THE introduction of video referees has undoubtedly been one of rugby league's most successful developments in recent memory but some serious tinkering is needed to stop the machine from chewing up the tape.

Since being introduced at the inception of summer rugby, the multitude of television replays available has afforded beleaguered referees a 'third eye' and settled hundreds of arguments and furious mutterings in local public houses across the 13-a-side heartlands.

There were fears that fans would soon get bored of having to wait for crucial 'try' or 'no try' verdicts but the increase in anxiety has only added to the tension and excitement.

But, now the basic concept is comfortably woven into the game's fabric, a number of important flaws in the system must be rooted out to keep the sport moving forward.

Firstly, the video referee is used too little.

It seemed a bit desperate to hear Widnes coach Neil Kelly blaming the Vikings' recent defeat to Hull on the presence of the television cameras, which revealed a string of knock-ons to quite rightly disallow three of their tries. But the fact is that all three would probably have stood and won a vital two points for the play-off hopefuls had the match taken place on a Sunday afternoon, leaving me to wonder how many other matches would have different results with the benefit of the hidden official.

This is blatantly unfair and must be addressed immediately. To erect a 'big screen' at every ground would certainly prove too costly but TV cameras are already used at every ground to record match highlights and could easily be linked up to a monitor in the stands.

Secondly, the video referee is used too much. It is ironic that the aid which was introduced to take a significant burden off the referee's shoulders is now actually adding to his woes, leaving him too frightened to award tries himself for fear of making the wrong decision and having his nose rubbed in it from 17 different angles in full view of the watching millions.

The result is that the momentum of the match is broken down for needless reviews of a try the whole stadium could see was perfectly legal.

Another gripe heard on terraces across the land is the length of time wasted deliberating over tight calls. Once the best replay angle has been found, it only needs to be viewed once to make a decision.

If it is inconclusive, the video ref should be allowed to pass responsibility back to the match official, who must rely on his initial gut feeling.

With cricket and rugby union now also accepting video referees, rugby league has broken new ground in the way sport is governed. But officials must not lose courage in their convictions and live with the occasional human error, or face the growing wrath of frustrated fans.