The crackdown & milking penalties

[Mal Cochrane]

a penalty vs restarting tackle counts are also an issue.

I think a penalty in your own 40 should not be a set restart and instead a penalty allowing you to kick for touch. What good is 6 again when you are trying to get out of your own 20 for example.

A penalty anywhere from your 40 and into the opposition half can remain 6 again. You may want to change the threshold from you own 30 or perhaps halfway, but my main point is you lose the benefit of a penalty when just getting a set restart coming off your line.

 

[MadMarcus]

"Direct, forceful contact with the head or neck should result in at least a penalty and potentially a sin bin or potentially a send-off depending on the seriousness. That goes without saying, I think that's obvious," Annesley said,

"Indirect, forceful contact with the head or neck should at least result in a penalty, a report and a sin bin. And direct or indirect minimal contact should at least be penalised and placed on report.


Clear as.

So to sum up just on sin bins:

1. Direct forceful contact is “potentially” a sin bin depending on seriousness.

2. Indirect forceful contact is “at least” a sin bin.

Consistency is overrated.

 

[Tragic Eagle]

All they have done is put this under the spotlight and encouraged players to go down and milk a penalty. the outcome is contests are often destroyed by players in the bin. I cant see an upside in all of this. Are the NRL protected against players who suffer concussion caused by accidental head collisions and incorrect tackling technique (head in the wrong place) the answer is no. Defensive sides won't go low all of the time unless rewarded because they need to stop off loads. So reward the low tackle with the tackled player not permitted to play it until the tackler has go to the marker position. This change of rule would give them more protection than the current contest destroying approach. Stop the constant sin bin for offences that generally don't even result in a charge, Ludicrous!

 

[QLDSeaeagle]

Kind of funny but heartbreaking at the same time.

Exactly, I meant no disrespect, I love my mum, but after 10 years the sense of humour becomes a little off.

 

[The better Robbo]

The thing is the ref and bunker are "grading" a tackle based on a few seconds of footage. This is NOT the refs responsibility!! That is why we have a match review committee and Judiciary who take a long time going over every single tackle from multiple angles and comparing to other similar tackles. WHY are the refs expected to make such a big call based on a few seconds of footage? It's ridiculous! They are there to ref a game, NOT grade the severity of a tackle!
**** the sin bins off, its not working, its inconsistent and its unfair!
As Ian Roberts said, Fine them!
Grade 1 is 1% of your yearly pay packet
Grade 2 is 2%
Gtade 3 is 3%
They'll soon learn and if they don't then its only costing themselves money! The fans deserve better than having the best players sitting on the sidelines suspended, we deserve better than having 3 tries scored against you because you are down to 11 men! And again this is all based on the interpretation of a referee with only a few seconds to make a decision. We want the best players playing we want the best teams to win! Don't allow this circus any longer, it is literally turning many fans away from the game!

 

[niccipops]

Exactly, I meant no disrespect, I love my mum, but after 10 years the sense of humour becomes a little off.

Condolences on what your family is going through. Dad was only nuts for a short while but it was a hard short while.

 

[ManEagle]

a penalty vs restarting tackle counts are also an issue.

I think a penalty in your own 40 should not be a set restart and instead a penalty allowing you to kick for touch. What good is 6 again when you are trying to get out of your own 20 for example.

A penalty anywhere from your 40 and into the opposition half can remain 6 again. You may want to change the threshold from you own 30 or perhaps halfway, but my main point is you lose the benefit of a penalty when just getting a set restart coming off your line.

Specially, when on most times it is a deliberate 1st tackle offence to set the defensive line.
No advantage actually a huge disadvantage for the team trying to get out of their 30 / 40.
I think the idea needs looking at no, sorry, it needs implementing, it is extrely unfair at present.

 

[StuBoot]

The thing is the ref and bunker are "grading" a tackle based on a few seconds of footage. This is NOT the refs responsibility!! That is why we have a match review committee and Judiciary who take a long time going over every single tackle from multiple angles and comparing to other similar tackles. WHY are the refs expected to make such a big call based on a few seconds of footage? It's ridiculous! They are there to ref a game, NOT grade the severity of a tackle!
**** the sin bins off, its not working, its inconsistent and its unfair!
As Ian Roberts said, Fine them!
Grade 1 is 1% of your yearly pay packet
Grade 2 is 2%
Gtade 3 is 3%
They'll soon learn and if they don't then its only costing themselves money! The fans deserve better than having the best players sitting on the sidelines suspended, we deserve better than having 3 tries scored against you because you are down to 11 men! And again this is all based on the interpretation of a referee with only a few seconds to make a decision. We want the best players playing we want the best teams to win! Don't allow this circus any longer, it is literally turning many fans away from the game!

Imagine a captain
“Ref, I’m challenging your interpretation of the severity of the tackle....”

 

[Stewbojevic]

The thing is the ref and bunker are "grading" a tackle based on a few seconds of footage. This is NOT the refs responsibility!! That is why we have a match review committee and Judiciary who take a long time going over every single tackle from multiple angles and comparing to other similar tackles. WHY are the refs expected to make such a big call based on a few seconds of footage? It's ridiculous! They are there to ref a game, NOT grade the severity of a tackle!
**** the sin bins off, its not working, its inconsistent and its unfair!
As Ian Roberts said, Fine them!
Grade 1 is 1% of your yearly pay packet
Grade 2 is 2%
Gtade 3 is 3%
They'll soon learn and if they don't then its only costing themselves money! The fans deserve better than having the best players sitting on the sidelines suspended, we deserve better than having 3 tries scored against you because you are down to 11 men! And again this is all based on the interpretation of a referee with only a few seconds to make a decision. We want the best players playing we want the best teams to win! Don't allow this circus any longer, it is literally turning many fans away from the game!

Well said.

I don’t mind the suspensions as a deterrent, but don’t ruin games with the sin bins unless it is a bad shot.

 

[Tragic Eagle]

I'm not watching the any games this weekend the NRL destroyed my interest in non Manly games due to their stupidity. Who wants to watch referees destroy a contest with players sitting in the bin because at some stage there shoulder innoxiously came into contact with another players head with zero intent. This new rule is madness please pinch me I must be in the twilight zone.

 

[Sea Eagles Diaspora]

I'm not watching the any games this weekend the NRL destroyed my interest in non Manly games due to their stupidity. Who wants to watch referees destroy a contest with players sitting in the bin because at some stage there shoulder innoxiously came into contact with another players head with zero intent. This new rule is madness please pinch me I must be in the twilight zone.

Yeah, I struggled to sit through a couple of the games from last round. The bins for innocuous taps are hard enough to cop, but the milking of penalties is what is really getting up my nose. It's embarrassing to the game.

 

[Kevinward777]

I'm not watching the any games this weekend. The NRL destroyed my interest in non Manly games due to their stupidity. Who wants to watch referees destroy a contest with players sitting in the bin because at some stage there shoulder innoxiously came into contact with another players head with zero intent. This new rule is madness please pinch me I must be in the twilight zone.

100% - plenty of other things to do with my time. I will probably watch SOO, but only to marvel at the ridiculous way in which the game is officiated differently. No other sport operates is such a manner.

What a bunch of complete morons. Apparently, they don't want the refs to destroy Origin's spectacle because it's their showpiece event. We've all heard the narrative for year's now. Hello??? Why not just apply the same methodology to club games? It's beyond infuriating.

 

[Woodsie]

I love it all ... the drama, the controversy, the suspense and intrigue ... the game has never been more interesting and compelling viewing ...

The dummy spitting, the sooks, the coaches working the angles, the RLPA crying for relevancy ... Lord V'Landy's standing firm in the face of the numbnuts ...

And the refs and bunker again proving no good ideas should go unpunished by incompetence ....

What more do you want from a game ..

 

[frank stokes]

The thing is the ref and bunker are "grading" a tackle based on a few seconds of footage. This is NOT the refs responsibility!! That is why we have a match review committee and Judiciary who take a long time going over every single tackle from multiple angles and comparing to other similar tackles. WHY are the refs expected to make such a big call based on a few seconds of footage? It's ridiculous! They are there to ref a game, NOT grade the severity of a tackle!
**** the sin bins off, its not working, its inconsistent and its unfair!
As Ian Roberts said, Fine them!
Grade 1 is 1% of your yearly pay packet
Grade 2 is 2%
Gtade 3 is 3%
They'll soon learn and if they don't then its only costing themselves money! The fans deserve better than having the best players sitting on the sidelines suspended, we deserve better than having 3 tries scored against you because you are down to 11 men! And again this is all based on the interpretation of a referee with only a few seconds to make a decision. We want the best players playing we want the best teams to win! Don't allow this circus any longer, it is literally turning many fans away from the game!

The fact that the bunker can pull the game back to the start of the set for their interpretation of a high shot is beyond a joke...

...combine that with their ability to then not do that for similar contact (looks at the shot on Tapau) and it is bordering on corruption....

combine this with the ref's ability to award 6-agains on a whim (without having to justify the disparity between similar situations where he did and did not award such an advantage) and it gives a clear indication that, despite copious amounts of lip-service, the game's power-brokers have no regard for whether or not the INTEGRITY OF THE GAME is being maintained...

RVL did an excellent job keeping the game going during COVID but that does not insulate hime from justified criticism that he is killing our game through over-regulation and trying to appeal to bleeding hearts.... for christ's sake, PVL came from racing - you would think he above everybody else would understand the need to protect the sport from woke activists with no skin in the game...

manage the impacts of heavy contact and punish professional fouls YES (as the sport as always done - looks at Hopoate, Luke O'Donnell, Ben Ross) but DO NOT change the game to pander to people that are not going to watch games anyway...

 

[Woodsie]

The fact that the bunker can pull the game back to the start of the set for their interpretation of a high shot is beyond a joke...

...combine that with their ability to then not do that for similar contact (looks at the shot on Tapau) and it is bordering on corruption....

combine this with the ref's ability to award 6-agains on a whim (without having to justify the disparity between similar situations where he did and did not award such an advantage) and it gives a clear indication that, despite copious amounts of lip-service, the game's power-brokers have no regard for whether or not the INTEGRITY OF THE GAME is being maintained...

RVL did an excellent job keeping the game going during COVID but that does not insulate hime from justified criticism that he is killing our game through over-regulation and trying to appeal to bleeding hearts.... for christ's sake, PVL came from racing - you would think he above everybody else would understand the need to protect the sport from woke activists with no skin in the game...

manage the impacts of heavy contact and punish professional fouls YES (as the sport as always done - looks at Hopoate, Luke O'Donnell, Ben Ross) but DO NOT change the game to pander to people that are not going to watch games anyway...

Frank, the one and only clear and present danger to the game of Rugby League is litigation from the families of ex-players who are suffering brain damage ... and to a lesser degree the falling number of junior participants ... all else is just noise and a nuisance ...

Above all else the NRL had/has an urgent need to demonstrate beyond doubt their "duty of care" credentials as soon as possible after becoming aware of the growing scientific evidence ...

What we are seeing and experiencing now is the decades of inconsistent incompetence by the ref's and bunker .. who have failed in the past to implement even the most basic changes .. competing with each other to be even more unreliable ..

But that too will pass, be fine tuned, become more workable especially in the accidental cases with time ... but the brainfart explosions and the reckless swinging arms or shoulders will continue to be dealt with harshly ... and the better disciplined teams that just accept it and get on with it will be rewarded ..

 

[frank stokes]

Frank, the one and only clear and present danger to the game of Rugby League is litigation from the families of ex-players who are suffering brain damage ... and to a lesser degree the falling number of junior participants ... all else is just noise and a nuisance ...

Above all else the NRL had/has an urgent need to demonstrate beyond doubt their "duty of care" credentials as soon as possible after becoming aware of the growing scientific evidence ...

What we are seeing and experiencing now is the decades of inconsistent incompetence by the ref's and bunker .. who have failed in the past to implement even the most basic changes .. competing with each other to be even more unreliable ..

But that too will pass, be fine tuned, become more workable especially in the accidental cases with time ... but the brainfart explosions and the reckless swinging arms or shoulders will continue to be dealt with harshly ... and the better disciplined teams that just accept it and get on with it will be rewarded ..

blokes attacking the head have always been punished... and if they are not purposefully attacking the head than why put them on the sidelines? (and how does that protect the game against litigation at all)...

being seen to punish guys during the game does nothing to address the impacts of concussion - all it does is ruin the contest and appeal to bleeding hearts... if hits to the head are bad/intentional then they need to rub players out for long periods (or all together) - which the league has ALWAYS done....

nothing within the current crack-down is going to protect the NRL from litigation - things like HIA, mandatory stand-down periods and treatment for concussions, independent doctors may help (along with mandatory waivers if you want to play at the highest level) but do you really see a lawyer for the NRL standing up in court down the line and saying "But our culpability is lessened because we put the offenders in the sinbin for 10min"

as for falling numbers of participants, I suggest that the NRL put some money into junior rugby league and promote the safety of the junior game more widely... this BS about mum's not putting young Joey into League because he might get hurt is utter crap imo - most of these kids have dad's too who played league all their childhoods and survived...

the majority of league supporters love the game because of the intensity of the contest... first they came for shoulder-charges, then they came for the biff, now there is no accidental contact in a game where blokes charge into each other at full speed...

they may as well make it oztag and be done with it....

 

[Woodsie]

blokes attacking the head have always been punished... and if they are not purposefully attacking the head than why put them on the sidelines? (and how does that protect the game against litigation at all)...

Agree completely ... but I think you are reacting to the way the numbnut bunker is currently calling the play ... rather than what I believe the . (actual intent) .. and eventual outcome will be .. I think you will find that wiser heads will whisper in the ear of the bunker that unintentional is at worst a penalty and put on report .. and only reckless will be binned or pinged ...

 

[Woodsie]

@frank stokes .. just had a thought .. can't wait to watch tonight's game and see who is the first goose binned .. I don't know whether to put my money on the violent home invader . the hung jury gang bang adulterer, the drunken DV grub or the drug taker ...

 

[frank stokes]

@frank stokes .. just had a thought .. can't wait to watch tonight's game and see who is the first goose binned .. I don't know whether to put my money on the violent home invader . the hung jury gang bang adulterer, the drunken DV grub or the drug taker ...

PRAISE JESUS that the devout Christian Israel is not allowed to play NRL...

we would not want him being a poor role model for the kiddies....

 

[John Nicholson]

Imagine a captain
“Ref, I’m challenging your interpretation of the severity of the tackle....”

I remember watching a top level game v. Wests on a Sun. afternoon, seated about 3 chair widths from the sideline. The Club had tried to cope with the massive crowd that turned up.

Being so close, you could hear all of the banter on the field.

Terry Randall absolutely creamed a Wests forward, leaving him plastered to the dry cricket pitch, which gained a few more holes and gulleys. Terry was just penalised and waved away.

He turned around to the ref and said "What was that for ref?"

The ref shook his head and replied "I dunno........too hard I guess"!