiders were robbed plain and simple and yet when almost the same type of incident happened later as the Raiders fullback had the ball knocked out by a Bronco, Tony Carroll scrored.

The ball was knocked out by a Bronco tackling the man on the ground and it was deemed he did not play at the ball.

There is no consistency and when the three guys on the field can't make a decision and the 1 upstairs can't read a rule book then we may as well have the players ref themselves. Even the commentators were baffled by the decisions. AFL seem to survive without video refs and tennis has been ruined by it so get rid of them.