What Marki and I want is a fast entertaining open game where refs have zero impact on the end result...

What you want is for refs to do their job, the 2 are not mutually exclusive... 

One problem I see is that players and coaches don't respect refs, refs need to earn back respect....  

IMO a game with a big 10, fast play the balls and minimal stoppages is always decided by the players, the ref is automatically respected as it is an entertaining game, the ref gets credit even though all they did was get out of the way and let the players play..

The problem with this is why the ref is on the field in the first place, given any opportunity the players will push the boundaries and outright cheat, as winning is important..

The best path forward is for refs to maintain a big 10, zero tolerance for any hands on the player/ball after they have called held, and zero tolerance for incorrect play the balls.  
The use the bin for repeated infringements, and be consistent.... Where the ball is player on an opposition foot is the one exception, make that a do-over unless the opposition player put their foot there.... that is a genuine 50/50 .. the refs are just guessing and are wildly inconsistent... If there are any other areas where they are guessing, make it a do-over...

The one thing that is easy to do, easy to be consistent and requires zero judgement is keep a big 10, do that sooner or later the attack will make an inroad and be entitled to a quick ptb, not hard to spot if the defence slows down the ptb to give time to get their line set, really it is a professional foul,  record that as a team foul, after 3 fouls the next one is the bin...  Get it right and be consistent, the refs will soon earn back respect....

The lack of consistency seems to stem from not having it right, the refs sensing they are not respected, and wanting to avoid controversy. By trying to be a small target, they are showing a lack of confidence and opening themselves up for failure....

More than anything the refs need to build a team culture, set some standards and decide what they stand for, then strive to meet their own standards.....
I would like to get them in a room and see what they think they stand for, I half suspect we would get a lot of corporate speak and very little substance.
 

The other thing that would be a big leap forward for the game is sensible use of advantage...

In general play the ref calls out "advantage Bulldogs", then after 2 completed passes, or 10 m up field "advantage taken".

Close to the try line "unlimited advantage" the ref simply calls out "advantage" unless a try is scored the tackle count reset sets at the end of the 6... the ref calls out "advantage set" on the 5th, so the team is reminded they have another set coming, and can take the tackle on the 6th...

You can't keep a big 10 close to the try line, but the "unlimited advantage" rule would soon stop blatant cheating by the defence, note the game doesn't stop, so a captain can't question the call, if they do, the ref ignores them, any try scored while the defensive captain is having a dummy spit stands...

So what your saying HD is..... we need the 11th Immortal Lachlan Coote ASAP


I couldn’t agree more with your last post

I'm suggesting we go all in and clone 17 Cootes... :)

hound dog, we all would like to see a fast, expansive entertaining game, but that has nothing to do with respecting the ref. Where the disrespect comes from is inconsistency. There are a lot of games where the refs give one team a fat 10 metres and yet the opposition gets a skinny one. The same goes with ptb, moving off the mark, forward passes etc etc etc. If the referee wants to put the whistle away and let the game flow, then be consistent and do it for both teams. The way it stands the games look scripted and the outcome of the season looks much like a Home and Away plot. You can read who will be there at the end of the season and almost who will win it. We don't need the media's approval or input to determine what the fans want to see as much as we don't need TTT or chestBeattie interfering to help the media run the game. In the 1980's Canterbury were dubbed the entertainers and for good reason, they played an expansive, fast entertaining style of footy and without the help of refs or anyone else. This was also in the days that loose possesion, sloppy ptb,  poor scrum management all mattered and if you were complacent in these areas you lost possesion of the ball through the art of the ball being "stolen or raked" and it was a legal part of the game. So by all means respect the referee and cut him some slack, but only if he deserves it and earns it.

Whilst ODF is no doubt yearning for Bobbie and Pippa I have to agree inconsistency is the key to discontent. Classic example yesterday Rorters Dragons game in which a bomb was put up and firstly the St George player was penalised for challenging...minutes later virtually same thing and Daniel Tupau is allowed to score a try. Players walking off the mark is annoying as all fekk. It used to be a penalty but now they are told to go back or the play is simply allowed to continue and the defending team will often be penalised for not lining up square at markers. zPolice this area properly and it is a start. Also annoying is the first 5 minutes being policed differently to the rest of the game.

Thank you steve my point exactly, but who the fk are bobbie and pippa, sounds like characters in a JRR Tolkein novel.

Yes, refs needs to earn respect, consistency is part of that....
They need strategies to improve consistency.... it doesn't just happen it should be their number one aim...

hounddog  I couldn't agree more and that job falls squarely on Annersley's head, but if he is part of the problem then we wont see any improvement until he is replaced.

I also just read that Fitler is suggesting that Gould should be in charge of the NRLol. Not such a silly comment considering what we have running the show ATM!!!!!!

steve when players walk off the mark and are told by the refs to go back and play the ball sh!ts me to tears. That is under8 crap..... players should be penalised, they are old enough and experienced enough to know that is illegal to move off the mark and the referees should not be condoning this rubbish.

No big10, just a consistent 10.  Any ad hoc arrangements will lead to inconsistency and  potential bias. If we want more than 10 change the rules.

Making a bit of  noise 
the 11th immortal is banging on the belmore
door kevin moore if his sister dose 
something she shouldnt it will come back 2 bite her
listen up lynn  the chair kevin isnt wanted

The NRLol have just given, given, given in the hope that it will improve the game... the players as expected take, take, take and push even further...
walking off the mark, getting locked up in tackles, not ptb correctly, 'flat' passes, passing after held, going on with the tackle after held, escorts, etc etc etc...
all for what??? An extra 2 minutes of game time and a consistently inconsistent product.,,
imagine trying to explain the rules to a league newbie... oh yeah that's a penalty except when it's not...
this crap will continue until someone in the NRLol grows a set and actually follows through with a ptb crackdown... short term pain for long term game... the teams will change the way they play if the whistle and bin is used as required...

we we need a 5 minute bin, and sit two or three down at the same time if we have to...
The coaches will learn pretty quick..,

The likes of Joey johns can GGF if they start complaining about cleaning up the ruck..,


#todd&comustgo
#dismantlethearlc...

And stop this calling players by their first name crap...
its a surname or a number...
the players are not the refs mates, and vice versa...

2 refs is a joke... diluted the refs power and created inconsistencies in interpretations, is the game better because of two refs???... 

And the worst bit about it all is... Chamge is driven as a reaction to negative press... which is often the polar opposite of what the fans want....
The media courtesy of complicit, duplicitous, and inept leaders such as TTT and cheastBeattie have positioned themselves beautifully for a much reduced offer the next time around...
#todd&comustgo
#dismantlethearlc

OK I would settle for a consistent 10, I can't see why they can't get more consistent, most poor games this year have had a skinny 10...

What is this about Tony?

Kevin Moore is OK, but not as NRL coach....

I'm happy to have him at the club in any other capacity..... happy to have him advising on the rebuild, as he did a good job in a similar situation...
He got unlucky when Noddy got injured, then struggled to find a good half....
If we had a good young half to learn the ropes from Kimmorley, the last decade probably would have gone much better......
In spite of what everyone says, Moore wasn't rubbish, with the benefit of hindsight I wish we kept him in the job rather than going with Des.  
Moore probably deserved one season with Jimmy Graham & Ben Barba... but it is ancient history now.... I'm happy with the current NRL coach.

The games that most regular fans considered exciting have had an inconsistent  10, just in favour of the Big 3...
camt even imagine the conversations around what they can do to ensure the Big 4th makes the finals after a 1-5 start.. keep a close eye on all upcoming broncos games... 

Not a bad idea HD....

dman, you and I and almost every other BDPer are on the same page regarding the quality of the refereeing and if we are thinking it how many other fans of other clubs are thinking the same.

Utter rubbish.
The teams leading the comp are doing so coz they are bloody good - the best of the current crop.

We are 7 rounds in. Other than maybe a team here or there feeling they were dudded (Manly last week) you cannot make a claim that the refs have an agenda or the comp is decided. 

Come finals time, its anyone's game although history shows it's usually a top 4 team that wins it. 

Refs are human and will mistakes. Players and coaches are human too and guess what? They make mistakes. But at the end of the day I can't think of 1 GF that was decided due to bad ref mistake.

Even the Storms first premiership in 1999 was a correct call. 

Enough ref bashing guys. Our team is crap atm, but stop looking to blame someone else for our current predicament 

The fans of the Big 3 are thinking its great. The fans of the Big 4th are thinking it'll be great as soon as Milford goes to fullback...

do underdtand though, I completely blame the NRLol and not the refs... the refs are simply performing as instructed...

qhat at the he'll were the NRLol thinking telling refs to to ref to the rules... the players and coaches consistently broke the rules when they were being enforced..,

its a shame the stats from the NRLol aren't broken down by team... I could almost guarantee the Big 3's ptb is quicker with the ball, and slower without it...

#todd&comustgo...
#dismantlethearlc...

I'm not looking at this in isolation with regard to the Dogs... 
and im not blaming the refs...
you raise a good point though, that the teams leading are the best, cos of mandated salary cap rorts, in conjunction with a glow mandate that would only suit the very best at pushing the limits...
the more you post, the more I think I only watch one or two games a week... which is far from the best position to make sweeping judgements...

Everyone accepts the refs make mistakes... the difference is they're being told to ignore the rules, and its leading to inconsistency in addition to error..

a GFmay not have been decided by a mistake, but plenty of teams missed a GF or finals because of one...

wg no individual reffing error lost is the 12 and 14 finals... but the way they were redder went a long way to deciding the result..,

funnily enough against 2 of the Big 4...

While individual error didn't decide, the way reffed did*

Thing is teams at the top of the pile don't need a leg up, I agree they are getting one, it should be unintentional because if it is intentional it is dumb...
What we are lacking at present is then "upset" when a lesser credential side wants it more or the day and gets some luck...
The luck or the 50/50s are tending to go with the top side, and they don't need it, end result "upsets" rarely happen, the comp becomes stale and boring, fans of the top 2-3 teams are happy, fans of the bottom 13 teams think "what is the point" and lose interest...
All the refs can do is improve consistency, ref the rules and let the game flow with a good 10 that is never less than 10..... do that and we will have an exciting comp with "upsets" and all fans engaged, fix the shambles of a salary cap and the comp will be even better....
Running a comp where 2-3 teams get a leg up is easy, running a comp that is fair to all is a much bigger challenge, but that should be the aim.

Once again, Bulldogs fans will always whinge because the team plays with a very poor line speed and only advances 2m from the 10m mark.
If the ref (for whatever reason) is playing an 11m or 12m mark, our 2m advance means we meet the next run 10m passed the advantage line. The poor ref who took us back 12m instead of 10m gave the opposition a 100% advancement on what is normal.

Now take the above and apply it to a top team with fast defensive line speed, who normally runs forward 6m on every tackle. By being taken 12m back instead of 10m, they are still meeting the next run 6m from the advantage line and the nett effect the refs "error" is only 33%.

That's the difference my friends.
Our poor line speed is more sensitive to fat or skinny 10m retreats by the refs. It's not cheating, it's not bias. It's just silly of us to keep blaming the refs for having to set a 10m mark with no guidelines in a game played at furious pace. 
If we want to negate it we can do 2 things:

1) improve our line speed so the effect is minimal
2) move up in a line consistently (refs will take teams 11m and 12m back if there is a serial offender that is 1 or 2m constantly offside)

You made the Home & Away references!!