The NRL has announced it will use video analysis and statistics to determine whether referees are correctly enforcing the 10-metre rule.
NRL head of football Todd Greenberg is behind the move and said it would enable new referees coach Tony Archer to respond to coach complaints about opposition defences straying offside.
“For the first time we will be looking towards having a compliance for referees, a numeric measurement coming out of coding and statistics on the 10 metres,” Greenberg said.
“If a coach is not happy at the end of a game, if he thinks the teams were offside all day – to use that phrase – we will be able to refer back to a compliance number and if that referee has given a compliance of say 90 per cent in regards to 10-metre rule it will be hard for people to be critical of that.
“Equally, if it comes back and his measure is 65 per cent then that coach has strong grounds to be critical of him, and it will be a criticism based on fact. But it also allows Tony and his team to work closely with that referee to improve his performance.”
