IT is fair to say video technology and the extra pairs of eyes watching the game has generally been a good thing for rugby league.

And on the whole errors or indiscretions that were missed by the naked eye in the build up to tries can be spotted upstairs by those with the benefit of slow-motion replays.

Of course, there have been some high profile howlers, but the video refs do have the opportunity to check things that the ref and touch judge has missed - offside, knock on or a foot in touch.

It is a bit more straightforward and black and white when dealing with a try or no try.

Dealing with disciplinary matters is a slightly greyer area for a couple of reasons.

If a player takes an opponent out of the game by foul means, it is not a bad thing to punish the culprit and his team there and then rather than cop out and put it on report and let the subsequent opponents feel the benefits.

In recent years Saints have lost players for the rest of the season thanks to incidents that were either missed on matchday or dealt with half-heartedly.

So I can see the benefit of that. Imagine, for example, if neither the ref or a touch judge had spotted the full extent of Ben Flower planting Lance Hohaia as he lay on the ground in last year’s Grand Final, with Saints losing their only half back but Wigan going unpunished on match day.

Rightly there would have been uproar in the stadium if that incident had been repeatedly shown on the big screen while Hohaia’s assailant remained on the park.

The man in the middle and his two judges obviously have the responsibility to keep order and punish foul play, but clearly they are now getting help.

However, I do think the move towards more on-field punishments can, if we are not careful, lead to some of the gamesmanship, ie diving inside the penalty box, that has brought football into disrepute.

Now I don’t think anyone likes to see cannon ball tackles, players using their knees on opponents, chicken wings or crusher tackles - not least because of the serious injury they can do.

But are we going to end up with players writhing in agony after getting a bit of a clout, giving someone upstairs time to have a quick look and feed the report back?

There is now an incentive, when games are tight and the tackles are getting a bit feisty and borderline, to play up a bit, rub your arm or roll over do the dying fly in the hope of stopping play and getting a favourable shout from above.

So let’s be careful with this one.