Out with the second on-field referee. Out with the video referees. Out with slow motion replays.
Rugby league needs to go back to the future and let one referee take control of matches again, assisted by real speed replays on the big screen when he desires. The result would bemore fan satisfaction.
With the direction the game is taking it would be no surprise if the public gets to rule on decisions during matches via text message voting. As you can probably tell, I believe the game is being run by loopies - it is time for those who really understand rugby league to take back control.
The game needs to flow more. The argument is we need to make decisions completely accurate but I think those decisions need to be made at the same speed in which the fans see the game. Slow motion replays are a distortion. And we need quicker decisions.
We don't live in a world of precision, we live in a world of adapting to what happens on a daily basis. We're getting a game that is over 100 years old yet we are allowing it to be ruled by kids' technology.
A length-of-the-field try by Souths was rubbed out over the weekend for obstruction, thanks to video scrutiny. Yet the offences took place way down field in front of the referees who could have made the decision there and then. They should have pulled it up straight away. Next, we'll have people in white coats CSI-style ruling the game.
It has reached such a ludicrous stage that commentators are suggesting it is better now and then for a player to die in a tackle rather than try to score a try, in order to avoid any video scrutiny which might reveal obstruction.
A lot of people who think the current status is necessary didn't know the old game. And despite all the stoppages and scrutiny, they still get decisions wrong.
It's getting close to where decisions will be made by the public texting into TV stations. I asked my 12-year-old son Jack if he thought the public should get to vote whether a try has been scored or not and he replied: "Don't they do that already?"
***
The Broncos are my favourites to win the NRL title this year. Wayne Bennett is still the master coach, with a simple style involving low risks in your own half, draw and pass football and speed.
