I think it is fair to say that consistency is the key problem most fans have with NRL these days. I know that the referees aren't superhuman but there are 2 of them on the field, 2 touchies and god knows how many people in the Bunker. The MRC seem flippant and the simple solution would be to remove these question marks. Referees need to man up and make the tough decisions, players need to cop it sweet. If a referee misses foul play we have a Bunker and the MRC.
I don't like all this on-field backchat to the referees that goes on now. When I was a kid you get told that what he says goes. If you don't like it you shut up, aim up and man up. If you think the ref has it in for you you either drop your head and lose or you say **** the ref we will win this regardless.There is always some bias be it from team favouritism or simple antipathy to a certain player on a certain team. Ideally, if referees get paid then they should leave that at the door, focus on making the right calls even if you cop abuse. Seems to me as though all these new rules and regulations have just muddied the water even more and referees seem powerless. The captain's challenge might actually help in this area but I fear it will slow the speed of the game.
If a player wants to put a late shot on like Ennis did they should be willing to suffer the consequences of that. He knows he put on a late shot, it happens, cop it sweet. Wighton was the same, he knew he messed up. Everyone who knows the game knows when they mess up like that. If the refs get it wrong on the field and you get put on report you go to the MRC and you take your medicine.
I don't think I like the fact that they go in to MRC Grading with lawyers either. Makes it seem as though there is some sort of wiggle room on charges. If the MRC did their job correctly that shouldn't occur. They should be able to asses and compare quite competently on their own and the charge would be fair and that is that. Similar to how a referee can send a bloke off for 10 minutes. If a lawyer ran out on the field it would be a complete joke. Even the Captains don't really get any influence on those decisions. That is the game I grew up knowing. I would always hope it was a fair one, but sometimes you do wonder if it is just your own bias or the referee's.
Also, that was a glaring forward pass from Green. Pretty sure that lead to a try. I say again, 2 refs, 2 touchies, bunker load of gobshites.
