Quote: OrdsallRed "And I suppose you know the role of every single TJ in the competition then??
Different referees use their TJs in quite different ways...some referees want them to concentrate solely on marking where the ball goes out of play and checking for in/out of touch (Kirkpatrick being a prime example in this camp) whereas others want them more involved with offsides and forward passes and the like...I wasn't there on Friday (thankfully) so cannot pass comment on this particular set of officials, but to think that all TJs have the same, unchanging role in every single game is erroneous.'"
The role of every single TJ IS defined in the Rules of The Game - available on the RL Website - the relevant bit is this:
Enforce Laws 2. The Referee shall enforce the Laws of the Game and may impose penalties for any deliberate breach of the Laws.
He shall be the sole judge on matters of fact except those relating to touch and touch in-goal
(see para. 11 below)
So the TJs role is VERY limited - the TJ may also draw the Referee's attention to an infringement if the referee has not seen it, but has no authority other than that.
Now, some refs (the good ones) will actively use their TJs to assist in getting decisions right, but I think what HBRed was referring to was the screams you hear from the spectators for the TJ to "open your eyes", "wave your flag" etc. when the rules of the game forbid them from doing so
. With all due respect surely they are the ones who should be signalling for forward passes as they are (generally) in line with play? ATEOTD they should be there to assist the referee and I don't feel they do enough. Imagine the linesmen, sorry Referee's Assistants, in Football not being able to help out with offsides. It'd be carnage! Between the referee and 2 TJ's they shouldn't be f*cking up so many decisions as they do. It's laughable.
