NRL REFEREE standards are much better today than they were when I was playing. This might be hard to believe, given some of the propaganda being constantly pushed bagging referees, but they were worse a decade ago.

The problem today is we see every mistake because of how much scrutiny is on the game.

There was no video referee in my day. There were no slow-motion replays. Decisions were made and mostly we moved on.

Now there are cameras in corner posts, drones flying overhead and cameras capturing every angle of every play.

There are probably at least six more cameras covering the game now than there was 10 years ago. Of course we will see more mistakes.

It’s ridiculous to think the referees will be perfect. Footy is not a perfect game.

By putting pressure and scrutiny on the referee to be completely flawless rugby league is just creating more problems. It hasn’t been perfect for over 100 years so why are we trying to make it that way now?

The NRL has to stop this. They need to strip the powers of the video referee.

The best captains exploit the video referee. If a call is missed they delay the game just enough to get a decision overturned.

It could be a knock on, a strip penalty, the last touch on a ball over the dead-ball line. Some issues are picked up while others are missed. It’s very inconsistent.

As a captain, the only reason I approached a referee was to buy time, give my team a rest and let the defence set. It broke the opposition’s momentum.

When I was captain it was clear that the referee never changed his mind. His decision was always final. It’s not anymore.

Now captains can get decisions changed if they stall the game just enough for the video referee to review a play.

It has to stop. The video referee should only be able to check on the scoring of a try.

They can check if the ball is grounded or if the player is out. Nothing else. No checking the play-the-ball. No looking at offside, which is what touchies are for. No reviewing obstruction.

We have two referees and two touch judges, play what they see and move on.

If they think it’s a try, blow it. If they’re not sure, blow a try and check the grounding with the video referee.

The goalkicker has 90 seconds to take his kick. The video referee now has 90 seconds to review it.

If it’s a try, no time is wasted. If it’s not a try, the decision is reversed and we play on.

Remove the dead time where players stand around for minutes at a time waiting for a decision.

And don’t show slow-motion replays at the ground. Rugby league is a fast game. Only show live speed replays.

media_camera One man’s decision can change a game — and one mistake can be blown out of all proportion.

Let the man up in the box make his decision by slowing it down, he can go frame-by-frame to get it right if he has too, but the rest of us should only see the game at full speed.

If two referees can’t see obstruction live then it’s not an obstruction. It’s clear if someone has been impeded or not.

We were living with live decisions for 90 years and nobody blew up as much as they do now and it’s because of this expectation to be perfect.

I watch referees now send decisions upstairs and some look genuinely frightened they might be wrong. They’re worried about what they might have missed? Technology has eroded their confidence.

If a player is down on form you back them and put faith in them. The same applies to referees.

Give them their power back. Let them make decisions and only check truly black and white issues like grounding or out of play.

If coaches want to start running more obstruction plays because they think they can get away with it, that’s fine, they will do it to each other.

Coaches have won and lost games for 100 years by bending the rules. What goes around comes around.