rule changes : Fri Sep 26, 2014 2:07 pm  

now that this wonderful season is over, well it is for me as I can finally go on holiday, I was wondering what changes we could make to improve the game for next year.
firstly how about implementing a rule whereby the referee takes the defending side back, say, 10m as the attacking side plays the ball. Failure to comply would result in a penalty.
Next when a team repeatedly attempt to pack down with 5 players, give them a warning then dispatch the captain to the sin bin if the problem recurs.
Lastly I hate to say we need to take a leaf out of RU and make a deliberate knock on a penalty.
A question to Hull fans ..do you think it is £100,000 well spent ?
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the coaching staff, players and people behind the scenes for a memorable season that with a bit more composure could have been unbelievable. Cant wait for next year.

Re: rule changes : Fri Sep 26, 2014 5:06 pm  

Too many penalties can be equally negative for the game. Looking at last nights game I think it should be protocol that If a try is scored from a charge down or interception it should automatically be sent to video ref. These are probably the hardest type of trys to score without a bit of yard creeping. Lee Briers scored a lot of trys from interceptions but a lot were due to him bending the rules and creeping preside and Bet many others did It and Still do.

Re: rule changes : Fri Sep 26, 2014 5:16 pm  

Fix the obstruction rule.
Bring back neutral refereeing.
Trapping the ball in the scrum at any point is a penalty to the other team.

Re: rule changes : Sun Sep 28, 2014 3:17 pm  

I'd like to see the rule changed where if a team kicks it dead behind the opponents sticks then the game is not re-started from the 20 but from where it was kicked from.Obviously if the ball was kicked dead inside the 20 then the game should be re-started from the 20, but if it was kicked dead from the half way line then the game should re-start from half way line. Time and time again it looks like teams deliberately kick it dead behind the sticks to gain 30 or 40 yards up field, and make the opposition re-start from their own 20............

Re: rule changes : Sun Sep 28, 2014 6:42 pm  

Gronk! wrote:

Fix the obstruction rule.
Bring back neutral refereeing.
Trapping the ball in the scrum at any point is a penalty to the other team.

Re: rule changes : Sun Sep 28, 2014 11:18 pm  

Gronk! wrote:

Fix the obstruction rule.
Bring back neutral refereeing.
Trapping the ball in the scrum at any point is a penalty to the other team.

Aren't all referees neutral? You can't really believe with all the cameras at grounds these days that referees fix games?

Re: rule changes : Tue Sep 30, 2014 1:35 am  

2 refs.
Penalise 3rd man attacks to knees and below.
Any high tackle is at the very least a sin bin accidental or not ( red for more serious shots).
Kicks that go dead in goal get an extra tackle unless kicked within the 20 metre line.
Change the obstruction rule.
Ban all players except the captain from speaking to the ref, if player has a problem he goes through his captain.
All incidents to be penalised andd with a loss of 10 metres for persistent offending.

Re: rule changes : Tue Sep 30, 2014 12:35 pm  

the one rule I hate is allowing the team who have just scored 1 minute to line the goal up. if you have a 10 try match, then that is 10 minutes where the clock is just ticking away whilst players have a drink, pull up socks, etc. Stop the clock as soon as the try is scored and give the fans 80 minutes of rugby

Re: rule changes : Fri Oct 10, 2014 12:22 pm  

JINJER wrote:

Aren't all referees neutral?

How can they be? Referees aren't bussed in from outer space, they're plucked for the wider RL community. Pretty much every referee - pro or otherwise - will have grown up exposed to the game and will have their own favourite team - their home town or one they likely followed previous to their reffing career. I doubt anybody has ever said to themselves "well I do love Crown Green Bowling, but I might just give reffing this other sport I've never heard of a try".

And it's not just simple favouritism - with a given allegiance also comes a natural bias against that club's historic rivals. Someone officiating a game in which 'their' team (or a 'rival') is playing would have to have superhuman resolve and restraint to officiate the game impartially, and I would argue that they don't. Furthermore, as people involved in the game they will inevitably take to the field with a preconception about who will win - ie: NOT NEUTRAL. Ask yourself: Wigan v London - who's gonna win? An extreme example maybe, but just like the London fans would go along expecting a hammering, so the ref rocks up with a pretty good idea of how it's going to go. Again, NOT NEUTRAL.

All of that I could live with on the strength of the "well what's better?" argument, but the evidence of my own eyes shows me that while some refs at least attempt to maintain balance, others just don't give a toss how bent they look - Team A is gonna win and that's that! And they conduct themselves that way in an environment where criticism of them brings down punitive action on the critic, not on the referee. They KNOW they act with near enough total impunity.

Two refs (presumably NOT from the same town) will help if they both have equal standing (ie: not just another touch judge who does nothing). But the biggest way to minimise biased refereeing is to introduce a proper review procedure and to allow, in fact to encourage, feedback from coaches, players and clubs. Make it behind closed doors if necessary, but there needs to be something. Since they went pro our refs have largely been stealing a living and taking the p*ss and with no corrective measure in place they're just getting worse.

Re: rule changes : Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:14 pm  

One that has always irritated me. Kicking out on the full from kick off should be a tap/scrum on the half way, not a penalty.