I think the current referees do about as well as they can given the overload of instruction and direction they’re given before and during games..
Even having Bill Harrigan back as referees’ boss and giving him full control of the way referees officiate would be great
He’s a good administrator for the NRL imo in many respects but his tinkering with the game itself has led us to where we are.. He clearly just likes to see the points rack up
They really need to get the play the balls tidied up, AGAIN.. given how ridiculously close the game is getting to touch football in terms of speed, getting players to actually play the thing properly with their foot might give defences a chance
Must say I’ve actually enjoyed the way most of this weekend’s games have been officiated.. referees putting accidental stuff on report or playing on rather than firing everything into the sin bin
Unfortunately, it’s better that we don’t make the finals - with a view to next season..
The big corporate machine that we are, it seems to require a seismic jolt to get the football arm switched on & with a sense of hunger & urgency ..
So we’ll probably wake up in 2025 and realise that missing...
I get the feeling a lot of current players have a lot of extra curricular stuff on their minds and aren’t nearly as focused on the result as us fans would expect..
Nice to see a game where the referee puts players on report for mistakes that aren’t overtly malicious, rather than sin binning like it’s a bodily function
Don’t even try to tackle with force nowadays, you’ll just end up in the bin after a bunker witch hunt
Just catch, hold, caress, nurture, kiss, cuddle, release
I think the concerning thing with Cobbo, current off field dramas aside, is how he’s run out of steam at around this stage in two out of the last three seasons..
I know you have to consider the person behind the athlete and all of that, but can you really afford an outside back on very decent...