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The Tuesday Top Five

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Wilson

David Codey (61)
The issue with Hoffman I think is not so much the initial mistake - which there is at least some explanation for, but the fact he then ignored the touchies when given the chance to correct it.
 

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
Staff member
Was he talking to the touchies - or replying to a player query? I honestly don't know and have zapped my recording.

You could see a scenario where a player mentioned that it wasn't taken back (or even an AR) and he said he had ruled on it (which I seem to remember he said) yet it didn't register that that they were talking about the two lines and he was only thinking about it being taken back over the line he was concentrating on.

I'm grasping at straws for the guy here but there is no reason why he would make a deliberate mistake.

If you were defence counsel for Hoffman - what would you say in mitigation?

("Guilty as charged Your Hounour", aside.)
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Wilson

David Codey (61)
From what I've read I think it was Leckie the AR who mentioned it. I didn't notice it at the time but I only had half an eye on the game then.
 

Sully

Tim Horan (67)
Staff member
I think the illegal maul situation is a major issue. The player with the ball sliding back isn't legal and neither is the tall guy leaning over the top grabbing at players. Neither is bound to the maul and in the case of the ball carrier has put everyone in front of him offside and in the case of the defender is offside.

How have we got to a situation where it's ignored by referees? As in many other situations who the fuck know. How do we fix it? Simple! Enforce the existing laws.

So Yes it's a great topic for the TTF. But is it an article by itself?
 

Brumby Runner

David Wilson (68)
I am one of the few who can see an excuse for Hoffman - though I wouldn't if I were a Rebels fan. One can see the case where he saw a line and the ball was passed back over it for clearance and he automatically though it was taken back, though it was the rugby league 20 metre line.

Now we all saw it on TV and wonder how he could have made the howler but you can picture that he was concentrating on one line which he does in every game and it clicked in that it was taken back.

You can argue that he should have known there were two lines but just as you can click into something, you can click out too. How many driving errors do we make every year when we click out? Even truckies make them and they are paid for it like Hoffman.

I'm just putting this here for our Top Five guy..
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LG I'm sure you're right about Hoffmann mistaking the line, but then the question that needs to be asked is why did he not ask for a review as both Debreczini and Higginbotham pointed out the error and reportedly the TMO also tried to alert him.

The next question should be why did he not go back and check after the try was scored. It was still within the permitted two phases, though I'm not sure if a stoppage like a 22m drop kick, or in this case a lineout, might cancel any review of matters that occurred prior.
 

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
Staff member
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
It was pretty cryptic as I remember the conversations with the crowd noise.

The conclusion I was trying to convey in my last post was that the referee must have thought the enquiries were about whether the ball was taken back over the line he was looking at.

And of course he thought that line was the 22.

He may not have thought the dialogue he heard related to the the matter of there being two lines, but was about his making an error about the play either side of the line he was looking at.

I'm trying to reconcile what happened to what was in Hoffman's mind and part of that is trying to work out how he processed the words he heard.

I don't have my recording any more but if anybody can write down the dialogue verbatim and put it in here I would appreciate it - and who were the speakers. Not what other people said what was said, but the actual words in the audio.

This is going a bit beyond the subject of this thread. Ironically I am editing the Tuesday Top Five, which discusses the matter, as I am writing this - and just paused to have a cup of coffee and look at this alert I got.
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Eyes and Ears

Bob Davidson (42)
LG I'm sure you're right about Hoffmann mistaking the line, but then the question that needs to be asked is why did he not ask for a review as both Debreczini and Higginbotham pointed out the error and reportedly the TMO also tried to alert him.

The next question should be why did he not go back and check after the try was scored. It was still within the permitted two phases, though I'm not sure if a stoppage like a 22m drop kick, or in this case a lineout, might cancel any review of matters that occurred prior.

Because it is outside TMO protocol.
 

Eyes and Ears

Bob Davidson (42)
Is it. Do you know or are you surmising? If so, that is exactly what I was querying.

Yes, I know this. The TMO can be used for:

1. A potential infringement by a try scoring team.
2. Review potential acts of foul play

In the Hoffman situation, it would have been outside of protocol to check replay footage when the ball went into touch. Personally I am very comfortable with this as I would not like to see the game severely slowed down by a lot of checking of close calls.

When the try was scored, you may argue that he should then check. I have 3 issues with this. The potential length of time and amount of game that has passed, the fact that the TMO protocol only allows to look for infringements of the scoring team not errors from the referee and lastly, the Waratahs would rightfully be outraged if a try was denied by the TMO when they hadn't infringed.

My last point brings a separate discussion. If it was within protocol to check this scenaro with the TMO, how would you determine the materiality of the impact of the referee error of restarting the game in the wrong position. If the lineout position was only impacted by 5m by the referee error, did this give the scoring team an unfair advantage? What if the Rebels had taken an intercept and scored - could it be over-ruled due to the game starting in the wrong position?
 

Bobas

Darby Loudon (17)
Hey guys, I'm writing the Top 5 this week (publish 5/5) and would very much appreciate ideas.
 

Hugh Jarse

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
Lots of Sydney and Brisbane footy will be postponed/cancelled this weekend. With Councils closing ovals when someone leaves the taps on for more than 5 minutes, our junior and lower grade players almost never get to experience wet weather footy. How can we prepare the Pros for Wet Weather footy if they never play in the rain as juniors?
 

Brumby Runner

David Wilson (68)
Officiating the blood bin. Seems that blood is no longer the concern it was a year and more ago. Is that healthy for the players?

Example - in previous years players with blood on their jerseys have been ordered to change while anyone spouting blood was off the ground until the bleeding stopped. Recent games play has continued on with blood escaping from open wounds and planty of blood has been escaping some of the roughshod on-field bandaging being administered.
 

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
Staff member
How good is Akira Ioane? There must be some recent YouTube about him.

Why have the Force lost ten in a row after they did so well last year?
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RugbyReg

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
Toloan's win in whatever Comp. does Drews try (& no other form wingers) bring him into RWC contention?
 
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