Wakefield Trinity head coach Daryl Powell has compared the cameras used in Super League to Nokia 3310 phones after his side’s win over Bradford Bulls saw five try decisions go up to the video referee.
Each of those decisions, as well as the multiple captain’s challenge, were a painstaking watch for those in the ground and those at home as yet again, the camera quality led to a very drawn-out process.
After all of those challenges, the game stretched out to two hours and five minutes, though thankfully for Wakefield they came through with a 26-12 win.
In a game full of crucial moments given how many incidents were challenged and how many tries were sent up to the video referee, the biggest was Josh Rourke’s try-saving tackle on Jayden Nikorima.
The Bradford man looked to have grounded the ball to make it 16-16 with a kick to come, however, Wakefield full-back Rourke slid in and it was revealed that Nikorima had grounded the ball on the knee of the Trinity man before then knocking on.
That was the verdict that Chris Kendall came to based on the footage provided and whilst Daryl Powell agreed with the call, he admitted that the footage was hard to decipher.
“That would have been tough if Nikorima scored that try. It was an unbelievable tackle from Rourkey,” he said post-match before taking aim at the camera quality.
“It was a tough decision for the official but I thought they got it right. We’re on Nokia 3310s with the camera so it’s kind of hard to see. It’s not great.”
On the game lasting over two hours, Powell didn’t punch down on the sport but admitted that something does need to change for the 2027 season.
“It’s a little bit long and you have to find different ways to deal with it but I certainly don’t want to be negative about the game,” he explained.
“Everyone is trying to get it right and you can’t. I spoke about it earlier in the year, you can’t change it halfway through the year but it needs consideration.
“We’ll see what happens at the end of the year.”
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