NRL trialling video referee bunkers

The NRL are looking at adopting video referee bunkers, where officials will have access to multiple replay technologies for contentious decisions.

The NRL has been secretly trialling video referee bunker technology which they say could reduce decision times by half.

The proposed system was trialled over 11 NRL matches between rounds 10-12, giving officials the latest video technologies, including touch screens and numerous camera angles, to make their decisions.

The NRL's head of football Todd Greenberg said the concept would be a "game changer for rugby league" and would be the first sport in Australia to adopt the system.

Decision times had been halved and an average three minutes saved on each game during the trial, he said.

"We want to come to decisions, make them quickly, make them efficiently, make them accurately and get on with the game," he said.

"This is about fans. It's about giving them a product they want to watch. To do that we want the ball in play and we want the game being played more continuously."

Around half of all tries are referred to the video referee and Mr Greenberg says it's important officials get decisions right.

"Every try now has got millimetres in it. We've got to make sure we've got technology that keeps up with how the athletes are performing," Greenberg said.

Two of the trials were held offsite and nine were in bunkers close to the ground.

Greenberg and referee Tony Archer brought the technology back form a fact-finding mission in the US where it has been used for five years in the NHL and adopted by the NBA and NFL in the last 18 months.

The NRL will now analyse the findings from the year-long study and make recommendations to the Australian Rugby League Commission.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world