The No issues guide to finals refereeing

Well if your a Dragons fans its the two weeks that you have waited all year for. Due to the unpredictability of the season there is a whole host of unfamiliar faces in this years finals series. Teams like the Tigers, Raiders and Penrith haven't been playing football this late in September for years. Whats even more shocking is that they have all survived the first round. Of all the teams in this years finals only the Tigers have a good albeit small winning record in finals. Teams like the Dragons have barely won a finals game in the last decade while other teams like the Raiders and Titans have never won a finals game.

It will be hard to know who to support in the grand final, usually I go for the team that hasn't won a final before or not for a long time. This year that could be both teams qualifying. It could be like a few years ago where two teams played in the grand final who had a lot in common, Melbourne and Brisbane. Both had never lost a grand final... and of course the other thing they share in common is that they are both salary cap cheats.

So once again it will be up to the referees to decide who gets to win. Is it just me or did anyone else notice the change in refereeing in the finals. It seems to follow a predictable pattern;

No Penalties for the first 10 minutes. At this stage of the game teams are just trying to hold onto the ball for a full set before a long kick. If both teams are adept at holding onto the ball this can prove to be a fairly dull spectacle. Luckily for us there are referees who can tip the balance of the game by awarding the....

No Tries for 15 minutes - deadline breaker penalty. This is usually awarded to the home team and is for either failing to get back on side or incorrect play the ball.

One team gets two tries in front - score balancing penalty. This is usually awarded for the team who is behind on the score board and is often given on the fourth tackle.

Balance the ledger penalty - Otherwise called the square up penalty - this is where one team has received all the penalties but is still behind. The ref needs to give some penalties to the other team to appear impartial, but they dont want these penalties to have a material affect on the game. So these penalties are given on the first or second tackle and are often given twice in the same set. These are always given when to the attacking team when they are close to the side line so they can't kick the ball very far when finding touch.

The Bills made another error in the box penalty - these are always given in the second half when the referee is compelled to deem a try with a ludicrously forward pass as acceptable to make up for another one of Bill Harrigon's, Britney Spears moments..... Öops I did it again.....

The No penalty penalty - this is anytime after the 65 minute mark if the scores are close or tied. The referees don't wont to be seen as deciding the game. (Even though of course they have probably disallowed 5 tries and manipulated the play throughout. This is where you can rip an opposing players head off, play the ball with your arse or stand five meters offside in the defence and suddenly the game might as well be reffed by Sargent Schultz... I zaw nothzing....

Still the predictability of the refereeing is what we love about the game and its all designed to give teams a 50% share of possession. So instead of players coming to the ref saying what was that for they just need to ask what type of penalty was it or whens our turn. If you don't like it and would like to see a return to the days where refs blew the whistle every time they hadn't been heard on sports ears for 5 minutes then the next All blacks test is in two weeks.

In Other News
Boxing fans in Western Australia would be pleased to hear that Danny Green has announced that his next fight will be in Perth. Usually Danny schedules his fights in Sydney, unless of course the Government refuses to allow him to fight some washed up has been (Although how Anthony Mundine is allowed to get away with it is beyond me. If you recall Danny's last fight lasted mere seconds as his opponent Paul Briggs was bought down by a devastating combination of intense stage lighting and a flury of Green's air swings. Still at least Paul Briggs and Manly's finals campaign have something in common - neither survived the first round.