The NRL Match Review Committee has this week seen 22 players met with a total of 24 charges ( inc Leotta & Edwards).
“ If every player accepts the early plea, suspensions totalling 25 weeks and fines of $22,500 will be handed out. “ 9 World of Sport”
Hmmm, is this crackdown an overreaction, or has the lack of previous action been lacking by officials?
Use of the ‘sin bin’ has been poorly patrolled, so no objection from me.
But a ‘crackdown’ my be over the top. What do you think ???
I don’t mind what the NRL are trying to do but perhaps like you, the rules have been on the books so why enforce them now?
A couple of things i note and in particular the Titans/Panthers game…players will try their hardest to milk a penalty as Don did on about 3 occasions suggesting a “crusher” to his neck.
And then some events were missed or allowed.
To me if this “crackdown” is to continue what coach wouldn’t coach their players to run into players whilst dropping their heads.
Happened a few times in the games where a falling attacker was hit by the defence and got a penalty.
The send offs were warranted in all games and not sure about fining players a few grand.
Means nothing to a guy on $800k a year
Fine them $100k a time and hand out real suspensions where they do not get paid if suspended
What they are doing now is adding “theatre” to the game and no real penalty for foul play IMO
I’m on the fence here… Yes we need to remove the head high’s…BUT the Tedesco type hits are not poor technique. If you have an elusive player with extreme speed and ability to step running at you, you commit yourself to the contact as early as possible to nullify the additional movement.
If you look at the recent contact to his head, HE is the one adjusting to the defense “nullifying” his attack by getting closer to the ground. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like seeing him knocked out on the ground, but the contact should NOT be considered a fault of the defender in this instance.
I agree with many who say we need to reward the legs tackle, how we do this in the modern game is the big question. Note: Most contact with the head is from a falling player, so first man in taking the legs will exacerbate this.
Just throwing it out there: What would the modern game look like if we had a rule of “No 3rd man in the tackle”? This would also help nullify this woeful rule where the strip is permitted where a ball carrier is defending himself against 3, only for 2 of em to drop off because 1 attacked the ball…it’s a shit rule too !
As a youngster we were not specifically trained to tackle player around the legs, but rather tackle around the mid section. You want to apply the most amount of stopping force and have the least amount of potential damage to yourself and the opponent.
I remember being instances of players tackling around he legs coping a knee to the head and getting concussions. Nasty ones in fact. If I were to coach a side, I don’t think it would be having them wrap around the legs if I was trying to minimise head knocks.
There is a lot of talk about sportsmen getting brain injuries - soccer players from heading the ball, league from the obvious impacts. It’s only a matter of time before somebody starts a class action against sports administrators for no duty of care. I believe that this is a reaction to that and it should stay.
I feel that the NRL needs to agree to begin a fund to assist with types of issues for players to access in their post football lives.
I do agree with the stance that the NRL is taking, nobody want to see head injuries to any player, but in saying that, it is a contact sport… it’s going to happen eventually. I hope that these rules are refined as they go on, and understanding is given when a player makes high contact, there is a line between intentional and unintentional that needs to be drawn.
There is a delicate balance between a making an entertaining product and ensuring the welfare of the participants. I don’t feel these rules will be the solution on its own, there needs to be a concerted effort for supporting players post career as a ‘duty of care’.
The head bin rule is a HUGE positive, but as with anything, these scumbag coaches who are only interested in rorting the system to gain a benefit, are now getting players taken from the field for the most innocuous touches, depending on the time in the game.
I note their has been absolutely nothing said about the Titans 7, he went into a tackle on Yeo i think, head in wrong spot, caught the hip and came out wobbly, it took him 2 or 3 tackles to recover…BUT he stayed on the field the entire game 
Why haven’t they come down harder on the Bellamy ‘crusher’ tackle.
After all, it’s a second thought manoeuvre & they all seem to be rorting it. Concussion/ broken neck, my choice, neither.
Legs tackle from behind still effective and can force the error without
undue risk to the defender.
I feel over time, Melbourne are not going to have any other option but to end their strategy of wresting techniques. @Puss
If the NRL continues with the ‘hard line’ they have taken last week, Melbourne are going to end up playing a lot of games with less players on the field.
The game has changed and continues to change, not always for the best. There was a time when John Sattler was immortalised for playing a Grand Final with a broken jaw. No one then, made a fuss of how he did it. Punch to the head by Manly prop Bucknall, Jaws heal, the jury’s out on brains and I suppose crusher tackles.
Yet there must always be a level of aggression in a contact sport.
We can’t have it both ways.
Agree with you 100% - we must have ESP. Tedesco is the cause of most of his knocks as when he changes direction he automatically lowers his body and hence head, meaning his head contacts the tackler not vice versa.
Yes the strip rule is a joke. One on one yes, once there are two or more in the tackle, no strip allowed - simple. Maybe even the refs will get it right then 
and then we have Paul Gallen boxing post rugby league career,
who’s going to protect him from himself ???
Damage already done I’m afraid.
Funny that RL is trying to protect players from head knocks and yet a sport is based on just that 
In Gallen’s case who will he sue later in life? Don’t forget the drugs could also be blamed.
We don’t want our game to become scrutinized by the do gooding PC brigade.
If we can apply a level of common sense to a sensitive subject, we will find the right result.
Two Things need to happen as a first port of call.
) he was lazy and careless with his effort and collected the KICKER around the throat. What does a fine say to the league about what Moses did, the ‘victim’ was in no way prepared for that because he was the kicker.I cannot stress enough though, the Tedesco example is NOT a defender’s issue and this is where the grey area will come in. I would like to think it’s common sense…
Common sense and VAR don’t go together.
Foul play is one thing but accidental/unintentional contact is being scrutinised too closely. We keep changing the rules to cater for TV and Peter Vlandys, we need to consult on a wider arc. Players/ex players should offer an opinion and possible solutions to the game which IMO
Is doing itself more harm than good.
There was a time a former Chief Justice (I think) Comans laid down the law. He was straight up, do the crime, do the time. Don’t fine those that are found to have erred, suspend them. Sure he handed out some heavy penalties but he nearly got the job done. The longer the NRL
pander to the TV networks in the name of $$$$ the longer the game will suffer.
A ‘duty of care’ suggests Bathurst Tom. Is this a reflection of our past inactions or a knee jerk reaction by our authorities to the latest telecast request? Would coaches be as keen to allow those under their control to ‘bend the rules’ if a 5 match suspension was handed out … only in a Grand Final that Bellamy participates in. So, let’s start fining coaches!!!
Especially for those attackers who are ‘knee-lifters’; they can seriously injure a low tackler. I recall that Brent Kite did this, with a distinct change in leg movement as the tackle occurred. They should be banned as surely as deliberate head-high tackles.
Good point Pete, do we make running styles change so tackles below the hip minimise injuries… 
I know what Rex Mossop would say if he were around today. 
Another interpretation of the rules that makes legs tackling a less attractive action for defenders is the short period of time given to release the legs by the refs. It’s as if they need to let them go in a millisecond or be penalised, when, if the tackle them up higher, they get to hold them down for much longer. An ankles tackle, dropping them in an instant used to be a feature of our game - not anymore as it will allow too quick a play-the-ball, and also risks high contact with another defender as the tackled player falls.
I might be mistaken, but it seems to me that Korisau makes more leg tackles than almost every other player. Given that, another concussion from a knee impact for him would be a matter of when, not if.
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