I'm sure the introduction of technology has adversely impacted what we perceive as refereeing mistakes. Prior to CSI footage the ref ruled on what he/she saw and apart from the occasional howler we fans grudgingly accepted it. Now the refs have protocols to follow: did the attacker receive the ball on the inside/outside shoulder of the defender ... did the ball brush a defender before being regathered... etc. Such protocols mean that tries we had been happy to approve in the past are now being disallowed due to technicalities.
By trying to make decisions more accurate the NRL has created a monster with no feel for the game. The ref is given no room for common sense these days, and it's why the officiating is in a shambles.
I agree with you.
And the bunker seems to have taken the ref's ability to use common sense. But also, there's non stop think tanks by coaches and players (it seems) to find absolutely any tiny loophole possible (illegal tackles, diving, etc).
I'm not sure I'll explain this well, so I'll use the example of:
Remember a few years ago there was some 'crackdown' - even though Annesley says the nrl doesn't have crackdowns - on players running back through the oppositions line and getting in the way of the ball.
So then a couple of halfbacks started throwing the ball straight down into a player lying on the ground and claiming to the ref that needs to be a penalty.
Now instead of the refs using one brain cell, blowing a knock on (or even play on)..... they blew the whistle for a penalty. Again, this was a defending player, lying on the ground, away from the ruck, and the dummy half literally threw the ball straight down to claim the player had gotten in the way.
Sometimes it feels like a catch-22 situation.
If refs are going to be total dribblers too afraid to rule the 'game' and not the freeze frames, then we need the bunker, which in turns makes stupid decisions like "that wasn't a strip, it was a loose carry" in reference to St G and parra the other night.