Matai's first point of contact

[joeboy]

When do the charges come out?

Richie is gone, be interestingg the charges for snake and stevie

 

[bob dylan]

When do the charges come out?

Richie is gone, be interestingg the charges for snake and stevie

Should be this morning or early afternoon.

 

[NYEagle]

Matai won't have a case to answer.

It was a disgrace he was penalised. He put in a sensational tackle that would have turned the game.

 

[Fluffy]

A player is guilty of misconduct if he:

(b) when effecting or attempting to effect a tackle
makes contact with the head or neck of an
opponent intentionally, recklessly or carelessly.

2 things from this - misconduct can equal a penalty if minor enough, already done and second Sam hit Buhrer's head late in the game, this falls into the above in the exact same way but nothing said on that. The difference with Buhrer was he was still and a sitting duck in a lowered position when Sam went to smash him so Sam had more control, the result was pretty similar.

---

oh and PS on the word format, had a couple of sequence shots in it originally but it was too big in the end and I was too lazy to put them up separately.

 

[MissKate]

Mat rodwell was the other video ref I think

---

The NRL will do anything to have Souffs in the grand final. Knowing that Horsehead was in the video box says it all.

The first half penalties were all at pivotal times, first one was ingliss tackled in goal on their first touch,then 6th tackle attacking our line Cherry Evans is the first player in forever to be penalysed with leaving the try line early. Massive legs up for souffs. Manlys penalties were in the middle of the field.

---

Pretty sure all the even up penalties we got were on the first or second tackle, not much of an even up really

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

I had a running battle via text with the guy that commentates the Warriors games for radio this morning. He has a show on a Monday morning here, along with Brad Walter, and they were hooking into Matai, calling him a thug etc, but the bit that wound me up was the line "his only intention was to maim Burgess". What a load of toss

 

[MissKate]

Exactly, if that had been Matai's aim, the burgess sisters would still be lying on Brookie oval

 

[rmd]

When the new rules came in I was very worried for Steve and how he would adapt, but he has and has done it very well because I expected (rightly or wrongly) that we'd see very little of him this year due to suspension.

One week of suspension is fine for me even though I disagree with it, but I just knew the moment he was put on report, the judiciary would put points on him, just to satisfy some in the media. One week is a bonus and as 2V intimated "It's just not worth it" in challenging the grade, Steve is a 'marked man'.

I think 95% of players probably felt Steve was hard done by (my assumption) and what the NRL has to think about is that this type of thing (the tackle of Steve's) is what drags people to games. It's a gladiator game not a 'Okay he's kissed and cuddled ...now play the ball" game.

The players want contact, albeit legal, but that's mostly what the fans want. Why do fans roar when a fight breaks out? It's not necessarily because we are all thugs, but because it's a gladiators game. Look at the wrestling popularity (even though most of it is fake), I never see anything written about what they do, mind you I don't see much written about anything they do, but they're lauded when they come to Aus.

So the NRL is concerned about how mothers feel about they're sons playing Rugby League if they see supposed violence, but how many buy them the wrestling and violence associated computer games? Give me a break!

I'm not saying I condone illegal contact on the NRL field, but I'm worried that too much of the 'Goody-two-shoes' will impact our game and people will not come and watch the games if they continue to 'ramp up' the rules about contact. Maybe they should just revert to tag football with ribbons and then the 'Goody-two-shoes' will be happy! Nobody will watch it, but the 'Goody-two-shoes' will be happy.

In reality, without the benefit of video replays in the 70's and 80's, a ref may well have sent Steve off, purely on suspicion of a head high tackle and none of us would have been the wiser. It wouldn't have been replayed to the extent it has and there would not have been any of the stills and while we may have griped about it, we really wouldn't have too much of a case. Considering this, Wolf's try would have been a try as would have Tommy Symonds, but all this damn replay after replay about milli seconds and then they still get it wrong!

It's like the bloody cricket and 'The computer says... it's out'.... Well let the computer f...ing bat and bowl then! Can we honestly state with the possibe variances of nature that the computer is wrong? Unfortunately the computer does not allow for variances outside the norm and in the NRL, the video ref is so scared about what stills and the TV might turn up that they're scared to make a correct decision. I actually though that this year is what Daniel Anderson was trying to do was to make it more natural than technical.

The NRL is on a dangerous path, in my opinion, of amplifying Singo's claims about racing... "This used to be fun but it's not fun anymore". The refs seem to be much better than last year but there's just no consistency in some of the rulings. The good are good and the bad are... well, not so good, but better than last year. Mind you, I would not be a ref for any coin that was offered and that's mainly due to the massive amount of technology we have now.

Why would you want to be a ref? ... "Because I like looking like a bloody idiot in front of millions and being ostricised by every fan."

Seriously, I respect the refs and what they choose to do and I know they try to do it professionally, with no bias and to the best of their ability. In reality most are very good, but unfortunately technology has taken it out of their hands in the NRL. "Well I thought it was this, but what will the multiple, millisecond slow motion replays in magnified close-up show, while I had an eye on the left and the right side of play?".

Just imagine working every day at work with a camera on you and then being showed mulitple replays of what you did and being castigated for it? How long would you stay in the job?

 

[Brissie Kid]

Good post!

Matai has now been suspended but I am disappointed to say that everytime I have seen the replay of that tackle he keeps on doing exactly the same thing every time. It's very disappointing that he hasn't altered his tackling style in light of being suspended.

The above is just as insane as the great minds who think making the sin bin avaiable for foul play will stop it. There is very little real foul play in the NRL. Most of these incidents, if not all, are accidents. If the sin bin was available on last Friday does anyone with even half a brain seriously believe it would have caused Richie to tackle Inglis any differently?

The NRL is caught up in the mindset that has ruined society, There has been an accident, but someone must be blamed and held to account. The real causes are the recent rule changes. Matai can't use the shoulder charge for a body shot, so he comes in with an arm extended instead, increasing the risk of a head knock. The 10m rule encourages Inglis to dive to the ground when he senses he can't escape a tackle, hoping to land on his elbows for a fast play the ball.

The real culprits are the game's rule changes over the past 20 years.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Matai's first point of contact

Apparently the problem was the second point of contact.

It was a disgrace he was penalised. He put in a sensational tackle that would have turned the game.

Agreed.