18th man rule putting added pressure on referees and bunker

NRL head of football Graham Annesley concedes it’s a “fine line” for time-pressured referees to activate the 18th man rule following controversial incidents on the weekend.

Annesley’s admission comes after Newcastle backrower Tyson Frizell was placed on report before later escaping a charge for a high tackle on Gold Coast winger Phillip

Sami, who left the field for an HIA in the opening minutes and failed to return.

But because Frizell wasn’t sent to the bin for the incident, the Titans could not replace Sami with their 18th man.

Last week the NRL signed off on the new rule that would allow a club to replace an injured player if they had three HIAs in one match or if a player was injured through foul play.

However, one concern with the rule heading into the weekend was that a player could only be replaced under the foul-play condition if the offending player was put in the sin bin or sent off.

Titans coach Justin Holbrook urged the NRL to look at changing its 18th man rule after the incident involving Sami early in the clash with Newcastle last Saturday.

Annesley understands Holbrook’s frustration but believes

Frizell not being charged justifies the 18th man rules.

“In some ways, the fact there was no charge in the Sami incident backs that up,” Annesley said. “If the Titans had the opportunity to put on an 18th player and it is ultimately found that Frizell did not commit an offence, that is an issue in itself.

“I heard the Titans coach make his post-game comments, but the reason why players have to be sent to the sin bin or off the field to activate the 18th player rule is because it has to be a relatively serious incident.”

Annesley did say it was difficult for officials to make decisions under tight time frames in a live match.

“Between the referee and the bunker, they have to form a view that there was no foul play very quickly,” he said.

“And it’s one the match review committee still might not agree with, so there is not a perfect answer to this.

“We made the rule change to find a happy medium between relieving teams who have lost players to a foul act or concussion, but it is a fine line and officials have to make the decision quickly.

“It won’t solve every situation, but it will help in certain circumstances, and that was the intention of the rule change.”