Alex Walmsley explains why the Captain’s Challenge won’t be seen in Super League anytime soon as he discusses ‘finer details’ in refereeing differences with the NRL

THE Captain’s Challenge has become one ace that the NRL has kept up its sleeve for a number of years now.

With the ability for one side to challenge a referee’s ruling if they disagree with the decision, it has given captains of both sides the opportunity to put their complaints into action.

In the Pre-Season Challenge, Super League side St Helens were able to use that ruling at the weekend against St George Illawarra Dragons to overturn a refereeing decision in their favour.

Though it has long been touted as a potential idea for Super League, Saints star prop Alex Walmsley believes that there is one major stumbling block.

“I think there’s a lot of things in Super League I’d like to see before that. In reality until we’ve got every single game on TV with eight to 12 cameras, it’s not going to be a possibility,” Walmsley said.

“That kind of opportunity works well for the NRL. As a player you can sense something different than the referee, it’s all down to interpretation.

“I think its a great rule and it worked well for us Saturday but I think there is a long way between Super League and having a captain’s challenge in our sport until we’ve got enough cameras to be used. I don’t think it will be used anytime soon.”

In terms of different interpretations between both competitions, Walmsley explained how, using the NRL rules, his Saints side were brought further back as a defensive line in the win over St George.

“We got a good insight into how the game is being played.

“We had an opposed session through the week and the game, the game is different over here. There are finer details in how far you get brought back.

“It gave us a real insight into what we can expect.”