Official View: Video referee dropped
http://www.nrl.com/official-view-video-referee-dropped/tabid/10874/newsid/62563/default.aspx
Referees co-coach Bill Harrigan answers your most frequently asked questions from Round 8.
Why was Manly’s Jamie Lyon ruled to have knocked-on by the video referee?
In relation to the match between Manly and North Queensland and the video referee decision against Jamie Lyon, we reviewed it today and it is unanimous that it was a knock back.
It is always going back from the hands, the 40-metre line is there and can be used as a good guide, it is always going backwards out of his hands, it crosses the red line and continues to go backwards.
As a result, the video referee has been stood down from Round 9.
That should have been play-on, the video referee has made a crucial decision in that game at a crucial time and it certainly had an impact on the game.
This is why we have felt it necessary to stand the video referee down for Round 9.
Was there a possible eight-point try when Manly’s Will Hopoate was attempting to score?
If Will Hopoate had the ball in his possession, then it would have definitely been an eight-point try.
But because he didn’t have the ball, it was a loose ball situation, the defender was running in and going for the ball, not the attacker.
They were both going for the ball and that is the difference in this situation, rather than one player having the ball and the other coming in late attacking the player with the ball.
It was a 50-50 contest for the ball and that is why it was not an eight-point try.
Why was Josh Dugan awarded a try when it looked like he had knocked-on?
The video referees had their meeting today and it was unanimous that it should have been called a knock-on.
The ball has been lost in the act of scoring.
The video referee ruled that it was stripped so therefore ball was still live and then subsequently grounded.
But having watched the replays and analysed them today, we are confident the ball was lost in the act of scoring and should not have been awarded.
Why was the decision to award a try to the Broncos not sent upstairs when it appeared Peter Wallace might have knocked-on in the lead up?
I want to applaud the referee and the pocket referee on not sending that up to the video referee. We have told the referees not to send the decision upstairs if you know what the decision coming back is going to be.
In this situation the pocket referee was yelling ‘backwards, backwards’ and that confirmed what the control referee thought had happened and he knew that it was a try.
We have looked at it again and again, it was unanimous that while Peter Wallace was trying to pass, the ball always travels backwards from his hands and thus it is play-on leading to a Broncos try.
Some people have been critical that it wasn’t checked, even though it was a try. Our attitude is that if you are in the right position and you are 100% confident in what you have seen, why check it?