Video Ref

[DoubleD]

The Taukieaho sin bin in the Manly vs Penrith game was ridiculous. How can the video ref go back to a previous set and pick up an infringement like that. Massive overreach and sets a bad precedent.

Also, hugely disruptive to the game, making it stop/start and confusing for the audience. It will turn the game into union at this rate

[EggFace]

55 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

The Taukieaho sin bin in the Manly vs Penrith game was ridiculous. How can the video ref go back to a previous set and pick up an infringement like that. Massive overreach and sets a bad precedent.

Also, hugely disruptive to the game, making it stop/start and confusing for the audience. It will turn the game into union at this rate

I haven't seen any games this weekend put read comments that its happened at number of games....I really don't want the NRL and Rugby League go down the Union route as well.

[Graham]

If I was being polite about some of this weekend's reffing I would call it overzealous.

Edited April 27 by Graham

[DoubleD]

I’m sure they’ll maintain this consistency when Origin starts

Edited April 28 by DoubleD

[EggFace]

19 hours ago, Graham said:

If I was being polite about some of this weekend's reffing I would call it overzealous.

I hope they sort this sillyness now and not ###### off the fans.

[StandOffHalf]

The Taukeiaho yellow was frankly ridiculous.

[Futtocks]

On 27/04/2025 at 16:31, Graham said:

If I was being polite about some of this weekend's reffing I would call it overzealous.

There was a crackdown this round regarding high contact: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-28/nrl-high-tackle-sin-bin-crackdown-reaction/105225414 

Following the backlash, the NRL seem to have listened: 

"I get the frustration around the bunker intervening in play, that is certainly not something any of us want to see," NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said on 2GB on Monday. "There's probably been too many of those where that disrupts play and gets pulled back, and that's something we're going to work on."

So, we will probably get another reset and all the same talking heads will be fuming about players being put on report and not being sufficiently punished for dangerous play.

[DavidM]

I’ve said before I really like the NRL but the one big negative is it is massively over officiated . I tune in to watch players play , but there’s a completely smothering influence of officials . I don’t blame refs to much as they work to instruction , but the tolerance of anything is now is so low , and the scrutiny  so high that all we get is restarts and penalties thrown around like confetti , and the bunker interfering on top of that . It spoils the spectacle and natural flow of the game and has a big impact on results as so many points come from these indiscretions . And yet players now are more disciplined than ever . I watched 2 games back to back not so long back with over 50 indiscretions . Its just overkill in pursuit of some perfect game you can never achieve and it’s totally counterproductive . Literally watching every tackle from the bunker to find something is just symptomatic of it’s overreach . The onfield ref is basically remote controlled by the video ref now .I wish they’d release the tourniquet and let the game breath a lot more . I’d say over half the restarts and penalties don’t need calling , they’re minimal technical or have no bearing at all on the game . As for high tackles , it’s been handled abysmally . To wait a few weeks then instigate a clampdown was destined to be calamitous as whenever refs get told to watch for something they see it in spades even when it isn’t there. The game needs a big recalibration toward much less ref intervention ,much  less video ref and more latitude so the game just flows more naturally . Pullling up incidents from plays back is just ridiculous . Fans just get turned off and lost as to what’s going on . I’m also sick of our game turning into football with players reactions , but they do it as it works . Officials seemed to get spooked by injury and work back from a players reaction to find a penalty . Then there’s the miraculous recovery .

Edited April 28 by DavidM

[Llangennech]

1 hour ago, DavidM said:

I’ve said before I really like the NRL but the one big negative is it is massively over officiated . I tune in to watch players play , but there’s a completely smothering influence of officials . I don’t blame refs to much as they work to instruction , but the tolerance of anything is now is so low , and the scrutiny  so high that all we get is restarts and penalties thrown around like confetti , and the bunker interfering on top of that . It spoils the spectacle and natural flow of the game and has a big impact on results as so many points come from these indiscretions . And yet players now are more disciplined than ever . I watched 2 games back to back not so long back with over 50 indiscretions . Its just overkill in pursuit of some perfect game you can never achieve and it’s totally counterproductive . Literally watching every tackle from the bunker to find something is just symptomatic of it’s overreach . The onfield ref is basically remote controlled by the video ref now .I wish they’d release the tourniquet and let the game breath a lot more . I’d say over half the restarts and penalties don’t need calling , they’re minimal technical or have no bearing at all on the game . As for high tackles , it’s been handled abysmally . To wait a few weeks then instigate a clampdown was destined to be calamitous as whenever refs get told to watch for something they see it in spades even when it isn’t there. The game needs a big recalibration toward much less ref intervention ,much  less video ref and more latitude so the game just flows more naturally . Pullling up incidents from plays back is just ridiculous . Fans just get turned off and lost as to what’s going on . I’m also sick of our game turning into football with players reactions , but they do it as it works . Officials seemed to get spooked by injury and work back from a players reaction to find a penalty . Then there’s the miraculous recovery .

I disagree. We must protect the brains of players. I don't think there's too much officiating in the NRL. I also watch the NFL and rugby union, well, some RU. I'm quite patient. I would like to see more offloading in RL, so would like to see people tackle lower. One thing I would change would be to have 5 minute sin-bins. 

[Anita Bath]

If ever there was a sport that is over officiated then its Rugby Union.

On consecutive nights I went to Broncos v Bulldogs and Reds v Blues at Suncorp Stadium. One game was an exhibition of flowing rugby the other a eton wall game of pushover tries that the spectators never get to see (so who scored?) and stoppages for technical offences that have to be posted on the scoreboard for fans.

I recently watched CDs ( yes I am and old fart!) of the British Lions tours in the 1990s. Those games were a delight to watch. While League has maintained the excitement factor by and large Union has gone from a spectacle to a testicle.

[George Watt]

5 hours ago, Llangennech said:

I disagree. We must protect the brains of players. I don't think there's too much officiating in the NRL. I also watch the NFL and rugby union, well, some RU. I'm quite patient. I would like to see more offloading in RL, so would like to see people tackle lower.

Totally agree on protection of players. So far this year Abdo has stated that the number of head high tackles has risen by 90% as compared to the same period last year.

Don't agree on reducing the sin bin to 5 mins. Maybe increasing it to 15 minutes would be an incentive for players to lower their tackle target area.