How to fix the biggest problem in Super League as supporters turn and coaches speak out

Matt Peet was right when he spoke about the video referee and the amount of time each decision is taking in Super League at present, it’s ugly. The Wigan Warriors head coach made the point that while the talk around marketing the game was all well and good, we have to look at the things turning people off the game.

Officiating and the video referee is certainly one of those things and that was painfully obvious on Sunday as stoppage after stoppage saw Hull FC v Wigan Warriors become the latest game to tick over two hours. With referee Jack Smith taking every opportunity to utilise the help of video referee Ben Thaler, fans at the MKM Stadium began to lose patience, with a chorus of boos breaking out during the wait for one decision to be made in the second half.

That decision surrounded Abbas Miski’s try, with Smith sending the effort upstairs as a no try. Thaler wasn’t given the luxury of clear angle on the replay and he spent almost five minutes agonising over the footage to try and decipher whether Miski touched the ball down in the corner or not.

To his credit, he probably got to the right decision in the end and many will argue that’s all that matters, but at what cost? Rugby league is an entertainment business at the end of the day and watching Thaler, who is usually the sharpest video referee, pore over the same bits of footage time and time again was painful, irrespective of who you support. It just has to be quicker.

The truth is officials make mistakes during every Super League game and that’s not a moan, referees are human after all and every supporter will accept that. Jack Smith made several errors at the MKM Stadium on Sunday, too. That didn’t take away from the spectacle of the contest, but unfortunately the amount of time spent referring things to the video referee did.

A solution to the ‘ugly’ Super League problem

It’s clear something needs to be done then, but what? Well, urging referees to have more faith in their own eyes would probably be a start and some are better than others at that.

But, in genuine cases of uncertainty where the video referee has to intervene, perhaps a shot clock type timer might be an option. The length of time allowed is certainly up for debate, but for argument’s sake a 90 second to two minute limit would help speed along the process, assuming the officials can be presented with all the available angles from the start.

Should the footage remain inconclusive during that period then the clock times out and the decision goes back to the on-field call, which was made by the official closest to the action. It’s not foolproof and it might not lead to the correct decision being made single every time, such as Miski’s try.

But in the interest of the game and Super League, something has to be done to speed up the process. Matt Peet wasn’t alone in his sentiment, with Hull FC boss John Cartwright coming into the press room and making the same point about the need to make a call quicker and move on.

Both head coaches nailed it and a video referee shot clock might just be the answer when it comes to speeding up the game we love and eliminating painstaking experiences like Sunday afternoon at the MKM Stadium.