Official View: The advantage rule

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Berkeley_Eagle

Current Status: 24/7 Manly Fan
Official View: The advantage rule

Bill Harrigan NRL.comMon, Apr 11, 2011 - 4:50 PM
http://www.nrl.com/official-view-the-advantage-rule/tabid/10874/newsid/62213/default.aspx


Referees co-coach Bill Harrigan answers your most frequently asked questions from Round 5.

How long can the referee play advantage? When was the advantage taken in relation to round 5's Sharks v Sea Eagles game?

The advantage is over when the referee deems the non-offending team has taken their opportunity. This varies from referee to referee. Last year we tried to make the ruling black and white by saying that the advantage is taken when the ball is advanced 10 metres from the point of the infringement. By doing this we were trying to take away the grey area around the ruling.

We changed this after constructive criticism arose last season when teams were passing it from sideline to sideline, but were ruled to have not taken their advantage because of the 10 metre rule we had in place.

In the Cronulla v Manly game, it is unanimous across the referees that Manly did not take their advantage. They did throw one pass, but they didn’t have an opportunity to take advantage and that is why the play was called back for the original infringement.

Ultimately, it is now up to the referees discretion to decide when the advantage has been taken.

Relive the Sharks v Sea Eagles clash on Game Analyser

Why were the Raiders allowed to run 100m to score – before being called back to look at the video referee?

Our current policy is that any part of that play leading to a try can be reviewed by the video referee if one of the officials has seen something he isn’t quite sure on. Sometimes in that quick split second you might miss something and it is better to go back and check it if you aren’t 100% sure.

If the Raiders player had been tackled a metre out from the line and there was time left on the clock, it is play-on because the referee has missed his opportunity to make a call and is obliged to let the on-field call stand.

The bottom line with this ruling is that the referees got it right; they used the video to check if there had been a push – which resulted in a penalty correctly being awarded to the Panthers.

Watch highlights from the Panthers v Raiders clash on Game Analyser

Why were the Eels not awarded a try when it appeared the Melbourne Storm player pulled the attacking player back?

On the first couple of replays it looks like the Melbourne Storm player pulls the Eels player back, but in a later replay it reveals that it was a 50-50 battle for the ball. The Eels player actually initiates the contact with the Storm player, the Melbourne defender then reacts. It is a fair contest for the ball, with both players desperate to get to the ball in the in-goal.

It was the replay showing this one-on-one contest that led to the decision being a 20m restart and not a penalty.

Why are players holding onto legs in the tackle not penalised?

There is a common misconception from players and fans that the attacking player who has been tackled around the legs is getting held down too long by the defender.

When a player goes in and makes a tackle around the legs, you generally see the attacking player start to kick-out in an attempt to quickly get to his feet and get a quick play the ball. Fans usually start booing and bemoaning how long he hangs on in the tackle.

The defender is actually allowed to hold on when he makes what we call a ‘legsie’ tackle and the reason we reward him with that extra time in the tackle is to give an incentive for players to tackle around the legs, which is something that has been disappearing from the game.

The referee will allow more time for a low defender to release the legs of the ball carrier and the player can hold on in the tackle until the referee calls him to release.

Watch the big moments from the Storm v Eels match on Game Analyser
 
All fair but what about blockers, wangman was clearly ran off the ball several times on saturday
 
Daniel said:
All fair but what about blockers, wangman was clearly ran off the ball several times on saturday


That is 1 area that needs to be looked at.

Albert Kelly had a field day the other day and got away with it.
 
"In the Cronulla v Manly game, it is unanimous across the referees that Manly did not take their advantage. They did throw one pass, but they didn’t have an opportunity to take advantage and that is why the play was called back for the original infringement."

As expected, Flanagan's whinge for a supposed try under the posts wouldn't have been awarded by a single referee in the entire competition.

Says a lot about his outburst, and also reflects on the credibility of his calls for two supposed forward passes.
 
I'll firstly admit I have generally been a Harrigan fan. This year to me is just better under his guidance. His willingness to approach team coaches and answer any questions by the media on rule interpretations is an improvement. It will never be perfect but I like ref efforts more this year in so many areas.
 
bones said:
It wasn't a high quality game, but it was a great finish and a really special win considering Manly had both their best forward and their best back watching from the sidelines.

Rex said:
"In the Cronulla v Manly game, it is unanimous across the referees that Manly did not take their advantage. They did throw one pass, but they didn’t have an opportunity to take advantage and that is why the play was called back for the original infringement."

As expected, Flanagan's whinge for a supposed try under the posts wouldn't have been awarded by a single referee in the entire competition.

Says a lot about his outburst, and also reflects on the credibility of his calls for two supposed forward passes.

Funny, that bitter old bloke Warren Ryan on ABC radio was going on and on about how Manly had taken advantage because they passed the ball twice. Almost as though his dislike of Manly had warped his view of what happened. Of course he also said Manly could not get much credit for a comeback, it was simply that they got helped by the ref with penalties and wrong calls. Made me laugh to hear it, if our victories make him more unhappy I hope we win every single game from here to eternity.
 
That 10m "advantage" rule was a complete joke last year. It was the perfect example of how ridiculous the refereeing of our game had become and how much they had lost touch with their role. Refereeing is all about interpretation, but they (Finch and Co.) had decided that every rule had to have a set of key indicators that they had to follow. As a result we had numeruos stupid "black or white" decisions around obstruction, advantage, separation in try scoring and downward pressure, to name a few. I'm so glad Finch has gone, how he lasted as long as he did was beyond me, the standard of officiating had hit an all time low. Things have improved under Harrigan this year already with the on field refs....now all he has to do is improve the standard of the video ref, as that is still woeful at times.
 
Matai does this all the time as well.

The rule as i understand it is you cannot change your line, only the touchies would be able to monitor this (outside the video ref).
 
Rex said:
"In the Cronulla v Manly game, it is unanimous across the referees that Manly did not take their advantage. They did throw one pass, but they didn’t have an opportunity to take advantage and that is why the play was called back for the original infringement."

As expected, Flanagan's whinge for a supposed try under the posts wouldn't have been awarded by a single referee in the entire competition.

Says a lot about his outburst, and also reflects on the credibility of his calls for two supposed forward passes.

Not to mention the fact that when the ref blew his whistle, DCE and the other Manly defender stopped and that is the only reason that the Sharks player actually broke through and was on his way. There was a lot of deflection going on from the coaches in this round.
 
Fluffy the difference is that Kelly and twopoo's both stepped clearly off their line. A clear sideways deviation
 
SeaEagleRock8 said:
Funny, that bitter old bloke Warren Ryan on ABC radio was going on and on about how Manly had taken advantage because they passed the ball twice. Almost as though his dislike of Manly had warped his view of what happened. Of course he also said Manly could not get much credit for a comeback, it was simply that they got helped by the ref with penalties and wrong calls. Made me laugh to hear it, if our victories make him more unhappy I hope we win every single game from here to eternity.

Goes to show bitter old Warren Ryan can't count past zero these days. There was just one pass, I think Ballin to Hoppa, not two. Flanagan must get his entire game analysis from Ryan, because he also claimed two passes. That EVERY NRL referee disagreed with Ryan's claimed expert analysis is hardly a surprise.
 

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