Please read the petition linked below, and if you agree and would like to see change, then sign. Thank you. www.ipetitions.com/petition/rlreferees/

Please read the petition linked below, and if you agree and would like to see change, then sign. Thank you. www.ipetitions.com/petition/rlreferees/

Hilarious

I don't think we need to go down that route. Even if we feel like we think we get nothing from certain refs.

It is nothing to do with what we get as opposed to what others get or anything like that.

I get sick of hearing referees discussed on TV, forums, radio, for all clubs, and the game shouldn't be about that.

Nothing in that petition mentions anything biased towards our club. It is not a whinge. It is my honest feelings about the sport that I love.

Its a crap job in which they'll never be right I'm certain that the refs aren't intentionally poor however much we'd like t think so. If you want the officiating improving why not do a course yourself, learn the rules and apply for a job.

For me its not the officials we have its the lack of numbers, we need to be able to rotate and rest the refs, have a bit of competition for places.

The forward pass section towards the bottom of the link is my favourite bit.

The pool is obviously shallow and that has to be a big concern for the RFL. We see touch judges who look 13 and some who look 73. We barely have enough elite referees to cover the whole weekend if an injury occurs to one of them. It's a tough job and I personally have no problem with them tbh. Referees will consistently be a talking point (in any sport). They'll get live decisions wrong - it happens.

I get the point about video referees. What I'd like to see, is more transparency in the process, in very much the way the BBC have audio from the VR during CC games. Explaining what he's looking for and what he isn't. I think this helps the viewer/fan a lot. Of course, the Sky commentary circus would despise losing this phase of the game. "Finger tip control" "I'll put my house on it" - would be lost for ever more. TBF - watching the Lions in Aus. I thought we could learn (or adapt) a lot from the way they go about it.

Nice sentiment, but a petition for improved standards will always be a bit nebulous. Fair enough, you made some suggestions for specific measures but you can never remove human error without removing humans. We're always going to have to accept imperfections and while the RFL should of course try to limit them, it is easier to accept that reality than take on the more or less impossible task of changing it.
Sport, like life, isn't always fair, but that doesn't mean it can't be enjoyable. The excitement, uncertainty, even the guilty thrill of getting a decision hopefully make up for it.
If we're sick of discussing referees, then let's not, it's our choice. No matter how cack they are, we're not obliged to.

I admire your way of thinking, but it is more than human error that I was getting at.

Yes, mistakes happen - pretty sure I said that too - but there is a lot of inconsistent refereeing, and poor displays to blame it all on human error.

Video ref decisions being wrong should not simply be allowed to be human error. The whole system of putting players on report is pathetic now. Forward passes could easily be judged by a video screen if needed. Its all those things that I was referring to.

I don't think the standard is great, but I guess sports fans have always felt that way.

Certainly we'd all like it to be better, but that is vague. Credit to you then for making some suggestions that you think could improve things. But this is where it gets tricky - for example i'm leaning increasingly towards two refs, as I think the tackle/ruck area is getting to be a farce. But I see on HullKRfans that somebody feels the opposite way, which is fair enough. The problem of refs making more errors than we'd like is clear, the solution less so.

There are a few changes to the rules that I think could be made to make the refs' lives easiers, without damaging the spectacle - but we seem reluctant to deviate too much from the rules used in the NRL.

What is a correct decision? I’ve seen decisions on sky talked about by ‘experts’ or at worst people with as much knowledge as us and even they can’t decide whether a decision is right or wrong.
I’ve been at games where I’ve swore blind the ref had the opposing teams shirt on under his refs one only to come home and watch it back and find out 9 times out of ten he had a point.
The bottom line is he will never be right in the biased eyes of fans, if he was the only ones to blame would be the team and that’s really not what we want.
I agree a running commentary of the VR decision would help, maybe 2 VR’s to debate it.
I know we hate rule changes but why not use the NFL / cricket template that at Televised games teams get 3 challenges to be used at any time, get it wrong and you lose them. Would add a bit of interest.
Bottom line is petitioning for them to get better is really pointless, I’m sure there mission statement is to get better.

You say asking for them to get better is pointless, yet you made two suggestions of how they could be better in your post?!

My petition isn't sour grapes, refs hate rovers etc etc. It is the fact that I am falling out of love with this sport, and I think it is farcical that things such as video ref decisions get called wrong, forward passes can't be looked at on the screen and all that rubbish.

One day, a team will lose a final based on a decision, and the sport really will fall off its loosely fitted perch.