The NRL is reportedly set to recruit a group of experienced former referees in a bid to eradicate inconsistencies in the Bunker and put an end to video refereeing criticisms.
That is according to The Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield and The Australian’s Andrew Webster, who revealed the NRL’s plan to hire ex-officials Matt Cecchin and Ben Cummins.
That seasoned duo will be the first two retired referees targeted in the move to join the Bunker on a full-time basis, responding to backlash after 18 players were sin binned in Round 8.
“It’s a story all rugby league fans will be happy,” Rothfield said on the
Off The Record podcast.
“The NRL is taking steps to hire three or four full-time specialists, not current referees, to be Bunker specialists.
“Refs like Matt Cecchin and Ben Cummins retired and were basically lost to the game.
“They’re the sort of people who will be encouraged to take on the Bunker role. There will be intense training to bring these operators up to speed.
“We will get more consistency with fewer people making decisions.”
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo fronted media on Monday evening, denying there was a high contact crackdown after the staggering amount of players being marched.
However, speaking on NRL360 on Monday night, he did admit the game can get better collectively to protect the players, while maintaining the integrity of the on-field product.
“Let me first say it hasn’t been a crackdown at all. There’s been no policy shift. It’s always been illegal to tackle high and we’ve been sin-binning and penalising high tackles for the game going back decades,” he said.
“We’ve been really consistent around this the last couple of years. We’re not going to apologise or take a backwards step for protecting players from head high shots.
“However, what I will say is that we’ve seen a couple of errors. We’ve seen a couple of judgment calls that perhaps weren’t correct and it was important to acknowledge that.”
For Webster, the NRL’s decision to employ former referees will finally bring the “consistency” fans have been crying out for.
“For a professional code like the NRL it’s been very amateurish,” he said.
“Dedicated Bunker officials will bring consistency. Having people like Cummins and Cecchin involved brings experience that is hard to find.”
While Rothfield added: “They’ve got a major issue with fans losing confidence in the match officiating... We can’t have another weekend with 18 players sin-binned.”