Normally I wait until the round is over before I look back and see what really got under my skin for the round. I can tell you with good authority from my Sideline Reporter that the article was being started in my head before the first 20 minutes of the Broncos vs Souths game was gone. It seems that both game slast night have raised very large issues that the NRL needs to take immediate action on if they are serious about the game.
Whenever Souths play you are not sure what you are going to get, what I did not expect was such an inept performance by the officials that should ensure all the men in pink have an extended holiday. It is always good to see a referee sin bin a player for a deliberate foul. What I don't like is when a player is sin binned for a professional foul that did not occur. Not only was Jack Reed sin binned for a second effort on the Souths player, he didn't even do anything that warranted a penalty. And to take things worse when there were other chances in the game for the sin bin to be used, nothing was heard from the refs. Then you have the blocker rule. Brisbane are penalised for blocking a Souths player on a kick. Watch the replay and there is no attempt at blocking whatsoever. Later in the game, a Brisbane player is clearly blocked, and all the ref does is give the player a warning. But wait there's more. Asotasi clearly spears into the ribs of a stationary Wallace that is being held up. Under the rules this is blatant penalty. Reaction from ref.....silence. Later Wallace is hit late after the tackle, something which is being penalised in every game so far. Reaction from ref......Play on. Gillette in a tackle is clearly lifted above the horizontal and loses the ball in an effort to ensure a safe landing. Reaction from the ref.....tackle was completed, play the ball. There are 3 dangerous tackles mentioned with no penalty. All three are incidents that can be put on report and lead to a rest on the sidelines. Then you have a try awarded to Souths that there is clearly a knock on at least once and the ball doesn't touch the tryline.
All this tells me that the 2 refs on the field, the 2 sideline officials and the official sitting in the grandstands are one or all of the following. Completely incompetent, biased, on the take, under instructions or blind. The only one i can rule out is blindness. When a coach says the truth and makes comment the NRL doesn't like they are fined $10,000 for bringing the game into disrepute, If they are to be consistent to this rule, then all the officials in this game should be fined for the same reason. here is a game being held in Perth with the hopes of building the game there and the possibility of setting a team up in Perth. The refs did nothing in this game to attract people and would have turned many off the game. If those who follow the game are scratching their heads and pulling their hair out, what does someone new to the game in Perth think. There will be no positives out of this game for the NRL. The refs have tarnished the game and must pay the penalty.
Then we get to the Parramatta vs Penrtih a game. Besides the issue of why Parramatta are paying these wannabe players the same as players at other teams who look like they can and want to play, there are serious issues with their home ground. For the start of the season, the ground is in appalling condition and should not be used until it is suitable to do so. If Gold Coast (another story for another day) are going broke and can still put out a good ground, then why can't this club that has money to throw around do it.
Keep your eyes posted as I am sure there will be a part two and a follow up to this one by Monday.
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