National Rugby League Head of Football Todd Greenberg is "not ready to declare the video bunker a success," but figures from the opening round "suggest otherwise with the average time per decision being slashed by 22 seconds compared with last season," according to Stuart Honeysett of THE AUSTRALIAN. The NRL released a number of figures Monday that showed its "decision to speed up the game with a new and improved video referee system, a shot clock for scrums and drop-outs, and a reduction in interchange, was already having an impact." Greenberg said, "The numbers speak for themselves. ... In terms of the bunker, we are all still getting used to the technology but it was certainly pleasing to see the decision times decrease -- as well as an increase in the time the ball is in play. Equally importantly, it was pleasing to see the process of decisions being explained to our supporters in real time." The NRL is paying A$2M ($1.5M) a season for state-of-the-art video technology -- used in American sports such as the NFL and NHL -- "following howls of protest over the time that was being taken under an old system reliant on footage from the broadcasters." Fox Sports commentator Greg Alexander said that the "success of the bunker justified" its price tag. He added that the "average time taken to make decisions would drop even further the longer the season wore on" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 3/9).
