You are. However the only reference to the direction the ball travels in the laws is to give examples of how a ball passed backwards could travel forwards. These include being blown by the wind and bouncing forward. I assume you think that a ball that is passed backwards and then blown forward by the wind is also a forward pass?

Which means the the direction of the pass is not necessarily judged by the actual direction the pass actually travels relative to the ground, it also has nothing to do with the position of a players hands when passing, because that is not the same as the actual direction of a pass relative to either the ground or any other given player. However, the direction of everything else on the field is relative to the ground i.e.
- the players move relative to the ground so the touchline, the try line and any other fixed line does not move, the player moves in relation to those things.
- when we judge a player onside/offside from a kick we look at the position on the ground where the players are stood, a kicker may play his team mates onside, but this does not itself determine the direction of the kick, merely whether the reciever is in front or behind the kicker relative to the fixed markings on the ground.

Right. As the rules of the game clearly state. It's judged by its direction of travel relative to the passing player (and it's a basic fact of the 'real world' that all direction is relative to something).

The only true way of judging the direction the ball is propelled in is the direction it was actually propelled in after the fact, not some kind of half baked counterfactual whereby we make a guess at which direction it might be going to go based on the biomechanics of the player making the pass and then say that a guess will do regardless of what actually happens. The way it looks like it might go, is not the same as where it did go.

Everything on the pitch is relative to the ground as marked out by fixed markers like lines and flags, as long as a player is on the pitch their direction can and is judged relative to fixed lines. A player could not be judged onside or offside if we were not fixing position in some way relative to the ground, if it was simply a matter of position relative to another player then direction would be entirely meaningless within the operation of the game.

Indeed.


So why do you want the RFL to change the rules and judge it against something else then?

Well done for spotting that we don't move the pitch underneath the players, but the players move on the pitch.



but









wtf has that got to do with anything under discussion on this thread?

I'm gonna regret this and try and make as realistic to speeds of player and ball.

Man running at 11m/s towards opponents line. Passes ball as he crosses half way line at 30m/s laterally and 0.5m/s behind him. In 1 second, ball has travelled 30m laterally and 10.5m forward(11m/s forward and .5m backward). Receiver started on the 51m line catches the ball near opponents 40m line.

Is this a forward pass-
receiver started behind the thrower.
Ball is thrown back at 0.5m/s
Ball is caught 10.5m ahead of start location.

Using simple physics the answer is no, ref doesnt have time to do calculation so guesses the direction of players hands by using the marker lines as a reference , player scores out wide, everyone shouts forward pass, Stevo claims momentum rule.
I have used an extreme case which I have no doubt would result in the ref feeling obliged to call forward.

Exactly.

You'd make a great video ref.

Yes, and the position of the passing player is determined in relation to fixed ground markings, if this wasn't the case, like in the real world, direction would have little meaning.

and?

btw – that about a 9s 100m – he'd be coining it on the athletics circuit, not playing rugby league, if he could run at that pace