It would be interesting to know how many hits the section of the RFL website which explains the make-up and processes of the match review panel has had in recent weeks.
That group has certainly been busy over the opening weeks of the season.
The rash of red and yellow cards, as well as the number of suspensions, over the first few rounds of Super League has been a major talking point.
Of course, it’s quite common for a new campaign to be accompanied by a new set of guidelines for referees, coaches and players.
This time, player welfare has been central to the thinking of the governing body.
That’s obviously a key issue, but also one which has been brought sharply into focus by the threat of legal action by former players over concussions and brain injuries.
It’s easy to see why the RFL wants to tighten things up.
As with so many issues, there’s a balance to be had, in this case between taking a suitably safety-first approach and ensuring the game remains a spectacle that people will pay to watch.
Supporters, whether in person or as television viewers, want to see entertaining, fluent and competitive matches, and that’s helped by keeping 26 players on the pitch as much as possible.
But an offence is an offence and should be punished.
And it’s fair to say the possibility of seeing yellow or red and being hit with a ban whether an offence is spotted during a match or afterwards, should act as a deterrent.
There have been questions asked about whether the governing body was sufficiently clear about the details of the new crackdown and whether the punishments being meted out are suitably reflecting those offences.
For instance, should Hull skipper Luke Gale have been suspended for five matches for his foot-up challenge on Jonny Lomax and subsequent attempt to pull the St Helens player up off the floor with no knowledge of whether he was injured?
And is it appropriate to impose extra matches on suspensions when a player’s appeal is deemed to be ‘frivolous’. You’ll see on the opposite page a very different view put forward by Steve McNamara.
There are plenty who consider some recent bans excessive.
The RFL are reportedly keen to resurrect their pre-pandemic show ‘The Sin Bin’, in which match review panel member Paul Cullen, the former Warrington player and coach, explained how the outcomes had been reached.
That would be helpful, both in making the panel’s processes more transparent and providing illustrations of the size of the task faced by, and relieving the pressure on, match officials, without which the game can’t operate.
After all, as the old saying goes, every day’s a school day.
The above content is also available in the regular weekly edition of League Express, on newsstands every Monday in the UK and as a digital download. Click here for more details.
