Mandatory sin bin

[Betterdays22]

I agree mate . We’ve been badly disciplined especially a few years ago when we had BJ Leilua running around … but it’s up to an official , judge , adjudicator , referee whatever position it is … to be able to rise above and treat every case individually .
And the referees under the Sutton regime , have lost sight of this , in the pursuit of the ideal of putting on the best product .
Think about it like this … if you go into every game with just this one basic idea “ team A is the best team , and team b is the worst team , any 50/50 decisions that I’m not sure about I’m going to lean towards team a” is that then still an actual 50/50 decision anymore ? Because IMO by its very nature of the fact you’ve already predetermined an outcome at that percentage point , that it’s no longer 50/50 , but rather 💯 in the favour of team A. So now just to get a fair shake , what percentage does team b need to hit to get a Decision go thier way ? Is it 60? Is it 70% ? 55?
What number does team B need to hit for them to break free of the already unconscious/ or even conscious bias there .
And that’s the problem . It should be 0. At worst your odds should be 50/50. At no point should you think that decision that is far more favourable to an outcome in your way , is going to go the other way .
Which is my whole point . And why this leaning towards the strong teams as basis point is extremely bias . Because now team B has to almost have the absolute obvious decisions are the only ones they’re gonna get . Which is why there’s soo many howlers . Because refs have predetermined outcomes in thier mind . Whether it be from video , previous matches , experiences , fans in thier DMs .. whatever .
And that’s the stuff I’m arguing about . Because the refs have openly admitted , and everyone treats it as an unwritten rule . Be a good team and get the rub … right ?
No .. the maths doesn’t add up … it’s really be a good team and we will be bias towards you .. and that’s bullshit …

I think where we would disagree is to what extent this is happening. Im not sure its as pervasive as you say and the weighting of calls against us is simply due to us being a much worse footy team than the vast majority of the competition over the past few years.

 

[Telltails]

It's the referees who decide which side is less disciplined than another - regularly through discretionary penalties - re six agains, ruck infringements, dangerous tackles all of which then impact on a teams ability to maintain possession and defend for extended periods.
If we use stats to measure a teams discipline or lack there of it's the referees decisions that determine that.

What is very obvious is that if you don't have a decent amount of possession regardless of where you sit on the table chances are you will lose and or leak points. The inconsistency in relation to refereeing decisions can largely impact on any teams chance.
In a professional game where so many careers are at stake based on outcomes the referees need to be transparent and held accountable for their role in enforcing the rules of the game at a professional standard and fairly and I support any club questioning them.

 

[gregjm87]

We seem to get touch judge calls more often than some other teams, both Luai penalties were the touch judge, is there a school of thought where perhaps touch judges are emboldened to step up and make calls against the lower teams as the consequences are not as significant? Unfortunately, there is not a stat that shows which officials called the penalty...that would be interesting reading. We also seem to get pinged for forward passes more frequently, when you see the top teams throwing blatant ones and getting away with it.

I'm not saying there is a conspiracy from the refs... just natural human behaviour.

This is something overlooked by the NRL and public alike. There once was a time where leg speed was a key requirement of NRL touchies. There is still a focus on fitness (for both touchies and refs) but less so on leg speed.
Quite simply without that speed you are not in a position to make a call and typically you are leaving other positions early to get to your next one, meaning you aren't in position at either end.
I don't want to make this a gender thing but the big pushback on female officials used to be along the lines of they simply do not have the physical requirements to keep up with play.
They have relaxed these rules, partially to be more PC and inclusive and partially as there were fewer and fewer applicants (male or female) that could meet the physical criteria.
I do think the general standard of refereeing has dropped a little, though I also think this is largely due to more and more rubbish in the ruck that needs to be monitored. I think the standard of touch judging has dropped dramatically over the last 15 years.