yep thats what i meant!

Sounds good for certain situations, would be a good addition.

Is there any choice though? If you were a point up with a minute to go and get a penalty deep in your own half, you'd want to take your time and boot he ball down field and take 20 seconds off the clock.

That was my concern, you don't get the choice. Also the ref was miked up last night so the crowd knew when the tackle count was reset, can't see them miking the refs in the SL.

I know it was what aussies class as exibition match. I just cant believe that a sport played in so few countries as so many different rules.
It should be one game one set of rules.

The fact that the wrestle (AKA tackle) has not been policed by the referees properly/consistantly for years makes this innovation almost redundant and will annoy fans/players/coaches alike.
Why not start insisting the players play the game by the rules consistantly across the board with no 'pushing the envelope' by such.
After all if the players play to the rules they wont get penalised then the ref doesn't have to stop the game.
All this garbage about a ref spoiling the game is rubbish, it's the players that commit the penalties (Under the instruction of the coaches for some of them) that spoil the game.

you mean we get more like Union?

no thanks

So when fans/player/coaches are complaining the ref should be pulling up fouls, laying on at PTB for example and errors such as knock ons and forward passes you don't think the refs should blow the whistle then?
In fact union refs allow blatent knock ons all the time, mainly those at the bottom of the ruck when the 9 (or whomever) is pulling the ball out. Obstructions in game play are also pretty much ignored (truck & train) players getting in the way of the tackle, pulling players back and that is at international level.