Rugby League coaches never lose games. Ever.
There is always something that gets in the way of a Rugby League coaches perfect plan to take down the opposition.
Injuries, suspensions, the terrible schedule, the rep season….there is always some reason why a coach didn’t manage to get the win.
Of course, the most obvious reason coaches lose games of football are the referee’s.
The men in pink, running around with a whistle in their hand, they are just looking for ways to screw one side out of a certain victory.
At some point in the NRL’s history, someone got talked into the idea that it would be great if NRL coaches had a bigger say on the rules and were able to give feedback on how the game was controlled by referee’s.
As soon as the NRL began to consult with referee’s and their bosses, everything was supposed to be smoothed over, the confusion was supposed to be removed and everyone would be happy.
Except, that wasn’t what happened…
You see, someone always had to lose, and even with the lines of communication open, coaches still attacked referee’s and the rules when ever they lost a game.
I think it is time referee’s boss Daniel Anderson and the Referee’s in general shut up shop. I would like to see the referee’s backed by the NRL.
In short, I would like the game to tell whinging, losing coaches to go and jump!
I am sick to death of the referee’s being used as an excuse. Even if you think the referee’s are in poor form, you can not deny that every single club gets effected by them.
Every single losing coach goes into a post game press conference armed with a refereeing decision that went against their team. They will completely overlook other things that went for or against them, its just the referees fault!
One area that has been destroyed in the rule book thanks to consultation with coaches is what does and does not constitute an obstruction.
Once upon a time this rule was really clear cut. Then at some point, attacking structures started to get more sophisticated and teams started throwing more decoy runners at the defensive line. One of the teams that did this the most were the Sydney Roosters, and as the Roosters started to get penalized they come under fire from an ex coach….Phil Gould.
Phil Gould has been banging on about the obstruction rule for ten years. His opinion on what constitutes an obstruction changes all the time! We are now at a point where by, after consulting with coaches, the obstruction rule has become a mess.
Even when it is applied correctly, the coaches whinge!
Daniel Anderson needs to come out and support his referee’s against coaches who constantly attack them. By all means, if a mistake is made, don’t shy away from it. But I would like to see the NRL Referee’s boss come out and provide facts and figures on games to show, it isn’t the referee’s fault games are won and lost, a lot of the time it is bad play and, dare I say it….bad coaching….
Sometimes what coaches want is not the best thing for the game. If coaches had their way they would manipulate the rule book to suit their team and their lineup.
That is why we need a referee’s boss that is willing to draw a line in the sand and apply the rules of Rugby League as they are. Not one that feels the need to change the rules every 5 minutes as to avoid criticism from losing coaches.
