Once again, the video referee was the busiest man in the ground on Saturday night when the Crusaders beat the Highlanders 24-8 in Christchurch after leading 16-0 at the break.
He was referred to at least three times in the first half, which lasted nearly 50 minutes thanks to his involvement and a couple of injury breaks.
Throw in a lengthy halftime break these days and it will not be long until the two-hour mark is cracked for a game of rugby.
It can kill the momentum of the game and Joseph, who has never been a fan of the referral system, also wonders if it is making things any clearer.
''I guess the call for a TMO was to help get rid of ambiguous decisions which were made without clarity... but all of a sudden we have got clarity in video replays but we are still achieving that same ambiguity so maybe we have to look at that,'' he said.
''As the coach of the team we have been on the left-hand side of the TMO this season and that has been very new to us.
''So, as soon as we get on the right side of it, then who knows, we might start getting a few decisions.''
The third official on Saturday night was New Zealand referee Glenn Newman.
Joseph said it was hard to say whether there were too many referrals to the TMO during a game. There were two lengthy breaks in the first half, both over foul play, and on a chilly night that slowed things down in a match that never climbed to any great heights.
The communication between the referee on the ground and the man in the stand could be better and led to lengthening the delays.
Ellis said he could understand why the third match official became involved in decisions but, as a player, it was frustrating. The referrals slowed down the match as players were forced to sit around.
The enlarged involvement of the TMO is on trial this year. The man upstairs is able to rule on foul play and go back two phases to decide whether legitimate tries were scored.
The IRB is due to make a decision next May on whether the trial will become permanent.
Highlanders loose forward Jarrad Hoeata was given an off-field yellow card after Saturday night's match. He was issued with it for a dangerous tackle on Crusaders hooker Corey Flynn midway through the first half.
Hoeata picked up a yellow card against the Chiefs in Hamilton last month and one more will lead to an automatic one-match ban.
