New referees boss Tony Archer has declared war on the controversial "cannonball tackle", declaring his charges won't hesitate to send a player off over the ugly tactic in 2014.
The much despised ta
ctic, when a third defender attacks the legs of the stationary ball carrier held upright by two other defenders, is in the crosshairs of the NRL in the same way the shoulder charge was last year.
The NRL has flagged its intention to crackdown on the dangerous defensive manoeuvre and in his first comments on the issue since taking over the top refereeing post from Daniel Anderson late last year, Archer said he was determined to rid the game of the tackle.
"The importance of that rule is that it protects the ball carrier from the third man in causing injury," former grand final referee Archer said on Thursday.
"It's difficult to speculate about exactly what might happen, but obviously there are options for the referees in all foul play incidents.
"If it is of that nature (the higher end of the scale), they have the option to put him on report or send him off."
The crusher tackle, where the ball carrier's neck is pushed, or crushed, into his torso is also on the banned list with utility Dominique Peyroux to miss the Warriors' season opener against Parramatta due to an indiscretion in the trials.
Archer also announced a change that allows the video referees to switch a scrum feed if via a replay he deems the on-field official has made a mistake.
The Sydney Roosters were mistakenly awarded a scrum feed in last year's grand final from a Manly kick despite Michael Jennings playing at and touching the ball with his foot.
But fans won't see a return to the frustrating rule that allowed the TV official to review incidents at will.
"It's not like we had in '08 when you could check the strip, this only relates to loose and feed at a scrum," Archer said.
NRL Head of Football Todd Greenberg also announced the introduction of a range of measures designed to improve refereeing standards.
"We must ensure the preparation and professionalism of our match officials are in line with our players," Greenberg said.
"We are now using for the very first time performance analysis to make our referees more accountable and to make them better referees.
"An example of that is putting objective measurements around the measurement of the 10-metre rule and of having compliance rates measured through that.
"Tony has worked hard with the referees over the pre-season to prepare them for what will be a battle over the coming 26 rounds.
"Our refs will make mistakes just like players do but he will do everything possible to improve them."
James MacSmith
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/cannonballers-could-be-marched-archer-20140227-33lx6.html
