I think a big part of the difference is that the NRL just don't tolerate criticism of refereeing the way we do. I think they actually go too far in trying to limit what players, coaches and the media can comment on but it does help the refs. Here, the referees know Sky will go over every decision ad infinitum, sometimes banging on about decisions for the whole match. It's no surprise to me if they're a bit over-cautious.

Video refs just seem to lack the courage of their convictions. They are probably scared of making a decision too quickly and getting it wrong, but when they watch the same incident over and over again, from the same camera shot, what are they expecting to see different on viewing 10 compared to viewing one? Just make the call and get on with it. On the subject of officiating, a real gripe of mine at the moment is how pretty much every dropped ball gets called as a knock-on. There are several incidents in every match I watch where a ball is dropped but seems to go backwards, but then gets called as a knock-on, which just slows down games even more.