After watchig rugby league more than 25 years i have to admit that there isnt any need for linesmen! they now can no longer see
1. high tackles
2. who was involved in a brawl
3. foreward passes
4 if the ball bounced inside or outside the line
5 knock on's

i think the game now just needs 2 refs like they do in aus

The linesmen frantically run on the pitch all concerned when they have a South Stand full of crying Leeds fans whinging at them as observed last week...

As far as two ref's, I'm not sure. Did you see the Broncos v Roosters game this weekend? There was a 50/50 ball of which one referee shouted ''Broncos ball'' and the other shouted ''Rooster ball''. The Broncos player heard the call, released it and the Rooster player ran half the pitch to score and everybody was up in arms.

Two refs doesn't lead to improvement in my view. The bottom line though is that many will not accept that mistakes are inevitable!! Even having two refs, they'd still be competeting with about 8 different eyes in terms of tv cameras with wide angles and such like!

Personally in all my 10 years doing my website its been a very rare day that I've critcised a ref. I think most do a reasonable job and thats because I accept that some mistakes will happen. I don't particularly see any bias anywhere. It's expectation from Stuart Cummings that refs should be able to read minds and video refs that are a far bigger issue.

I always thought it was a "touch judge" in Rugby?

Linesmen are in football, could be wrong though.


Either way they do serve a purpose, and make mistakes like every other official in the game.

The MK Wolves played a curtain raiser before the Workington game at Skolars on Sunday. They had one ref, no linesmen, no ball boys, and it went ok. We still called the offsides though.

The main job of a touch judge (not linesman) is to judge touch (pretty self explanitory really). They do have input with knock ons, high tacklets, etc, but it is the main responsibility of the referee. Touch judges have very little input in the offsides/onsides. It irritates me so much when speccy's shout "get em onside touchie", because it isn't their main job. If they spot a player offside, they can call it as offside, but its upto the referee to penalise it or not.

I thought they were called Touch Judges.

Linesmen is a football thing I think.

I have visions of Graham Taylor shouting LINESMAN!!! LINESMAN THAT REF'S JUST COST ME MY JOB!! on that Channel 4 documentary

Do I not like Orange.

TJ's call infringements they see and the ref sometimes ignores them.