new high contact rules

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apezza

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No Sharks players charged over the Titans game. Source NRL website.
 
HaroldBishop

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Andrew Johns.

If you’re a big-wave surfer, there’s a chance you could drown. If you’re a jockey, it’s inevitable you will have a fall.

If you play rugby league, there’s every chance, at some point, you’ll be clipped around the head.

Nobody disputes the importance of the NRL’s controversial head high crackdown.

But we need to find the middle ground. Somewhere between where we were and this extreme situation we now find ourselves in.

My issues with concussion – which contributed to the epilepsy and seizures I’ve suffered later in life – are well documented. So I’m all for protection from head highs and eliminating as many concussions as we can.

But what’s happened in the past three weeks is too much. We’ve gone from zero to 100 in an email leading up to Magic Round.

I’m worried about Origin. Heaven forbid it determines the outcome of a match or, even worse, a series.

The big question for me is this: what do the people who run the game want rugby league to look like? Because, at the moment, it’s not much fun to watch.

The six-to-go rule introduced last year was a great innovation. It sped up the play and created more open footy. There was more fatigue, regardless of whatever spin the NRL wants to put out.

Importantly, there was less structure. We were no longer watching boring “wrestlemania” that was holding back creative play.

Now, we’ve got more stoppages than even before because the bunker is imposing itself on everything.

We’ve seen numerous examples of them getting in the referee’s ear, going back four of five tackles and penalising or sin binning someone for incidental contact with the head.

The one that’s fresh in everyone’s mind is the incident involving Manly’s Marty Taupau and Knights prop Daniel Saifiti on Sunday. I still don’t think Taupau hit him in the head with first contact.

This is madness.

You’ve got one referee and two touch judges officiating the game. That tackle was right in front of them and they still didn’t see enough evidence to blow a penalty, let alone sin bin someone.

Let the poor referees do their job. I feel sorry for them. There’s suddenly more pressure on them like never before.

There’s so much confusion about what is a penalty, sin bin or send-off. What is considerable force? How is that defined?

The one-on-one battles, the grudges between two forwards, the rivalry between the likes of Paul Harragon and Mark Carroll everyone still talks about, are about to become a thing of the past.

Two weeks ago, we saw the Broncos’ Tevita Pangai jnr go toe to toe with the Roosters’ Victor Radley.

Well done to Pangai for picking out and running at Roosters half Sam Walker. That’s the game. He’s well within his rights to do that.

Victor said, “Right, I’ll make a statement here” and then went after him in defence of his playmaker. I still don’t know why he was sin -binned, but he was, and then he was suspended and missed an Origin debut.

The spin from the NRL about junior participation numbers, and sending the message that rugby league is safe for kids, is the biggest cop-out.

Watch junior footy and see the difference in the sizes and body shapes in most age groups. If they were serious about sending the right message, they would’ve brought in weight divisions years ago.

I should know, I have a son who plays junior rugby league.

NRL players have been criticised for voicing their disapproval about not being consulted about the crackdown. They’re the stars. They’re the ones who love the game. They have a right to voice their concerns.

Only a tiny percentage of the population can play in the NRL. Rugby league at the very top level isn’t for everyone. They also know the repercussions of playing this brutal, body-collision sport.

But the players have been shot down for having a say about the game they play. Anyone who hasn’t agreed with the way the crackdown has been brought in has been criticised for not worrying about “player welfare”.

That’s the world we live in. You cannot have a different opinion to the status quo. If you do, you get shouted down.

This is simply what I think, as someone who has played and supported the game my whole life.

I’m not saying we have to abandon the crackdown. Just get everyone in a room – players, doctors, respected figures, our administrators – and find some middle ground.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/th...own-before-it-s-too-late-20210602-p57xc4.html
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Sparkles

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Proud Shark said:
Have you ever watched Freddy and the Eighth? Joey is absolutely cooked.
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Those two together are the dullest pair tv has ever aired. I just don't get it. Freddy's like that too, in everything. Apparently there's enough people out there that'd watch anything about rugby league that they don't need interesting, engaging presenters. God NRL 'journalism' sucks! I'll give Ennis and Flanno a pass...
 
HaroldBishop

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Sparkles said:
Those two together are the dullest pair tv has ever aired. I just don't get it. Freddy's like that too, in everything. Apparently there's enough people out there that'd watch anything about rugby league that they don't need interesting, engaging presenters. God NRL 'journalism' sucks! I'll give Ennis and Flanno a pass...
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Ennis is bloody great. Unfortunately that show he does on a Sunday night normally has Hooper on it, so I don't watch it.
 
Sparkles

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HaroldBishop said:
Ennis is bloody great. Unfortunately that show he does on a Sunday night normally has Hooper on it, so I don't watch it.
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Even Ennis seems annoyed with the other commentators any time I've seen one of those shows. He'd constantly cut in and dismiss stuff the rest were saying and come up with something of actual substance and sense. Not enough to offset the other clods and keep me watching though
 
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apezza

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No Sharks charged over Penrith game. Common sense prevails.
 
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