New ARLC chairman Peter V’landys has given a no-holds-barred assessment of referees on his second day in office, declaring it the biggest issue facing the NRL.
Concluding the two-day meeting of the ARLC in Penrith on Thursday, the new boss said he feels for fans who walk away from games “ripped off” and systems need to change before next season.
Refereeing blunders and judicial controversies grabbed headlines throughout the season, highlighted by the now infamous “six again” call by an on-field official in the NRL grand final.
“To be frank, we need to improve our refereeing. That’s the biggest single problem at the moment,” V’landys said.
“Being from the racing industry there’s one thing that I’ve learnt, it’s that punters or fans don’t like to be ripped off. You can’t have them walk away thinking that they’ve been ripped off.
“We need to fix our systems and do whatever we can so that the fan walks away happy and content that he’s had a fair crack, and not walk away thinking that he’s been ripped off.”
V’landys said the NRL have put together a comprehensive report on the game’s referees and judicial systems and the ARLC is expected to make changes over the coming months.
“The year was pretty good, it was a great year for rugby league. The only thing that let us down was some of the decisions,” he said.
“In saying that, there’s a high expectation on the human element. Referees and all of us will make mistakes, all we have to try and do as administrators is minimise those mistakes. You’re never going to eradicate them.
“The pressure on the referees at those moments in time is immense, so I don’t envy them. Our job is to support them, help them and improve them to make less mistakes.”
Since the NRL grand final, support for rolling back the number of officials and appointing just one on-field referee instead of two has grown.
A traditionalist in his support of one on-field referee, V’landys confirmed he is outnumbered by the ARLC board who prefer the current system of two, and will defend any decision they make.
V’landys is also a part of the competitions committee which will meet next week.
Up for discussion is a range of new rule interpretations including a revamped golden-point system, a five-minute sin bin and a captain’s challenge.
