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If this was Usain Bolt, it’s an obstruction. But can you pick one when you see it?
ByDan Walsh
April 2, 2024 — 11.30am
Within minutes of
Dylan Edwards running into Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, not the other way around, you suspect the NRL was already preparing the mea culpa.
Video referee Chris Butler had it wrong. Didn’t use the necessary discretion to rule that Edwards is not Usain Bolt, and would not have covered 30 metres at warp speed to stop Joey Manu from scoring.
Coming four days after Manly were denied because Jake Trbojevic dawdled into Parramatta’s defensive line and Luca Moretti dawdled into him, the obstruction rule is the NRL’s hot button topic and a bit of a hot mess right now.
So, a refresher, followed by a pop quiz. Below is one of the most contentious rules you could care to find in any sport you care to name.
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The obstruction rule’s enforcement is largely along ‘black and white’ lines because when it was once enforced based entirely on using discretion “there were no guidelines about what was obstruction and what wasn’t other than ‘you couldn’t obstruct another opponent’,” according to NRL head of football Graham Annesley.
Cue inconsistencies and objective interpretations, followed by the black and white rules attempting to clean it up.
Factors referees use to determine an obstruction include:
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- The inside shoulder. If a ball carrier catches the ball on the inside shoulder of their lead runner, it’s ruled an obstruction. This is as black and white as it gets.
- Is there contact with the defender by a lead runner? Who initiated the contact?
- Was that a defensive decision or a collision that couldn’t be avoided?
- Finally, what impact did it have on the play? For the record, these last few points should have allowed Manu’s try: Edwards initiated the contact, Waerea-Hargreaves was well and truly through the defensive line and because it wasn’t Usain Bolt sprinting across from fullback, the impact on the play should have been ruled negligible.
Now for the loungeroom referees, put it into practice. Have a crack at the following five examples from the past few seasons in which the Bunker was called to rule: obstruction or not.
Panthers v Cowboys
Bunker’s ruling: No obstruction.
Jarome Luai catches the pass from Nathan Cleary a metre or two outside lead runner Viliame Kikau. No inside shoulder issue whatsoever. Kikau attempts to run between defenders Peta Hiku and Chad Townsend and both make a defensive decision to tackle him. They initiate contact. The Bunker uses discretion to determine this. Play continues on and Izack Tago scores (though the try is denied because his hand goes into touch).
Warriors v Bulldogs
Bunker’s ruling: No obstruction.
Shaun Johnson runs to the line with Addin Fonua-Blake as a support runner, with Reed Mahoney moving across in defence. Johnson dummies to Fonua-Blake, who is still available as a support player, and goes through the defensive line.
The Bunker rules that Fonua-Blake remains in support the whole time and doesn’t change his line. Mahoney is ruled to have initiated the contact and the try stands. “Where is Fonua-Blake supposed to go?” Annesley asks as he explains the ruling. “He’s entitled to be a support player and could have got the ball. When he doesn’t get the ball, he can’t then disappear into thin air.”
Panthers v Rabbitohs
Bunker’s ruling: Obstruction.
But the NRL came out afterwards and said discretion should have been used to allow Penrith’s try to stand. Jarome Luai cuts back behind James Fisher-Harris, which means South Sydney’s defenders have to change direction as well.
The ball is passed well after Luai runs behind Fisher-Harris. This means the Bunker must determine if the defensive line is disadvantaged.
The NRL explained that the contact between Fisher-Harris did not obstruct Richie Kennar, who actually initiated contact in reaching out and pushing off the Panthers prop to change direction.
Dragons v Bulldogs
Bunker’s ruling: No obstruction.
Ben Hunt dummies to an inside option with Moses Suli as his lead runner, making a beeline for the gap between Canterbury’s edge defenders Kyle Flanagan and Jake Averillo. Hunt’s pass is taken on the outside shoulder of Suli by Cody Ramsey.
The try is scored after a simple overlap is created. Averillo is ruled to have a defensive error in targeting Suli and making contact.
“Anything that happens here is a result of the defensive decision,” Bunker official Grant Atkins says.
Cowboys v Knights
Bunker’s ruling: Obstruction.
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Michael Ennis in commentary can’t fathom the decision. Jeremiah Nanai’s decoy run draws Lachlan Fitzgibbon into a collision that takes him to ground, with Jason Taumalolo scoring through the resulting gap after shrugging off another defender.
Ennis’s argument is that it was Fitzgibbon’s defensive error that saw him move off his defensive line and into contact. The Bunker deems that Nanai runs directly at him and initiates the collision.
“Does [Nanai] run through the line? No,” Annesley explained afterwards. “Does the defensive player move anywhere other than holding his line? I don’t think so. And as a result there’s a collision and the defender has no opportunity to plug that hole to his left.”
