Referees co-coach Stuart Raper answers questions from Round 13 of the NRL Telstra Premiership.
What are your thoughts on the no-try decision when Daniel Vidot was ruled to have been held up in 37th minute of the Manly v St George Illawarra game?
The video referee got this call right. He looked at the first angle which was inconclusive, the second and third angles showed that the ball was held up by the Manly defenders and never hit the ground.
Are you happy with the 'Ref's call' try awarded to Melbourne forward Jaiman Lowe in the Warriors-Storm match?
We are comfortable with the decision and the process to award the try to Lowe. The video angles available to the video referee were obstructed by players, but the on-field referee had an opinion on what had happened, which is why it was sent back as "ref's call". The referee was in the best position to make the call and after the replays proved inconclusive, he went with his initial instinct which was to award the try. We are happy with the decision.
What are your thoughts on Newcastle five-eighth Jarrod Mullen's no-try on the stroke of halftime?
The video referee got this call right. The ball ricochets off a Knights player’s leg to Mullen who is in front of him and in an offside position. The pocket referee was actually calling that it should be a penalty, but because of the noise, couldn’t be heard. The play continued and when Mullen crossed to score, the referees checked it with the video referee. The replay clearly showed that Mullen was offside. Broncos were rightly awarded a penalty.
