Just watching the Lions game and they went to the video referee to check on whether there was a forward pass in the build-up to a try. It's also something which has been checked on the very rare occasions that there has been a lateral/backwards pass in NFL games.

Whenever people have brought up this issue in the past in RL, we always get the excuse that it's impossible to know for sure due to the angle of the camera. I don't agree as sometimes it's so blatantly obvious that a ball has been passed forward, that it's an insult to allow a try to stand. There's been a number of occasions when you can tell a pass has gone forward.

I also noticed the commentators in the Lions game saying 'look at the direction of the hands' and 'focus on the direction of the hands', something which a lot of long-time league fans still don't understand when looking at forward passes. We're not helped by the likes of Stevo constantly going on about the 'momentum rule' as well!

Is it time to allow video refs in RL look at whether a pass was forward??

I'd say no. We go the video ref enough as it is.

What I can not understand is why do we not use the video ref for more stuff, not just a try yes to a blatant forward pass, and instead of putting some one on report have a look and if it is very bad has some are send him off do not mess a bought

problem is some passes can be marginal and hard to detect, ther has to be some way of getting the blatant ones yet having benefit of the doubt type system for the others, or not use it at all. mind you the ref should spot the blatant forwards anyway

i would prefer 2 refs instead

I'm happy enough as it is.

In the interests of fairness and consistency, Id rather have a video ref at every game....And before anyone says, I know that the financial ramifications dont allow it, but thats RL in this country isnt.....done on the cheap.

How is the present system "unfair" to any particular team???

I wouldn't, and I didnt, say unfair.

I'll give you an example..... a player touches down and there is doubt over an obstruction in back play and a suggestion that it was a knock on during rounding. The referee is aware of this....

In a game where there is a video ref, that doubt is referred to the video ref....and the try is disallowed. In a game without a video ref, that doubt turns into benefit of the doubt (to the attacking team) and a try is given. Those decisions can, and often are, the difference between winning and losing a game.

I like the video ref system because it A) defines whether a try is good or not B) generates consistency is its decisions and c) creates drama and debate in the ground, which I like.

There's definitely a way of creating a question whereby you don't have to try to determine the legitimacy of every single pass but can pick out the blatant cock-ups. The union bunch seem to have got this right.

VR decisions for suspect passes may/will/should only be brought in when/if we adopt the refs call, as they have in the NRL.

The issue with using TV shots, is that they are 2D and can be misinterpreted.

If a ref made a call e.g. "we have a try - but check the last pass", the try should ONLY by over-ruled if the replay showed WITHOUT DOUBT, that the the pass was indeed forward. Or vice versa.

Get rid of it. Make them do their jobs and earn their money.

Using video technology has its flaws, as we all know from some dodgy decisions in the past. But we still get the right decision more often than not. Whenever I talk with my football supporting friends, a few of them trot out the excuse that they don't want video technology because bad decisions give them something to talk about in the pub which I find ridiculous. Referees are human (contrary to popular belief) and sometimes miss things or make an error. If we can use something that can aid them in making the right call, that can only be a good thing.

It isn't ideal that we don't have it across the board though, as one person mentioned, but unfortunately we don't have the resources to implement it at every game in every round.

It seems strange how the video ref can't be used for forward passes, yet we have match officials on the ask the ref feature on twitter confirming which passes were/weren't forward after a video review of their game.

VR should only be used to judge matters of fact. We don’t have anywhere near enough information for the VR’s judgement of a forward pass to be a matter of fact. Letting the VR judge forward passes would be more trouble than it is worth, from some angles a pass looks clearly forward, from others flat, and from others backwards. It isn’t that it is impossible to judge a forward pass by video, simply that it can be deceiving from different angles. It would just lead to arguments after every try that from one angle, one pass looked forward. No need for it, leave it as it is, and the defensive team will defend like it was passed backwards, and the attacking team will attack like they need to pass backwards, its absolutely fine as it is.

VR for matters of fact onside/offside at the kick, groundings, in touch etc, on field ref for matters of opinion forward passes, obstruction, hands in at the ruck, etc.

Absolutely not IMO. We spend half a televised game looking at VR replays while they make their mind up as it is. To allow them to go and look for a forward pass virtually every try would be sent upstairs adding more disruption to the game.

I would change the VR rules. Firstly the ref should make a call of try or no try, the VR has 1 minute to agree or not. If after the minute is gone he can't make a decision then the original refs call applies.