MULTI-MILLION dollar technology which found in an NRL trial that only two errors were made by video referees in 30 games this year is still set to be introduced because it vastly reduces delays in accessing try decisions.

NRL head of football Todd Greenberg revealed at a fan forum in Brisbane this week details of a feasibility study involving three companies vying to supply central decision-making technology to a centralised “bunker’’.

All camera angles from match telecasters at about 30 selected NRL games in May and June were delivered to a manned room at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium.

NRL statistics are that video referees this year take on average 67 seconds to make a decision when tries are referred to them by match referees.

media_camera THE NRL is still set to introduce a referees bunker. Picture Gregg Porteous

“In the bunker, it has taken an average 23 seconds,’’ Greenberg said.

“If we go up (to the video referees in the current system) four times a game, it can save us three minutes (in delays).’’

The forum in Brisbane, attended by 30 invited fans, was shown video on a split screen depicting an incident in which television network assistance of the current video referee system was displayed along pictures from the NRL bunker.

NRL referees boss Tony Archer pointed out the bunker officials had ruled “no try’’ before the first replay from the television network had been seen by video referees at the game.

“We had four angles on the one screen and were able to freeze the action, wind it back and look at it. All done in 20 seconds _ it’s a massive change,’’ Archer said.

The ARL Commission will next month receive from Greenberg a business case for a preferred technological provider or a combination of technologies, with the hope any approved system would operate in 2016.

The technologies commonly allow the NRL bunker officials to control which camera angles they see, rather than wait for network directors to give video referees a series of camera angles which sometimes do not assist a decision.

“Fans don’t want the game slowed down and we don’t want to micromanage the game,’’ Greenberg said.

“You could potentially have a supervisor who oversaw those (video referral) decisions and a small group making those decisions. If we can get a small single digit number making the decisions, you’d have better consistency and efficiency.’’

Asked if the NRL should only invest in technology if it does not adversely impact on the flow of a game, 79 per cent at the Brisbane forum said yes, with 21 per cent comfortable to wait for decisions which are correct but take longer to be delivered.

The fans were given devices with which to vote at the forum, which followed two similar gatherings in Sydney and Melbourne.

When Greenberg briefed the Australian and New Zealand Test teams and the two Origin teams this year on technology planning, 85 per cent of players wanted better accuracy in decisions, but they also wanted video reviews to be done shorter.

At the Brisbane forum, the fans wanted 10m applications to be the most accurately refereed rule.

Given five choices of reforms, 25 per cent wanted a return to the single referee system, but 31 per cent, the highest percentage, most wanted the return of in-goal touch judges.

Archer says in-goal touch judges are still under consideration for 2016.

Greenberg said the captain’s challenge system, under experiment in the Holden Cup, is “not dead’’.

media_camera The NRL still wants to introduce a refereeing bunker. Picture Gregg Porteous

Among other refereeing bugbears for fans, Archer said referees get “We need to be stronger as a group of officials,’’ said Archer.

better reaction and respect from players when they speak to players by their name rather an their jersey number.

Archer admitted in questioning by fans that the referees have “dropped off in different parts of the season’’ on permitting only the captain to speak to them, an NRL edict at the start of the year.