Bunker heat: The NRL has been testing a virtual onside line using Hawk-Eye technology. Gooden insisted the technology was not available to the bunker – or anyone – on the night. "How they can say … 100 per cent that Dylan Walker was offside is beyond me," Sea Eagles coach Trent Barrett fumed after the match. He is facing a hefty fine for his post-match comments. The decision prompted angry Manly fans and commentators to demand the introduction of the same virtual line technology, as used in other sports such as the NFL and English Premier League. The truth is the NRL has been working away at it all season.

As revealed by Fairfax Media in March, the NRL has been working closely with Hawk-Eye experts. It had hoped to introduce the technology by round 13 this year. The idea has been raised at competition committee meetings and put in front of some coaches, but the feeling is the technology should not be used until it is 100 per cent accurate. Indeed, the technology is much more complex than merely Photo-shopping a red line over a screen shot from a TV replay. "The first thought was you put a line on the screen like it has been done in other sports, but we worked out in rugby league it's a lot more complex for a lot of reasons," Gooden said. "The first part is that there aren't enough cameras. When soccer does it, it's generally around the penalty goal box. With rugby league, it's the whole hundred metres." The other issue at play is the offside ruling for kicks.

"It's two feet behind the ball," Gooden said. "The referee's interpretation is that it's [in line] with the back of the ball. Then throw into the mix that when the player kicks it, his foot is off the ground." In other words, it's difficult to determine exactly when the kick has been placed. For these reasons, Gooden said the NRL wasn't prepared to rush through technology that wasn't quite ready. Given the heat the bunker has been wearing this year, that is understandable. "It works the majority of the time," he said. "But the times when it causes problems is when it is on the far side of the field and you're trying to see if the winger or centre is on-side because they get smaller in the image. The technology is telling you if it's on or off. The concern is it's not reflected in the image itself. "The unanimous view is that it's not quite there. If we throw it in and it tells a 50-50 story for a try, it will cause more problems for the game."