Roosters v Cowboys, page-30

NJ

"There is definitely a case for that being forward going by that one angle"

...and yet there was never a murmer from anyone I guess because it was such a short pass.

I'm not saying at all that the refs favour the Roosters (or any other team for that matter). I am saying that the Roosters' play, more than any other team at the moment, is driven off the back of the momentum gained by those 'flat' dummy half plays. The fact that many are very short passes makes the touch judges' job nie impossible to rule on these and then all that pressure goes back on the ref who must be inline to definitively rule on them. Add a call on the fly on a try movement and there you have it - too much pressure on the on-field officials.

The Roosters have clearly strategised around this.

Solution - Video Ref must have a say in these calls.

If the last minute Cowboys accidental tap on was forward, I'm afraid a number of short 'flat' Roosters dummy half passes would/should equally be scrutinised.

A very fine line here between playing within the rules and 'playing' the rules.

Anyway, that is all part of strategy I guess.