Raiders seem like theyve strughled to adapt to the 'new rules' while the Dolphins have been impressive the last few weeks
Kurt Donohues had a bit of an impact when hes come on...hard worker
LIVE GAME Rd 12 discussion...spoilers
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Live Game Discussion
Raiders seem like theyve strughled to adapt to the 'new rules' while the Dolphins have been impressive the last few weeks
Kurt Donohues had a bit of an impact when hes come on...hard worker
Bula
Well-known member
The Dolphins shiffing canned farts.
Rock Hopper Steve
Well-known member
Hope everyone who wanted Trey Fuller just seen that pathetic attempt at catching the high ball, worse than flippers of seasons past.
Phins getting such quik.ptb's...domianting field position now
Dont like that penalty but stupid from Smithies
Just gave them.an.8 point lead
Just gave them.an.8 point lead
Jedi_Tiger
Well-known member
took the dolphins at $1.85
toom melbourne at $1.95
Took dragons 2 weeks ago to win first game if year against warriors at $6.50
currently paying $4
toom melbourne at $1.95
Took dragons 2 weeks ago to win first game if year against warriors at $6.50
currently paying $4
Tiger-ferret
Well-known member
Just switched it on. Weekes makes a break. 2 obvious 6 to go calls not made, an obstruction with no advantage called a penalty, then forward pass from phins not called…officiating seems a little one sided.
Six to goes have been put away...for this game at least
Be interesting to see how it plays out the rest of the weekend
Wouldnt be the first time the nrl change things game wide post origin
Be interesting to see how it plays out the rest of the weekend
Wouldnt be the first time the nrl change things game wide post origin
About 9 set restarts altogether didnt think there were that many
Dolphins are a very slick team with the ball...Raiders penalised 2 or 3 times in.possesion thats criminal
Dolphins are a very slick team with the ball...Raiders penalised 2 or 3 times in.possesion thats criminal
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Ricky Stuart post match statement...not press conference.
".............What came next was a veiled swipe at the way the match was officiated and Stuart may have had a point, with referee Todd Smith appearing to have forgotten his whistle at times.
Fans used to the high volume of penalties and set restarts that have punctuated the first half of 2026 saw a different game at GIO Stadium.
Smith failed to blow a single penalty until the 35th minute and finished the first half with just one penalty and six restarts. The second period saw six penalties blown and only three restarts................"
www.foxsports.com.au
".............What came next was a veiled swipe at the way the match was officiated and Stuart may have had a point, with referee Todd Smith appearing to have forgotten his whistle at times.
Fans used to the high volume of penalties and set restarts that have punctuated the first half of 2026 saw a different game at GIO Stadium.
Smith failed to blow a single penalty until the 35th minute and finished the first half with just one penalty and six restarts. The second period saw six penalties blown and only three restarts................"
Ricky Stuart declares he has ‘never been so confused’ in stunning 108-second press conference
‘Never been so confused’: Ricky spoke for 108sec, rocked the game and walked out
www.foxsports.com.au
He’s right though . Klein , Atkins and Gee are a blight on the game . And the fact they are considered the top 3 refs by the nrl metrics , is more of an indictment than anything I could say or point to . Klein is literally refereeing another sport most games . If 99 people say a player dropped a ball he calls it a try , and vise versa . Gee seems to have had a lobotomy from the time he was once considered the best ref in the game , changing his style to match Klein( my guess because his previous style conflicted with the borderline cheating “game management style that the Sutton and Klein perfected under Annelsley) , which is more in line with a “what the F was that for” , vanilla , game management , borderline match fixing ref type style . And atkins is now the beta version or an amalgamation of both .Ricky Stuart post match statement...not press conference.
".............What came next was a veiled swipe at the way the match was officiated and Stuart may have had a point, with referee Todd Smith appearing to have forgotten his whistle at times.
Fans used to the high volume of penalties and set restarts that have punctuated the first half of 2026 saw a different game at GIO Stadium.
Smith failed to blow a single penalty until the 35th minute and finished the first half with just one penalty and six restarts. The second period saw six penalties blown and only three restarts................"
Ricky Stuart declares he has ‘never been so confused’ in stunning 108-second press conference
‘Never been so confused’: Ricky spoke for 108sec, rocked the game and walked out
The issue IMO is that these messed up interpretations seem to have been directed by Graham annelsley , who was considered a mess of a ref when he ran around in the super league black and white , and the ARL white shirt . He was horrendous back then . Guys like Harrigan , ward , even Tim mander were daylight better than him . Yet this is the bloke the nrl decided was the opinion and interpretation they’d mould the game to . A bloke who was at best in his day, 6th-7th best ref in the game .
The biggest issue is the fact that the nrl has conflated the viewership numbers and attendance increases , with the refs doing a good job . As if they’re correlated .
Last years product was good because the Kleins and the buttons of the world appeared to be being phased out , and a new breed of ref coming through with a style far more in line with Harrigan and Tim Mander back in the day . Let the men play , and let’s have a great game .
Somehow this year , the rules have changed back to suit the peacocking , self important refs . And now the nrl wider community is rightfully saying what’s been obvious for a while .
These guys are cheats . What makes them cheats ? Simply the fact they are picking and choosing who and when and what situation to apply or not apply rules . It might as well be WWE and have a guys missus jump up on the apron to distract a ref so the villain can hit the hero with a chair . It’s that obvious and on the nose.
supercoach
Well-known member
While humans are blowing the whistle you are going to get mistakes but with PVL football the refs now basically controlling the outcomes of games week out and week in. Time in possession relates directly to results and is controlled partly by six again rule and a referees interpretation of rules. There is zero consistency from week to week and most week one team gets signalled out for special treatment.
You can’t even coach your team to expect certain interpretations from certain referees as it changes every week. Without doubt Klien is the worst, he has his own views on the rules and they bare little resemblance to the actual rules.
Sadly nothing will get done because people are watching the game in record numbers and that adds value to the next broadcasting deal and I guess that will translate to some hefty bonuses at HQ. People have to remember HQ have zero interest in who wins and how they win, their handling of the salary cap for decades proves that along with their lack of interest in trying to get professional and consistent performances from the referees. All you can hope is that you can get a roster that it is so good that they can overcome all the rubbish calls and still win
You can’t even coach your team to expect certain interpretations from certain referees as it changes every week. Without doubt Klien is the worst, he has his own views on the rules and they bare little resemblance to the actual rules.
Sadly nothing will get done because people are watching the game in record numbers and that adds value to the next broadcasting deal and I guess that will translate to some hefty bonuses at HQ. People have to remember HQ have zero interest in who wins and how they win, their handling of the salary cap for decades proves that along with their lack of interest in trying to get professional and consistent performances from the referees. All you can hope is that you can get a roster that it is so good that they can overcome all the rubbish calls and still win
TheEnz
Well-known member
Was listeining to a pod with Luke Keary yesterday, he believes its not the new rules, its related more to a change in philisophy where referees are being more black and white with the rules, especially in the first half of games and what used to be some freedom they had to make decisions with a bit of a feel for the flow of the game or to give a few warnings before pinging a team, especially if the penalty would be for something that did not directly impact the outcome of play has been taken away from them and they have to give a penalthy because Anusley is doing video reviews of every single decision and every single missed decision. He was quite adamant that this is the case and he has been told so directly by people involved.
I can understand Stuarts frustration...i imagine some players feel this way too.
it is confusing...theres no warning of a change coming and too often it does seem to go one teams way in games....thats the abnoying part.
i enjoyed last night game i thought it was better than most of last weeks magic round...that said i did get the feeling the Dolphins were getting most of the calls and i was quite neutral....it seemed todd snith was very very different from games ive seen him do previously..makes me think like others a call has come from above to change his interpretations.
. There were quite a few instances that wouldve been 6 to go in other games that werent last night.
i didnt think the Raiders were all that poorly disciplined until late in the game it seemed the frustration got the better of them..chasing the scoreboard
it is confusing...theres no warning of a change coming and too often it does seem to go one teams way in games....thats the abnoying part.
i enjoyed last night game i thought it was better than most of last weeks magic round...that said i did get the feeling the Dolphins were getting most of the calls and i was quite neutral....it seemed todd snith was very very different from games ive seen him do previously..makes me think like others a call has come from above to change his interpretations.
. There were quite a few instances that wouldve been 6 to go in other games that werent last night.
i didnt think the Raiders were all that poorly disciplined until late in the game it seemed the frustration got the better of them..chasing the scoreboard
TheEnz
Well-known member
I think you have to be on your best behavior in the first 20mins of the game as that seems to be when they refs have been told to crack down and set the tone for the rest of the game. I see teams getting away with more slowing down of the ruck once the sting is out of the game.
I think if it’s after tackle 3 it should be a full penalty and I guarantee refs won’t blow them near as often.
