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The NRL's introduction of two referees gets a wide workout for the first time this weekend in trial games across Australia.
The system was used first in the Warriors-Storm game on Thursday night to general approval. Fans did not find it distracting, players did not find it confusing, the coaches did not complain about mistakes by the officials.
The whistlers themselves felt it worked well, with senior man Jason Robinson commenting that having Phil Haines working with him certainly eased the pressure. It gave them added confidence in making decisions, sometimes when the ball was out of sight.
One ref watches the play-the-ball area and the other holds the 10m defensive line, then watches for any foul or offside play following the ruck. The 10m line referee whistles decisions while communicating directly with the play-the-ball ref and the pair alternate roles during the 80 minutes.
There are hopes the system will eliminate grapple tackles and hold-downs and so speed up the game, offering better opportunities for attack. And there is hope better rulings applied instantly will reduce work for the video referee.
"Not for a second do I think this will stop people arguing about on-field decisions but they can't argue about the professionalism or the dedication of those involved in making the decisions," the NRL CEO David Gallop said when announcing the one-year trial. The video ref will not adjudicate in stripping-the-ball decisions.
