Former NRL referee Shayne Hayne has given the Broncos the thumbs up on several fronts after attending Tuesday’s training session as coach Anthony Seibold prepares for a season which will be officiated differently to last year.
New NRL head of elite football Graham Annesley wants referees to "stay out of the game" unless necessary in 2019, as they did in the final months of the 2018 season after chief executive Todd Greenberg said in July he wanted match officials to find the right balance in the flow of the game and reduce "nit-picking".
Hayne, who refereed 328 NRL matches, has relocated to Brisbane in his new role as the NRL’s transitional coach for referees. He said he would spend more time at Broncos, Titans and Cowboys training in his role where the focus will be transitioning the next crop of referees into the Telstra Premiership.
Intrust Super Cup referees Tyson Brough and Ethan Menchin officiated the Brisbane session under Hayne’s guidance. Another young refereeing prospect, Belinda Sleeman, has also been involved in recent Broncos training runs.
"It is important that we have the opportunity to bring them here to these sessions so … when it is time for them to get the tap on the shoulder they have a rough idea idea of what they are going to expect," Hayne said.
"The Broncos were really good here today. They were good around the ruck and good on the 10 [metre line], and it was good for our guys to come here and have that game simulation. I think the players appreciate it too with regard to the standards that are going to be set throughout the year."
Hayne backed Annesley's directive and said referees would be "looking for that free-flowing type of football".
"This year Graham has come in and he wants more open footy so I think you will see a different style from the referees," Hayne said.
"Last year they just stuck to what they were told to do, whether we agreed with it or not. They did a great job.
"The way the back end of the season was and the semi-final series, I think everyone seemed to like that style of footy, so I think that is the way things will start out."
Seibold also supported Annesley's tack and said more free-flowing football would result when the ball was in play for longer. The Broncos are training for that outcome in preparation for the season kick-off.
"As a coach, or a rugby league person, I want to see the ball in play. It is one of the things that differentiates our game from other sports,” Seibold said.
"Traditionally on average the ball in play in the NRL has been 56 minutes and I think it was down to 53 minutes last year.
"Super Rugby, from what I understand is 30-odd minutes. We don’t want to be going backwards."
Seibold has ensured official referees have been a feature at Broncos training recently.
"We’ve had the refs come down twice a week for three weeks and it is good when we are doing our 13 [man] opposed [sessions]. It means we get an extra staff member and rather than having a trainer doing the refereeing we have official referees," he said.
Hayne said he was also impressed with the Broncos' goal line defence after observing their session, feedback that was music to Seibold's ears.
"We want to work hard on it. It was really good at times last year and at other times it was only average, but we’ve just got to continue to make it a focus," Seibold said.