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Sam Kosack • July 14th, 2025 2:59 pm
NRL great Scott Sattler believes the NRL must begin ruling on forward passes in try scoring opportunities after a number of missed calls in the latest round left fans fuming.
Forward passes have once again come under the microscope after Dragons’ coach Shane Flanagan felt his side was denied a crucial try in their loss to the Raiders’ last week over an incorrect decision.
Sattler says the NRL must weigh in on forward pass calls in try scoring opportunities to avoid contentious game-deciding decisions.
“We saw three blatant forward passes in the State of Origin on Wednesday night; two from Latrell (Mitchell), one from Reece Robson,” Sattler said on SEN 1170 Mornings.
“They just went… nowhere… it was horrendous, the calls.
“I just feel as though if it's a try-scoring situation and there is a flat or questionable pass, we've got smart enough people in our game that… not the referees or the bunker referees, but we've got former coaches in the game that are smart enough to make decisions on whether try scoring opportunities and there was a forward pass involved.
“But in general play, if we can't make a decision and that's flat and we're not quite sure, and the on-field decision is forward pass or the on-field decision is play on, I think we just got to wear it.”
Sattler added that players are incentivised to push the boundary on forward passes to gain an advantage, increasing the need for additional ruling on decisions.
“You want to try and get as close to perfection as possible to put pressure on the defence,” Sattler commented.
“If you can keep the ball as flat as possible, but to the naked eye still seem a little bit backwards, it means you're putting a lot more pressure on the defense to make decisions.
“If you can try and make defenders make decisions, that's to your advantage.
“But you're also flirting with the hearse a little bit while you do it because you don't know what the linesman's seeing, what angle the touch judges on as well.
“Are they going to see it a different way?”
The NRL has previously considered putting microchips into balls to track forward passes, but ultimately abandoned the idea back in 2023.
