Graham Annesley has warned players to "back off" referees – or risk spending 10 minutes in the sin bin.
The NRL head of football put dissenting players on notice when he raised the increasing number of arguments with match officials unprompted at his weekly media briefing on Monday.
NRL head of football Graham Annesley.Credit:AAP
Annesley said players – captains included – were pushing conversations with officials too far, too often. While he said there was no specific incident which had triggered the push for respect, the time had come to say enough was enough.
"I know that the competition is tight and that we are getting towards the pointy end of the competition but we are seeing more and more players that are questioning decisions, wanting to get involved in debates or sometimes arguing with the on field referees as to whether decisions are right or wrong," Annesley said.
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"It is getting to the point where it is starting to get a little bit concerning. There is a bit of licence given to captains in particular in these situations and there always has been, where a referee will explain his ruling to a captain where he is asked.
"But we have seen it developing more and more in recent weeks into more of a debate, where captains want to argue whether decisions are correct or incorrect or they want to press their point about a particular issue that they want the referee to concentrate on."
Annesley's push for clubs and players to tone down the bickering with officials is set to shine a spotlight on conversations between referees and a handful of players who have a reputation for querying every blow of the whistle which doesn't go their way.
Storm captain Cameron Smith has long been accused by rival fans of being too chatty with refs, while James Maloney's complaints drew the ire of Ashley Klein before the Ivan Cleary furore erupted last Sunday. Paul Gallen has a similar reputation, and there are many others in the same boat.
Without naming names, Annesley urged players to "back off" or risk referees taking matters into their own hands at the pointy end of the season.
"I dont want to see games impacted at this stage of the year or in the finals simply because players have the ability to control this," Annesley said. "It would be far better for everyone if they avoided any risk of that.
James Maloney drew the ire of referee Ashley Klein last Sunday.Credit:NRL Photos
"Whether it be marching 10 metres or sin bins or anything else. It is purely in the hands of the referees. The rules are veryRead More – Source
Graham Annesley has warned players to "back off" referees – or risk spending 10 minutes in the sin bin.
The NRL head of football put dissenting players on notice when he raised the increasing number of arguments with match officials unprompted at his weekly media briefing on Monday.
NRL head of football Graham Annesley.Credit:AAP
Annesley said players – captains included – were pushing conversations with officials too far, too often. While he said there was no specific incident which had triggered the push for respect, the time had come to say enough was enough.
"I know that the competition is tight and that we are getting towards the pointy end of the competition but we are seeing more and more players that are questioning decisions, wanting to get involved in debates or sometimes arguing with the on field referees as to whether decisions are right or wrong," Annesley said.
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"It is getting to the point where it is starting to get a little bit concerning. There is a bit of licence given to captains in particular in these situations and there always has been, where a referee will explain his ruling to a captain where he is asked.
"But we have seen it developing more and more in recent weeks into more of a debate, where captains want to argue whether decisions are correct or incorrect or they want to press their point about a particular issue that they want the referee to concentrate on."
Annesley's push for clubs and players to tone down the bickering with officials is set to shine a spotlight on conversations between referees and a handful of players who have a reputation for querying every blow of the whistle which doesn't go their way.
Storm captain Cameron Smith has long been accused by rival fans of being too chatty with refs, while James Maloney's complaints drew the ire of Ashley Klein before the Ivan Cleary furore erupted last Sunday. Paul Gallen has a similar reputation, and there are many others in the same boat.
Without naming names, Annesley urged players to "back off" or risk referees taking matters into their own hands at the pointy end of the season.
"I dont want to see games impacted at this stage of the year or in the finals simply because players have the ability to control this," Annesley said. "It would be far better for everyone if they avoided any risk of that.
James Maloney drew the ire of referee Ashley Klein last Sunday.Credit:NRL Photos
"Whether it be marching 10 metres or sin bins or anything else. It is purely in the hands of the referees. The rules are veryRead More – Source
