Look, the rules of RL have become so complicated that I believe the refs have too much to consider. One unnecessary obligation is having to remember all their names. I pit the poor refs in the Pacifica matches... and the commentators.
However, I do believe that the linespeople are not doing enough to help. In last night's Women's SOO the linesperson missed one forward 'pass' which led to a NSW 'try', and one blatant offside that led to a Qld 'try'.
It took the intervention of Big Brother to rule both put-downs illegal.
In the first one, knowing that they can't rule on a forward pass, the Bunker claimed that the pass was a "dropped ball that went forward". It was laughable, but at least it was a correct ruling.
In the second 'try' the ball catcher was 3-4 metres offside. How the linespeople missed it is unforgivable. The Bunker correctly ruled that way, but had the 'tryscorer' been pulled down short of the line and Qld scored in the next play it would have been ruled a try because Big Brother can't go back to a previous infringement.
Ridiculous.
The NRL has created so many inconsistencies that incorrect decisions happen all the time, frustrating the heck out of supporters.