Challenge Cup 2025

[g_balls]

I'm really struggling to understand the controversy I'm sorry. As long as I've been alive a defensive player has touched the ball down to force a goal line drop out. The RFL came out publicly saying it was the correct decision and not an incorrect one?

 

Edited June 13 by g_balls

[fighting irish]

36 minutes ago, dkw said:

Oh no...the big bad Internet man wants to fight me 

I invited you to a debate. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. 

Edited June 13 by fighting irish

[Dave T]

59 minutes ago, g_balls said:

I'm really struggling to understand the controversy I'm sorry. As long as I've been alive a defensive player has touched the ball down to force a goal line drop out. The RFL came out publicly saying it was the correct decision and not an incorrect one?

 

The controversy is that the definition of grounding the ball includes your body above the waist. So you can ground the ball with your stomach.

There is a further point that to ground it and force a drop out it needs to be an intentional grounding, which will then always add subjectivity to the decision.

I'm OK with the decision applied here, but there is a generous interpretation to the Wire player that by getting his body in that position it allows for grounding with the body as a backup. Missing with your hands doesn't then negate anything after that. In other decisions we would rule that getting your body in a certain place signifies intent i.e. shepherding the ball in touch and it accidentally bounces into you.

But as I say, im OK with the refs decision. What I do get frustrated by is the laws of the game being a bit of a mess. We ignore a grounding based on intent, but then ignore intentional knock ons as a penalty. There are probably a dozen or so things that you could go through in the laws that just aren't applied as written, and I dont see why we aren't trying harder to help people to understand the game and rules.

Personally, im for grounding to be with the hands and keep it simple. We complicate things unnecessarily imo.

Edited June 13 by Dave T

[Fevrover]

On 11/06/2025 at 16:53, Gav Wilson said:

Still fuming 4 days later over a call that the officials got correct is very funny.

And certainly won't change a thing.