Manly player Brad Parker is surprisingly not a fan of ball-tracking technology, despite being the victim of a dud call in round four.
A Parker pass was called forward by a sideline referee, but if the play was allowed to continue the Sea Eagles would have almost certainly scored a try through Tom Trbojevic.
They ended up losing to South Sydney by a Lachlan Ilias field goal in extra time.
READ MORE: Glaring problem with ‘bizarre’ Eels move
READ MORE: West Indies star injured in ‘nasty’ ball kid incident
READ MORE: Supercars legend announces shock racing return
On Monday, NRL’s head of football Graham Annesley confirmed the decision was incorrect.
“The angle of the ball when it comes out of his hands is backwards,” Annesley told media.
“The ball has clearly moved forward across the ground, but that’s not the indicator of a forward pass.”
Forward passes are unable to be judged on by the Bunker official, leaving the duties up to the on-field officials.
Stream the NRL premiership 2023 live and free on 9Now
For a number of years the NRL has been tinkering with technology that would, theoretically, be able to track the football and determine where it moves.
But Annesley says the game is not close to being able to implement it in the NRL.
“We have been doing work in the background to provide information to the (ARL) Commission about new technology,” he said on Monday.
Top 5 Tries – NRL Round 4
“There are plenty of people who say we shouldn’t have technology at all… but that’s probably never going to happen, because technology is here, it’s not going anywhere.
“All of those things are still being explored, and will continue to be explored. I just can’t put a timeline on it.”
The use of technology in professional sport is a topic which typically divides supporters and stakeholders.
Many still question the role of the Bunker in the NRL, weighing up the decisions it overturns against what it robs the game of – spontaneous excitement and emotion.
Parker, despite being dudded at the weekend, is firmly in the camp that wants to avoid more technology infiltrating the game.
“I think sometimes if you tamper with the game too much it kind of ruins it,” he said on Monday.
“It’s one of those things, it’s an on-field decision. Like the players, sometimes they make mistakes.
“I think you’ve got to leave it to the game to be as simple as it can, really.”
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
The Mole’s Team of the Week: Superstar’s ‘stunning’ return; silver lining in Tigers’ ‘lacklustre’ loss
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
