Reds V Highlanders Rd 17

[armatt]

But to suggest Kaplan was in any way one-sided is laughable.

I agree Slim. Don't get me wrong, that's not my suggestion. I don't think he was biased either way. He was shithouse all round.

How the Reds did not get one card one will never know...

re: the cards, I think Karl's position is bang on:

People are saying he should have had the cards out but I think he kept them in because he knew the infringements he was handing out were bullshit and carding someone for repeatedly holding their mouth in the wrong position would be a step too far. When you come out and take a pedantic and officious attitude to everything and blow your whistle every 10 seconds you paint yourself into a corner.

I'm normally one of the first to call for cards for repeated infringements, and I'm surprised Kaplan didn't go to his cards - which only concerns me more. Either 1) he's unwilling, or 2) he knows his decisions were a crock. Either represents a big problem.

 

[Schadenfreude]

He was picking a team to penalise randomly when both teams were infringing.

That headlock was ridiculous, he didn't even put it on report did he?

 

[qwerty51]

Are you kidding me? You're telling me he didn't go to cards because he thought his penalties were too harsh? Why the fuck would he give out penalties then, whether the penalties were justified or not he gave them out and the Reds conceded way too many in their own 22. He should've given a few out, if the Tahs were playing Kaplan would've put a few in the bin before HT.

 

[armatt]

Are you kidding me? You're telling me he didn't go to cards because he thought his penalties were too harsh? Why the fuck would he give out penalties then, whether the penalties were justified or not he gave them out and the Reds conceded way too many in their own 22. He should've given a few out, if the Tahs were playing Kaplan would've put a few in the bin before HT.

I'm not sure he had the conviction you think he had, and re cards and "whether the penalties were justified or not he gave them out and the Reds conceded way too many in their own 22" - I totally agree, which is why I said earlier that either 1) he was unwilling to go to the cards, or 2) he knew his decisions were a crock - either being a big problem.

And yep. Tahs always so hard done by. Everybody but themselves to blame. Every time.

 

[Jiggles]

How the Reds did not get one card one will never know..

They didn’t get carded because Kaplan is too slow to get into position to call the game properly. A large majority of his calls were what he thought probably happened and not what he actually saw. He knew if he carded a player (like Cooper's 'slap down') when there was a tiny bit of doubt involved, he would be done as a Ref. He is just trying to cover for his inability at this level and hang on as long as possible before forced retirement.

 

[Karl]

The game was conducted fine.

If you don't want Kaplan to blow his whistle then don't infringe.

If anything he let the Reds get away with more, and they were lucky not to finish the game with 14.

There was nothing wrong with any of the decisions he made and he explained himself well to the players every time.

It was actually a good refereeing performance from Kaplan surprisingly.

So quit being a sore winner.

I'm not commenting as a Reds fan. I'm commenting as a Rugby fan who thought Kaplan had a terrible night.

 

[Mr Doug]

I thought that you're unwell.

Thanks for your concern boyo. Yes, still unwell, but never too crook to support our beloved Reds (or Wobs)! So unwell that I forgot the lucky red jocks on Wednesday night, and my NSW Blues lost by a point! Damn it!

 

[tigerland12]

I'd have to watch that one again, but will agree that decision was maybe the only one of the night that had some question marks about it.

However, the Reds were lucky because Kaplan did deem it a penalty, and Quade should've been carded following the multiple warnings previous.

Kaplan could've easily blown his whistle plenty more times during the night.

If any Reds' fans feel hard done by from Kaplan they need to take these off:

The Reds definitely deserved the win as the Highlanders were impatient in attack and bottled their opportunities.

But to suggest Kaplan was in any way one-sided is laughable.

Slim shut up, everyone is saying Kaplan was shit to both teams, not just QLD, stop looking for a shit fight.

 

[Slim 293]

I'm not looking for a shitfight.

Kaplan wasn't that bad. In fact, he was perfectly fine.

Which is rare for him.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Thanks for your concern boyo. Yes, still unwell, but never too crook to support our beloved Reds (or Wobs)! So unwell that I forgot the lucky red jocks on Wednesday night, and my NSW Blues lost by a point! Damn it!

Three times in a week may be a bit much for those lucky undies of yours. The force is strong with them, but please treasure them. We need them in good condition for the upcoming Rugby Championship.

 

[Mr Doug]

Three times in a week may be a bit much for those lucky undies of yours. The force is strong with them, but please treasure them. We need them in good condition for the upcoming Rugby Championship.

They appear to be handling the work-load Hugh, but I'll take your advice and 'handle with care'. Their record is pretty impressive, but I wont risk it by staying up for the cricket (@4/83 Aus)!! Have a good Sunday.

 

[Karl]

I'm not looking for a shitfight.

Kaplan wasn't that bad. In fact, he was perfectly fine.

Which is rare for him.

Interesting how the same game of Rugby can create such opposed opinions. Everyone I was at the game with and most of the people in the entire section of the crowd I could observe were increasingly annoyed with Kaplans over officiousness as the game went on. It's been a while since I heard so much hostility directed at a Ref. It's not parochialism, we were winning, it was his refusal to let the game flow and the inexplicable nature of a lot of his decisions.

On the issue of who he favored though, I think the Reds did cop the rough end of the pineapple in various aspects of Kaplans game management, but there's no point having a bun fight about it here. The best team won and his performance did not affect the result, just the quality of the game and the enjoyment of the crowd.

 

[Slim 293]

Interesting how the same game of Rugby can create such opposed opinions. Everyone I was at the game with and most of the people in the entire section of the crowd I could observe were increasingly annoyed with Kaplans over officiousness as the game went on. It's been a while since I heard so much hostility directed at a Ref. It's not parochialism, we were winning, it was his refusal to let the game flow and the inexplicable nature of a lot of his decisions.

On the issue of who he favored though, I think the Reds did cop the rough end of the pineapple in various aspects of Kaplans game management, but there's no point having a bun fight about it here. The best team won and his performance did not affect the result, just the quality of the game and the enjoyment of the crowd.

The problem is those people in the stands don't see what the ref does on the field.

For instance, the crowd went nuts for a penalty against Cooper that on first viewing did look bizarre, but the replay clearly showed that Cooper had tripped a Highlanders player.......

Kaplan was actually very good at communicating his decisions with the players, and it was one of the better games I've seen him officiate for a while.

As for the Reds receving the rough end of the pineapple - no chance.

Kaplan was extrmely lenient on them for much of the match, including some of their scrappy pick and go work where they repeatedly ran into their own players which most refs would've pulled up for the obstruction.

He also failed to pull out the cards after repeated warnings. And S Finger probably should've copped a yellow for one of his two shoulder charges.

In the end it didn't have any real effect on the game though, as the Reds had played better footy for most of the match and deserved the win.

Highlanders rushed their opportunities and played dumb.

 

[Scotty]

Biggest issue with Kaplan is that he wasn't forcing tacklers to release the tackled player to allow them to play the ball.

The highlanders seem to use this as a tactic to attack the rucks - tacklers hold onto the tackled player and lock up the ball until their support gets there and they then start counter rucking. There were several incidents in the first half.

Then in the second half the reds started doing the same, until Kaplan decided to ping Anthony F with a few minutes to go. I don't recall many, if any other penalties being issues for this offence - no wonder the rucks ended up a shit fight.

 

[vidiot]

Biggest issue with Kaplan is that he wasn't forcing tacklers to release the tackled player to allow them to play the ball.

The highlanders seem to use this as a tactic to attack the rucks - tacklers hold onto the tackled player and lock up the ball until their support gets there and they then start counter rucking. There were several incidents in the first half.

Then in the second half the reds started doing the same, until Kaplan decided to ping Anthony F with a few minutes to go. I don't recall many, if any other penalties being issues for this offence - no wonder the rucks ended up a shit fight.

Yup, he fucked this up pretty consistently. This is why coaches build plans around kicking, possession is hard to use effectively in any other way.

 

[Karl]

It looked, from the stands, in addition to the above, that in the ruck highlander players were consistently going of their feet and I got pretty antsy about how big their gate seemed to be. Inconsistent application of the advantage left you wondering when he was going to blow his whistle and pull play back half the field apparently at random, which only seemed to happen against the run of a Reds movement but even if you accept he was consistently bad in that he was still bad.

Communicating with players means bubkiss if you're talking shit about pedantic crap.

I jus don't understand how anyone can think he did a good job in that game.

 

[cyclopath]

If you guys want to see lax officiating, and general contempt for the laws, watch Jonker last night in the Cheetahs v Stormers. Scrums were a debacle - whip-wheeling, no bind, angling in, standing up, and all let go. Couple of scrums wheeled nearly 180 degrees but were allowed to finish. Lots of belly-flops in the breakdown too.
I'm sure many would applaud his "letting the game flow", but I guess that's a different point of view.

 

[spectator]

Probably should watch a replay but watching it live, the Ref looked to be having a shocker, and that was the opinion of everyone in the area I was sitting. Possibly a smidgen of ''one eyed'' Reds sentiment but some of the decisions seemed bewildering.