For those who missed the mammoth news earlier, the NRL is taking a huge step to ensure the future of the game.

Yes, stop the presses! The NRL are looking to introduce a shot clock at stoppages such as goal-line drop outs and scrums.

Despite the fact that there is already a supposed 30 second limit on drop outs, that is virtually never enforced, the NRL are once again hardly tackling the big issues.

The potential rule change will be trialled in the under 20s competition, and possibly in the later rounds of the NRL in games that won’t affect the finals.

Obviously the reason NRL crowds are down, and people are seemingly losing interest and confidence in the game, is the delay between a ball going dead and a kick being taken.

Or perhaps it is the time it takes to pack a useless scrum, and feed the ball through the second rower’s legs, that is responsible for the drop in attendances.

Don’t get me wrong, both of these delays don’t thrill me, and I’m sure the large majority of NRL fans agree, but it’s hardly the biggest issue gripping rugby league right now.

33% of those players polled in the recent Rugby League Week survey don’t believe the NRL should take action above that of courts when it comes to domestic violence.

We have a player suspended for two weeks for a maybe-kinda looked like a possible shoulder charge, while a player who headbutted an opposition player twice is available to play and will not serve any punishment.

We have a player confined to a wheelchair due to an unfortunate lifting tackle, yet we are seeing players responsible for far more dangerous tackles slapped on the wrist.

Kicks offs are getting later, refereeing errors are increasing year on year, and don’t even get me started on the video refereeing and touch judges.

All these issues fail in comparison to the 15 to 20 seconds wasted on goal line drop out restarts, and the packing of scrums.

I know that if I was watching a Grand Final, and it was 20 all, with three minutes to go, that if a scrum took more than 30 seconds to pack, I would turn off and cancel my NRL club membership.

Meanwhile it would cost me $15 plus ticketek’s ridiculous booking fees, to take my four year old son to a Monday night game to stand on the hill.

Add the $5 for a pie or bucket of hot chips, the $4 water, $15 parking. Throw in another $7.50 if I opt for a warm, poorly poured beer.

All good, as long as there is no delay at scrums or goal line drop outs.

I’d like to run my very own RLW-like poll if possible.

[polldaddy poll=9023875]

I don’t expect the NRL to deal with everything right now, but of all the very real issues in our game, why are they tackling easy options?

On twitter this week I have seen fans of the Bulldogs question, rightfully, why Kane Evans escaped suspension for his shoulder charge, whilst Mason and Mataulino are serving two and three game bans respectively, for a tackle that was supposedly banned.

Did the judiciary need reminding that the tackle was outlawed for safety reasons?

Why were the video referees responsible for the Andrew Fifita no try against the Raiders, a mistake referee boss Tony Archer admitted was a mistake, not punished for their error?

Why do touch judges stand idle whilst forward passes travel metres forward?

Why do two incredibly similar video replays routinely end up with two completely different rulings?

Why are referees forced to guess on decisions they are sending to the video? If they were sure either way, why would they send it to the video referee?

Can anyone define what ‘sufficient evidence to overrule the on-field decision’ actually means?

As long as there’s no delay on restarts …

Because the NRL hasn’t, or can’t deal with the big issues here are some suggestions.

If Dave Smith is reading this, please feel free to implement some, or all, of the below, free of charge, no credit needed.

  • Stop the guessing re video referee decisions. If it looks like a try, it’s a try. If not, it’s not. No benefit of the doubt, no need for evidence to overturn. If it’s that inconclusive, have three professionally trained officials on hand to make the decision. You know what, just let that octopus that was predicting World Cup results pick a box marked ‘try’ or ‘no try’. Anything is better than the current set up.
  • Ban players CONVICTED of domestic violence for two years. Kick re-offenders out of the game. Anyone who tests positives to illegal drugs is gone for two years, no questions asked. Why not players convicted of assault?
  • Ensure games kick off on time. If Channel 9 force the game to be delayed 10 minutes, that’s ten minutes of ads they lose in the second game on Friday night.
  • Dock anyone who is proven to go over the salary cap by $100,000 plus a minimum of 4 competition points. I guarantee you teams will only ever go over the cap once at most.
  • Stop giving us reasons why ticket prices are fine the way they are and conform to supply and demand. Also, please don’t tell me the stadiums need to charge $5 for a pie and $4.50 for a bottle of water. $7.50 for a beer is highway robbery.

But, as long as there’s no delay on restarts aye?