WARRIORS coach Ivan Cleary has called for an NFL-style video referee challenge system to fix the controversial obstruction rule.

The development came as referees' boss Robert Finch agreed to a telephone hook-up with the 16 NRL coaches - to be held either tomorrow or Wednesday - and admitted there was a possibility the rule would be changed mid-season.

The rule has continued to cause angst among the coaching ranks, with more penalties having been awarded for obstruction in just seven rounds this year than all of last season. Melbourne's Craig Bellamy, Souths' Jason Taylor and Wests Tigers' boss Tim Sheens called for changes even though Finch claimed to have support from others.

Finch emailed all 16 coaches last week to gauge their opinions of the latest rule, but he has received only a handful of replies. But after discussing the controversy with NRL chief operating officer Graham Annesley yesterday, they admitted it was time to discuss the matter with the coaches as a group.

Finch does have some public support, notably from North Queensland coach Graham Murray, who has spoken out in support of the rule, although he admitted much of what was discussed at last year's meeting - where the changes were instigated - had been lost in translation by officials.

Sheens also said the game had "gone off the track somewhere" following the discussions after last season.

But Finch said of the "small sample" of replies he received from the coaches, "the majority … are comfortable with the current position".

Asked if the law could still be changed, he said: "History shows things have been changed before - but it would need to be a very strong argument, and the majority would have to be in agreement.

"And we will need to look at all the ramifications - obviously every change has an impact in other areas of the game. There's a bit to consider, so we'll just see what happens with this hook-up this week.

"One of the things that has created more discussion of this issue is there are more and more decoy runners being used - every play they put up has got decoy runners. What are we going to do about that? That's one of the things I want to talk to the coaches about."

Cleary's Warriors side was denied two tries in the space of eight minutes in the first half against South Sydney yesterday and had to score a last-minute try to ensure it wasn't robbed of a certain victory.

In the 14th minute, video referee Chris Ward denied five-eighth Michael Witt a try after lock Micheal Luck had clipped his Souths opposite, Dean Widders, while running a decoy. But the most contentious ruling came eight minutes later when hooker Nathan Fien was also denied a four-pointer.

Coming out of dummy half and right on the Souths try-line, Fien threw a pass behind prop Sam Rapira to captain Steve Price, then wrapped around Price to score. Souths players said after the match they were as surprised as anyone that the try was not awarded.

Finch admitted he felt the try should have been awarded.

While Fien said "everyone is confused", Cleary blamed slow-motion replays for the interpretation of the rule as much as the rule itself, and called for a system similar to the NFL, where coaches are given a set number of challenges to rulings each game.

"I'm in favour of getting rid of the video ref or making it like the NFL where you get a couple of shots at it," he said.

"I think that would help. The calls are never made in the course of the game, it's only when it goes to the video.

"Every time a try is scored now, we're trying to find out ways to not give a try, which is the opposite of benefit of the doubt. Maybe I'm just being reactive. At least if you only got a few goes at it, you're only going to go if you think from the naked eye that there's a problem."

Taylor said: "My thoughts are that it [the old rule] mightn't have been perfect before, but it's better than this. If someone in the line is impeded, it should be a penalty. Other than that, play on.

"We tried to change it for the right reasons, but it's not working. We should bite the bullet and go back."

Warriors fullback Wade McKinnon said the current rule benefited players who made poor defensive reads.

"People make bad reads and it becomes a penalty for their team," McKinnon said. "It's a move that's been around for years, now with this new rule coming in it is making a lot of players frustrated."