“Boring” – Jon Wilkin tees off on controversial Super League issue

Sky Sports pundit and former St Helens captain Jon Wilkin has called for major reform on how the video referee is operated in Super League after labelling it “boring”.

The current campaign marks the first season in which a video referee has been present for every single game. That change was implemented after the new TV deal was arranged and with every game televised, every game must have a video referee.

Perhaps it is because we’re seeing the video referee process that much more but fans and pundits have started to air grievances with how the process works with games regularly lasting far longer due to the system’s constant use.

Jon Wilkin is no different with the pundit teeing off on the speed of the process when speaking on his podcast this week. Wilkin hosts The Bench Podcast with Jenna and Jon alongside Sky’s Jenna Brooks and when asked what element of the sport he would place on ‘the bench’, i.e. remove from the sport, his answer was simple.

“On the Bench for me is video refs, not the entire video ref, but the extended process that the video ref seems to be going through to get to a decision, like the multiple angles,” Wilkin argued.

Does Super League have a video referee problem?

The ex-Saints man continued his argument as he noted how the video referee will often support the on-field official’s decision with Wilkin even suggesting that they will look “meticulously” in order to be able to support their fellow official.

He explained: “They’re getting caught because the on-field referee is giving a decision, and then the video referee is just having to really meticulously go through every single angle and try and just make sure he’s backing up the guy on the pitch.

“It becomes like two minutes and it’s boring. If I wanted to listen to Ben Thaler, I’d go to a social club in Normanton on a Sunday afternoon and listen to him. I don’t want to listen to him for four minutes.”

England captain George Williams was a guest on the podcast and he suggested a simple change, adding: “Sometimes it goes up as a ‘No Try’ and they’ll stick with that no matter what yeah. I’d give the try like they do in the NRL and then review it. The ‘No Try’ decision, sometimes they keep it as that.”

Wilkin’s desired change was far simpler, a clock on the video referee: “What I want on the bench is the length of the video referee process. So I think we should put a clock on it. I’d say give them 30 seconds. Get those nimble fingers working on the angles.”