There is an article on the sky sports app saying it has been proposed that we trial the 2 ref system from Australia. It doesn't say if/when it will actually happen. Wigan have offered positive feedback from their game against NZW.

Wasnt it already trialled last weekend in a warrington u19s game?

I hope so, I think it would massively help the refs.
I don't think we need the same system as in the NRL with 2 refs swapping over though. I think having 1 ref and basically a roving touch judge to instruct players and report back to the ref would work fine.

IMO Having a ref to police the ruck and an assistant to police the offside is a better option rather than them swapping. It would help reduce inconsistencies in interpretation within a game.

I like the idea, they seem to be happy with how it has worked in Oz. Anything to help refs has to be good for the game.

We need one set of rules! I think it's ludicrous our only 2 full time professional leagues play to different rules and then there's a third set for internationals. The NRL shouldn't be allowed to just implement new rules without the RLIF and RFL agreeing on them and also taking them on board. FWIW I think 2 refs is the way to go, providing we can provide enough quality ones for each game over here.

I think it has been on the cards for a while, they tried it during a training session at Warrington last year and no doubt have done on numerous other occasions. Personally I don't like it and think the additional 'pocket' ref just seems to get in the way. Then it would mean that every ref would have to step up to the next level when they may well not be ready.

But if we don't follow the NRL system with 2 refs swapping over, which I don't think is necessary, then we'd only still need 1 ref per game and just an extra TJ.

I can't see a downside in that situation to be honest and would eliminate a lot of the "guessing" a ref has to do in some situations.

It was against FC u19s.

Over most of the last 5 yrs, yeah they came in in 2009 in Aus. I've bn in favour of 2 refs, up until about a month ago, but then I watched an NRL match 2 weeks ago, and really saw the benefit of having 2 refs again, the main ref polices the defensive line, and the assistant referee the ruck area. So yeah, I'm in favour of 2 refs on the park.

Lmao, we'll end up with one ref' following each of the 26 on the pitch, lol, coach's will start teaching the players how to use "their" ref to block, the refs will end up arguing with each other.....chaos, lmao.

One ref', competently assisted by a 4th official with a monitor and a headset, who can correct errors and give feedback to the ref' on any incident as the game proceeds, is whats required.

As someone who was at the Hull u19s game on Saturday I thought it worked well. The rucks were cleaner and nothing missed (as Hull can verify as they were just like the first team, giving silly penalties away at crucial times).

I would like to see the officials work as a team every week. Same set of officials all working together and gaining an understanding of how they each work. I am not drawing too big a comparison but I mean this in a similar way to how Howard Webb works with his team in international football. They are recognised as a good team that work well together.
I am not sure if we have a big enough pool of officials to do that, but for me that should not be an issue. Some may just have to learn on their feet as most of us do in our professional lives.

We struggle to get one good ref on the pitch each week. Let alone 2

Do we really need 8 officials at each game?

2 referees, 2 touch judges, 2 video referees (or in goal judges), 1 reserve referee and 1 match commissioner.

Has there ever been any research into whether more officials equals more correct decisions? If so, why stop at 8?

In my mind this is just another step in the "look at me" culture that the referees seem to have adopted recently.

I don't think it's that at all and you've got to remember that the 2 in-goal judges do very little except when a try is scored. There is only 1 video ref (no, not Highlander). The reserve ref has no input on reffing, neither does the match commissioner. So in most games at most times you've got 3 people to make decisions. The ref & 2 touch judges. Who, aside from having a multitude of decisions to make every few seconds (ie every play/tackle) there are plenty of situations where these 3 officials are unsighted and have to guess. For instance where an attacker runs the ball in and either turns himself or is turned by the defence so that he's facing his own posts. Not one of the officials can see the ball at this point. Another, roving, official could.
But the biggest benefit would be at the ruck or as tackles are being made. Because the roving official wouldn't have to be stood marking the 10 for the defence like the ref has to, he'll be stood watching the ruck/tackle unfold and can advise players on when to roll away/don't lift that leg etc and can advise the ref on what happened, ie was it a strip/knock-on/interference etc

They absolutely hate it in Aus though. The way our refs are trained we would end up with a penalty strewn nightmare.