Quote ="Bullseye" I'd also add in moaning to the ref as that is getting way out of hand.'"
Agree 100%. This is also a problem in the NRL. Every game we see players protesting against decisions, shouting at the ref, even swearing at the ref or in their protests. Again a simple fix - protest a decision, penalty/walked a further 10 meters, do it again, 10 mins in the bin. Shout/swear at a ref - OFF...
We used to pride ourselves on our respect towards the referee - we need to get this level of respect back - pronto. But there's more we need to do to make the referees job easier.
Ours is a simple game, with simple rules - that's what makes it such a spectator friendly game. For some reason, over the years we've introduced 'interpretation' into our rules and that has muddied the water. Make the rules black and white, apply them consistently and you'll get more respect from the players - and when you don't get the right level of respect, come down on them like a ton of bricks.
Quote ="Sal Paradise"This will not improve whilst ever players cheat and try and con the referee - players need to clean their act up - simple.
No ref, no game'"
Agreed - but again, as a game, we should make the referees job easier and remove/reduce the opportunities for teams to exploit the rules.
We need to get away from referees 'coaching' teams through a game. Simply apply the rules, and if they're broken, penalise it - every time.
As an example, the offside rule - we now only penalise an offside player if he directly interferes with play - so teams take advantage of this. Defenders on the blindside of a ruck are nearly always a couple of meters offside, so when the hooker looks up, he see's there's no space down the blindside, so goes openside. They're not penalised for being offside as they've not directly impacted play, but they have influenced the attacking teams direction of play. Same with offside kick chase - they might not be offside and within the 10, so there to make a tackle, but their presence stops the kick receiver from running towards their area of the pitch. If they're offside - penalise them - every time.
Sure, there would be a period of time where the refs are blowing the pea out of the whistle and the games will be ruined - but the teams will soon fall into line, or risk being penalised out of the game.
With consistent application of simple rules, the referees will get more decisions right, everyone will know exactly what to expect (if you're offside, you'll be penalised, if you slow down the PTB, you'll be penalised, if you don't regain your feet to play the ball, you'll be penalised) and naturally the referees will get more respect from everyone. You'll drastically remove the ability for coaches/teams to exploit the rules/interpretations and the game will ultimately be a better spectacle.