Quote WireWireWire="WireWireWire"The Huby/Cuthbertson 'obstruction' is simple for me. Huby stops in the line after the ball has gone west and honestly does step into Cuthbertson, but by the time the play comes back round Huby is walking back while for some reason Cuthbertson is pretending he's made of velcro and looks to want to keep walking into Huby in a terrible attempt to look as though he's been held back, he had plenty of opportunity to step right and go for Wardle, instead he decided to be lazy.'"
The thing with the obstruction rule is that it has so stupidly complicated when it should be pretty simple. Huby Obstructed Cuthbertson, of that there is no doubt. Huby's presence in the defensive line stopped Cuthbertson taking the easiest route to the player, could Cuthbertson have overcome that obstacle? yes, could he have taken a different route? yes, could he have taken action to avoid being obstructed? yes. But none of those are his job. It is Hubys job not to obstruct, not Cuthbertsons not be obstructed.
The obstruction rule is, to me, a highlight of everything that is wrong with our officiating.Its a rule written as a checklist so the referee doesn't have to think or know the game to give it. The problem is it is also written with enough wiggle room so that when the ref and VR do screw up they can be defended.
It was interesting to note that neither Clarke nor Carney, the two players, had any doubt whatsoever it was obstruction. Because to a player it was obstruction. It looked like obstruction, it felt like obstruction. Cummings had to look and find an excuse why it wasn't obstruction. So has everyone else. Every defence of it is, even yours is yeah Huby obstructed but.....
And that is unnecessary, the complication around obstruction is unnecessary, and the stupid thing is despite all this nonsense they have surrounded the obstruction rule with it still isn't close to being a consistently applied rule (see the earlier obstruction given against Hardaker where nobody was obstructed)
Obstruction is a simple rule, did the player go through a gap created by his colleagues presence in the defensive line?