Todd Greenberg is a fool

[Nathan Aboud]

That press conference was a joke as no matter how much PR he puts behind it, it is the truth....

Those officials including his bunker did determine the outcome of 3 of the 4 games on the weekend, now if we lost I'm sure Robbo would have made it 4 out of 4 with the no try to Latrell but however the officials missing the drop ball by Corey Oates.

The referee's have all off season including the 26 rounds to get it right and to continue to make those errors in the most important game of the year it is disgusting. I still can't see as to why Sutton needed to go to the bunker when his touch judges and also pocket referee said Walker was fine onside and that it was good.

Greenberg really is a tool in a job that he should not be in anymore........

[PeeGee]

That press conference was a joke as no matter how much PR he puts behind it, it is the truth....

Those officials including his bunker did determine the outcome of 3 of the 4 games on the weekend, now if we lost I'm sure Robbo would have made it 4 out of 4 with the no try to Latrell but however the officials missing the drop ball by Corey Oates.

The referee's have all off season including the 26 rounds to get it right and to continue to make those errors in the most important game of the year it is disgusting. I still can't see as to why Sutton needed to go to the bunker when his touch judges and also pocket referee said Walker was fine onside and that it was good.

Greenberg really is a tool in a job that he should not be in anymore........

Totally agree 100%

imagine if the officials themselves had to do a press conference after every game, classic.

Why has Archer been so quiet since he spoke to the press about our forward pass that cost Penwiff the game mmmmm?

[The ticket]

100% disagree

flanagan in particular was a disgrace - his team played like poo and his gripes on the ref were mostly whining bollocks or 50/50 calls

every time a coach does that it makes it harder for junior refs who are already under the pump.

no doubt Archer needs to go but the refereeing problems are deep and complex and the coaches are complicit. Yesterday Greenberg actually show d leadership on the issue of coaches being grown ups - Just like Robbo is.

[SupermanSupportsEasts4Eva]

In my personal opinion League is the best sport out of the 4 footy codes played in this country. However in this day and age where money and the media have such a big influence; for it not to lose creditable you need to ensure that you have the right people at the top running it.

From John Grant to Toddy Greenturd the NRL administration is a basket case (esp when compared to the AFL and A-League).

Being the traditional footy code fan favourite will not suffice amongst the big populace states of NSW and QLD just because of the history and legacies of the by-gone eras. As more and more fans get frustrated at being ripped off by administrations running the game incorrectly and allowing "scripts" to be followed for "entertainment sake" the game and it's integrity will be run into the ground.

Now just to be clear I don't buy into the conspiracy theories. Though nowdays I'm finding it more and more difficult to ignore that certain people, such has refs and people in the media, have an agenda to push.

What is evident is that certain individuals need to go

[zac]

Not especially a fan of Greenberg, but he was right to say that it's wrong to put the blame for a loss only on refereeing decisions. He could easily have said - 'Look at the way Trent Robinson handles himself. Even when the Roosters have got screwed by bad calls, they never put the blame solely on the ref.'

Also, we need refs. For the game to survive, we need talented men and women to take up refereeing. If there's a culture where every loss is blamed on refereeing decisions, there's not much incentive for competent people to put their heads on the chopping block.
But it's a fine line, Refs can't fall into the indolence of being a protected species. Maybe it's time for a new refs' boss.

[SupermanSupportsEasts4Eva]

Captains/Managers/Coaches in every sport around the world have always been blowing up whenever their team loose.

The biggest question to ask though is which other sport in the world allows for its refs and officials to have just a massive influence over the game?

The fact that week in week out the bloody refs receive so much attention such goes to show that there is something seriously wrong with the officials.

No matter what the sport, the best umpires/refs in the world are those that aren't noticed during a game. They just make the right calls and move on.

[PeeGee]

Yep exactly about Flanno's Presser, disgraceful.. But if that was the Roosters that were refereed like that game we'd all be calling for an Official Investigation. 50/50 calls are just that , 50/50, but when nearly all the 50/50 calls go against one team, it's an issue. 'Subconscious Bias' - maybe. Penalty count, 12-5 I think against guppies (btw, I I can't stand Cronulla or Flanno).

Storm Penalty count second half 6-0, NRL spent thousands on Smith that week, Storm were never gonna lose - Cummins the Puppet Cheat (though their week would have been severely disrupted and I feel sorry for whoever plays the Rain in 2 weeks).

Won't comment on the others. I'm not saying a heap of mistakes are made every game, I'm just saying the succession of 50/50 calls that went against Cronulla after Cooper spoke with Calvin Klein about the critical 'knee' strip penalty was remarkable. Also, was the refereeing of the Storm after the half-time lengthy chat that Smith had with Cummins. Basically, IMO, what smith and Cooper did was get in the refs ear and let the him know that they had effed up 'big time' somewhere. (I reckon some captains have great influencing skills, no one more so than Smith)

But carrying on like a pork chop at a press conference is not the go. It harms the NRL's rep & competition, whilst being extremely unprofessional.

[Johnny Tobin]

This is a good thread and should lead to a lot of heated debate.

What about Kent saying the referees have never been better.

[Dummy half]

Flanagan was right, if that was us you'd all be screaming (including me). Match fixing has been around forever, as long as it's jobs for the boys at NRL HQ, this will never disappear. As for the cronulla game, they got screwed bad , can't argue with any of the points mentioned by Flanagan, can't help but feel they were too big a threat to melbourne winning and so were removed. Of all the teams left. I'm pretty sure they are thinking they can screw us the most in a GF and get away with it.

[Bigchook]

This is a good thread and should lead to a lot of heated debate.

What about Kent saying the referees have never been better.

I agree with that. What has changed is the technology and coaches not playing in the interest of the game but playing to exploit the rules to the absolute limit which creates so many 50/50 decisions. If no one ever watched a replay of anything and just accepted the ref's whistle as gospel we'd all be a lot happier I don't want to see 50 replays of a grounding to see if there was 3milimeters separation before the ball hit a blade of grass.

[Dummy half]

Sure, but the problem is that even with the replays, they are still mysteriously getting it wrong, or even worse the first storm try which should have gone to the video ref, 3m forward, ado-carr offside, not touched by parra, but badger so determined to give it a try.

[novice chook]

It's not often I agree with Greenburg, but this is on of them. Yes officials make mistakes, and bad ones, but so do players and for only the referees to be named and shamed in coaches press conferences is unacceptable. Why is it OK to bring a referee to task publicly but not your own players, whose errors and mistakes have just as much as impact on the game as the referee's calls.

Yes Archer and his motley crew are a debacle, but many of the teams in the NRL are little better, and their players aren't publicly ridiculed by game officials like the refs are by coaches and players.

Perhaps Tony Archer needs to hold a presser every week and point out all the major mistakes of the players, and claim they cost their side the game and see how the players and coaches like that. He could also point out that certain coaches team selection and use of the interchange could use improvement. Name and shame in return. See how that goes down in club land. I doubt it will go well.

Greenburg is right, coaches need to protect and promote the game itself, not just their clubs and their supporters. And the referees are part of the game. In fact, without them, there wouldn't actually be a game. So what happens then, when there are not sufficient officials to actually officiate the number of games being played?\

I often get angry about refereeing decisions and performances, but I also get angry about player's decisions and performances as well. And both have a big impact on games. Sometimes one decides the result, sometimes the other. In the end, it is only a game.

All the public slandering of officials does is dent their confidence and affect their ability to make decisions even further in a negative way. It is not going to improve the performances of the referees. And worse still, it will not encourage anyone else to want to become a referee and replace them.

There is a process that it is place where coaches can air their grievances to Archer and NRL HQ, and that's how it should work. Behind closed doors, just like coaches take their players to task behind closed doors. There is no need for the hysterics of Flannagan and Barrett, who blamed the officials for their team's losses while putting no public blame on their players, who were just as big a part of the result.

If the officials can get a public blasting, so can the precious and pandered players most of whom are being paid a hell of a lot more than the refs are. I think that you'll find that the players don't take it as well as the officials.

[PeeGee]

It's not often I agree with Greenburg, but this is on of them. Yes officials make mistakes, and bad ones, but so do players and for only the referees to be named and shamed in coaches press conferences is unacceptable. Why is it OK to bring a referee to task publicly but not your own players, whose errors and mistakes have just as much as impact on the game as the referee's calls.

If the officials can get a public blasting, so can the precious and pandered players most of whom are being paid a hell of a lot more than the refs are. I think that you'll find that the players don't take it as well as the officials.

Great Post. But what many of us are talking about is when around 70-90% of "50/50 calls" go to ONE team only for an entire game or a long stretch of time. Particularly critical calls at critical times. We've all seen it and team copping a reaming needs to play like Gods to overcome the continued swings of momentum and points to the other team.

One solution, that I think the Roosters have adopted is accept every single bad call and play till the last whistle...............12 wins by 6 or less...........7 wins by 2 or less

[Kingbilly]

I am with NC on this. Look at Robinson he handles it all with class as do a few other coaches.
Regardless if you are going to have a go at the officiating then acknowledge when it goes your way as well.
The thing that Greenberg did leave out is having a go at the media, they are as bad if not worse than the ranting coaches.

Without doubt there needs to be and overhaul of the refereeing and judiciary. There is no consistency, but the coaches and the media not often wrong as well.

I was at the game last Friday and a Rooster fan in front of me was extemely passionate, but he was blowing up deluxe about decisions that the referees actually got right.

Yesterday I was watching the NFL yesterday and the officials called an incomplete pass . A replay showed the QB was actually down before he passed so it should have been a sack. The commentators made one comment then moved on. Our commentators can learn alot from these "real" professionals.

[mightyrooster]

This is such a complex issue. As an objective watcher of the Sharks / Cowboys game....well ok I wan't really objective in that I wanted the Sharks beaten! But from my point of view I saw the Sharks cop a lot of bad 50/50 calls. I also saw the cowboys cop a few as well. What I also saw was a woeful sharks side who should have been able to beat the Cowboys with what was pretty much their full strength team.

I can understand Flanagan being ropeable with all the calls that went against his team. I was ropeable after the 2010 Grand Final refereeing debacle. But surely he should accept and acknowledge the fact that his team were terrible. Poor completions, missed tackles, error after error. They were aweful. His biggest whinge seemed to be that they should have won the game 'end of story' with a milked Gal penalty at the end. Gallen tried to milk that penalty 100%. The lack of accountability for his player's poor game is what I find really annoying. If they had completed at a higher rate and missed fewer tackles I would say he had a case to whinge but his team was ordinary in all the key stats, just like they have been all year.

Like I mentioned in the other thread on the Sharks presser, he could learn a lesson from the Port Adelaide coach in the AFL. My husband is an AFL fan so I was watching that ending with him after the NRL games on Saturday night. A free kick was given to a West Coast player which gave them victory after the siren. At the time it happened I commented that to me it didn't look too high a tackle. Now I'm not an expert on Aussie Rules but apparently a lot of the experts were saying the same after the game that it was a dud call which in the end cost Port the game. But the Port coach when asked about the free kick said something like, we had plenty of chances before that incident to win but we were extremely poor with our accuracy. No blaming the umpires when he could also see that his side's poor showing is what also contributed to the loss. Flanno on the other hand was saying it was 100% the refs fault that they lost that game. Very poor form Flanno. I could sympathise with with you more if you could bring it upon yourself to admit your team also had many faults. He is basically saying to his players it doesn't matter that you played poorly, the officials cost us the game. Maybe he should have pulled up Maloney a long time ago about giving away deliberate penalties on the line? Then he may not have been a marked man?

So as much as I don't like Greenburg I have to agree with what he said. As a game we need to grow up. Robbo is all class. He coaches a team which has historically received the least amount of penalties every year for many years now. If any coach has a right to continually go off in pressers he does. Yet he chooses to go through the proper channels. Anhd when he did go off in that dragons game I applauded him. Because he doesn't use poor refereeing as an excuse every single time we lose.