Monday, October 03, 2005
NRL Grand Final and video referee
Both teams are renowned for their exhilirating football and their enterprising manner. Even ‘Grand Final’ mode didn’t cramp their style too much; any game featuring Matt Sing, Matt Bowen, Scott Prince and Benji Marshall on the same pitch is going to be a thriller.
The final score seems a run away result, but the Wests-Tigers scored and converted with the final play of the game; just taking it away from the North Queensland right at the death.
It was also a night of technology inspired refereeing. Tim Mander is probably the best in the business, but even he had to enlist the help of the video-ref twice to adjudicate on tries. Both times, his deference was justified: firstly to rule on the subtlest of obstructions to rule out a North Queensland try, and secondly to rule on a grounding for Wests-Tigers. It was an excellent example of where video technology can bolster adjudication and achieve its goal: getting the right decision made.
Most consistent?
The North Queensland versus Wests-Tigers match program was made possible by the NRL competition rules, which blend the traditional league ladder followed with an elimination system to decide the winner from the top eight finishers.
Over the entire season, the two best teams had been Parramatta and St George-Illawara; they finished 1st and 2nd respectively. But both these teams were beaten on the night in the semi-finals - by North Queensland and Wests-Tigers.
Such a system has its merits and its drawbacks. On the down side, the most consistent team in the season doesn’t win the Premiership. Although coming top of the ladder paves an easier route to the Grand Final (ie either of the top four finishers can still loose a game and still get through), it still comes down to deciding the entire season by a performance in 80 mins.
But on a positive note, the NRL can generate some exciting FA Cup-like Grand Finals, much like this year. To win the Premiership, a team needs to relatively consistent, but also able to produce the goods on the day, when it counts: in a final. Last week, North Queensland thrashed Parramatta 29-0, so no team that takes the Premiership is a bad team.
With the English soccer Premiership looking like all one way traffic and attendances down, maybe its time for a shake up over there.
NRL Grand Final and video referee
Posted by Living with Matilda at 8:52 PM
Both teams are renowned for their exhilirating football and their enterprising manner. Even ‘Grand Final’ mode didn’t cramp their style too much; any game featuring Matt Sing, Matt Bowen, Scott Prince and Benji Marshall on the same pitch is going to be a thriller.
The final score seems a run away result, but the Wests-Tigers scored and converted with the final play of the game; just taking it away from the North Queensland right at the death.
It was also a night of technology inspired refereeing. Tim Mander is probably the best in the business, but even he had to enlist the help of the video-ref twice to adjudicate on tries. Both times, his deference was justified: firstly to rule on the subtlest of obstructions to rule out a North Queensland try, and secondly to rule on a grounding for Wests-Tigers. It was an excellent example of where video technology can bolster adjudication and achieve its goal: getting the right decision made.
Most consistent?
The North Queensland versus Wests-Tigers match program was made possible by the NRL competition rules, which blend the traditional league ladder followed with an elimination system to decide the winner from the top eight finishers.
Over the entire season, the two best teams had been Parramatta and St George-Illawara; they finished 1st and 2nd respectively. But both these teams were beaten on the night in the semi-finals - by North Queensland and Wests-Tigers.
Such a system has its merits and its drawbacks. On the down side, the most consistent team in the season doesn’t win the Premiership. Although coming top of the ladder paves an easier route to the Grand Final (ie either of the top four finishers can still loose a game and still get through), it still comes down to deciding the entire season by a performance in 80 mins.
But on a positive note, the NRL can generate some exciting FA Cup-like Grand Finals, much like this year. To win the Premiership, a team needs to relatively consistent, but also able to produce the goods on the day, when it counts: in a final. Last week, North Queensland thrashed Parramatta 29-0, so no team that takes the Premiership is a bad team.
With the English soccer Premiership looking like all one way traffic and attendances down, maybe its time for a shake up over there.
Posted by Living with Matilda at 8:52 PM
Disclaimer:
| I am employed by Brisbane City Council. All views expressed in this blog are my own and in no way reflect the views of my employer. |
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1 Comments:
Yeah I was really disappointed when the cowboys lost. Oh well. I really like your blog. And a shake up in the Premier League would be very interesting, although I doubt the FA would sacrifice tradition.
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