Why not play on?

[JF1]

I've really enjoyed watching the Magic Weekend from Brisbane on Sky,there has certainly been no lack of drama and talking points in the games.

However,one very minor things puzzles me.

Team A player knocks on,team B player immediately picks the ball up cleanly and is tackled on the spot.This would be the zero tackle,leaving six more tackles available to team B.

In that case,why does the ref whistle up and march the teams to the centre for a scrum which inevitably leads to possession and six tackles to team B.Why not just play on?

This happened at least three times in this round.Just curious.

 

[corvusxiii]

Something similar in the Cas v Salford match. Player didn't take a pass cleanly and the ball must have gone 3m back. Knock on. What does this add to the game? I won't mention the Salford Try- No Try, that's a different argument.

[The Rocket]

8 hours ago, JF1 said:

I've really enjoyed watching the Magic Weekend from Brisbane on Sky,there has certainly been no lack of drama and talking points in the games.

However,one very minor things puzzles me.

Team A player knocks on,team B player immediately picks the ball up cleanly and is tackled on the spot.This would be the zero tackle,leaving six more tackles available to team B.

In that case,why does the ref whistle up and march the teams to the centre for a scrum which inevitably leads to possession and six tackles to team B.Why not just play on?

This happened at least three times in this round.Just curious.

 

Doesn`t happen always but you`re right it certainly happens and is all part of the madness that has permeated  the NRL over ball control since the big dollars came into the game and every decision is viewed as potentially match swinging. So much so now that it has just become second nature to pull up any loss of control. I watched the three games on t.v. over the weekend on channel 9 and the commentators are obsessed with spotting small knock-ons or what they all like to call `bobbles`. 

There really is no logical explanation why the ref`s are pulling up play in the example you cited because even if team B knocks on as well they are still going to get the feed at the scrum and 99.9 times out of one hundred get the ball any way, so why not just play on in the first place like you stated. If I can offer one potential explanation it may well have something to do with the ref`s looking for some excuse to pull the game up for a minute and catch their breath. I know on the face of it it that may sound ludicrous but given the unrelenting pace of the game and the pressure on refs to make decision after decision at rapid pace they may well be just looking for a moment to catch their breath and gather their thoughts and perhaps communicate with the bunker about any thing they might have to look out for etc . they are human after all. Maybe not as crazy as it first sounds.

 

[Whippet13]

In the NRL calling a stoppage gives the opportunity for a Captain's Challenge if the referee is not 100% certain how a ball came loose.

[tms]

13 hours ago, JF1 said:

I've really enjoyed watching the Magic Weekend from Brisbane on Sky,there has certainly been no lack of drama and talking points in the games.

However,one very minor things puzzles me.

Team A player knocks on,team B player immediately picks the ball up cleanly and is tackled on the spot.This would be the zero tackle,leaving six more tackles available to team B.

In that case,why does the ref whistle up and march the teams to the centre for a scrum which inevitably leads to possession and six tackles to team B.Why not just play on?

This happened at least three times in this round.Just curious.

 

I think a lot of it is about  the idea of  advantage if team B crossed the advantage line then they sometimes    play on zero tackle if they don't refs take it back thinking it's to team B advantage to set up play were they want

[unapologetic pedant]

13 hours ago, JF1 said:

This happened at least three times in this round.Just curious.

If you were in the habit of watching lower-grade Aussie games, you wouldn`t find it curious. Or at least not be surprised. It`s standard practice that when the ball goes to ground and players compete for it, the ref is guaranteed to blow the whistle and call something. On the rare occasions he doesn`t, the Touch Judge will seize the moment to call a knock-on of his own.

Away from the NRL, with no check on the madness via video, there are three means by which the course of possession is determined in Australian RL - the laws of the game, the laws of physics, and knock-on derangement syndrome.

[unapologetic pedant]

11 minutes ago, POR said:

I think a lot of it is about  the idea of  advantage if team B crossed the advantage line then they sometimes    play on zero tackle if they don't refs take it back thinking it's to team B advantage to set up play were they want

This is an aspect, and it`s a judgement call whether play-on/zero tackle offers more advantage than stopping the game and letting the offending team set their defence. In my view, the ref should need to see a clear disadvantage to the non-offending team, like when a player commits an error near the opposition goal-line and the mark is brought forward and/or in-field.

[unapologetic pedant]

This is part of a piece from 16th August last year on "The Roar" website, written by Ben Pobjie, and titled "The Hard Facts About NRL Rules" -

A knock-on shall be ruled in any of the following circumstances.

i) A player loses control of the ball, which travels towards his opponents` goal-line, and does not regather before it makes contact with the ground or with another player.

ii) The ball makes contact with a player`s hand or arm and travels towards his opponent`s goal-line before making contact with the ground or with another player.

iii) The ball makes contact with a player`s hand or arm and travels backward, but the referee thinks it looked pretty bad.

iv) A player fumbles but regains control without the ball touching anything or anyone else, but the referee reckons they don`t deserve to keep it.

[Sports Prophet]

16 hours ago, JF1 said:

I've really enjoyed watching the Magic Weekend from Brisbane on Sky,there has certainly been no lack of drama and talking points in the games.

However,one very minor things puzzles me.

Team A player knocks on,team B player immediately picks the ball up cleanly and is tackled on the spot.This would be the zero tackle,leaving six more tackles available to team B.

In that case,why does the ref whistle up and march the teams to the centre for a scrum which inevitably leads to possession and six tackles to team B.Why not just play on?

This happened at least three times in this round.Just curious.

 

I suspect I could give you a reasonable explanation if you know which game and approx what time it happened. I can check and get back to you. There should be a common sense reason to it.

I can assure you when the NRL are trying to keep the game in play more, rather than less, it will not be for a referee to get a breather.

@Whippet13’s theory is plausible. Was that a theory Whippet or the actual answer?

[JF1]

48 minutes ago, Sports Prophet said:

I suspect I could give you a reasonable explanation if you know which game and approx what time it happened. I can check and get back to you. There should be a common sense reason to it.

I can't remember the exact occasions,sadly. I've deleted all the games after watching them.

Got to make room in the Sky box for Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

[Rupert Prince]

6 minutes ago, JF1 said:

I can't remember the exact occasions,sadly. I've deleted all the games after watching them.

Got to make room in the Sky box for Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

Seth could be very erudite on the vagaries of the Advantage Rule. Amos and Henry however would never agree.

[Just Browny]

If we are doing general irritation with Australian interpretations, I never fail to get annoyed by the introduction of the 'Australian knock-on' into Super League, where the ball clearly bounces backwards but is given as a knock-on. 

[unapologetic pedant]

4 hours ago, Whippet13 said:

 if the referee is not 100% certain how a ball came loose.

This should be play-on. What logic is there in blowing your whistle and calling something if you`re unsure what happened? That way, the players fight for and determine possession, rather than officials and their guesswork.

The only times refs are compelled to make calls is when the ball comes loose after the tackle is complete. Then it has to be either a lost ball or ruck infringement.

If the ball goes to ground before a completed tackle, unless you`re certain a player propelled it in a forward direction - just play on. Either continue the tackle count, or go to zero tackle, depending on which team claims the ball.

[unapologetic pedant]

4 minutes ago, Just Browny said:

If we are doing general irritation with Australian interpretations, I never fail to get annoyed by the introduction of the 'Australian knock-on' into Super League, where the ball clearly bounces backwards but is given as a knock-on. 

In lower-grade Aussie games, when the ball goes to ground, the ref blows his whistle, then turns to his nearest Touch Judge and says "what have you got?"

This indicates that they haven`t seen clear evidence a player has propelled the ball towards the opposition goal-line. They`ve only seen clear evidence of a loose ball. And that`s enough to blow the whistle. Whereupon they consult with the T.J. to guess which team deserves possession. Deranged, and often egregiously unfair.