'Third man in' tackle top of the agenda at NRL Competition Committee meeting

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Berkeley_Eagle

Current Status: 24/7 Manly Fan
THE BIGGEST names in the game will converge on League Central Wednesday to discuss banning the dangerous "third man in" tackle.

Armed with the ability to change the way the game is played, the NRL Competition Committee, which includes rugby league heavyweights Wayne Bennett, Tim Sheens, Darren Lockyer, Todd Greenberg, Daniel Anderson and NRL chief executive Dave Smith, will meet with the cruel tackling technique on top of the agenda.

The burning issue has become a blight on the game, with an increasing fear from coaches and fans that the stars of the game could have their finals series ruined by unnecessary injury.

Vocal critics of the third-man in tackle, including commentator Phil Gould and former Test stars Gorden Tallis and Mark Gasnier have all recently slammed the technique, which sees two defenders hold the ball-carrier upright, before a third man spears in around the attacking player's legs.

It's the type of tackle that led to NSW Origin forward Trent Merrin being ruled out for the remainder of the season with a serious knee injury for St George Illawarra last month against the Brisbane Broncos.

South Sydney forwards Sam Burgess and Ben Teo, Newcastle's Jeremy Smith and the Wests Tigers Adam Blair have all been identified by rival clubs as chief exponents of the technique that is used in an attempt to slow down the play-the-ball.

Gasnier spoke for the masses when he told The Daily Telegraph Tuesday that something needed to be done about the technique ahead of the finals series.

"Think about what would happen in the semi-final if a player speared in at Adam Reynolds and put him out for the rest of the season, the fans would go crazy,'' Gasnier said.

"They've come out and banned the shoulder charge - there's probably been more major knee injuries than there has been concussions in the last year, because of third man in.

"If they're being fair dinkum, there needs to be more consistency about ensuring we don't have these tackles in the game.

"We constantly talk about how to speed up the game, but If we do get rid of the third man in, the game will speed up again.''

NRL head of football operations Nathan McGuirk confirmed the tackle would be discussed by the gathering of league heavyweights Wednesday.

"It will be raised for discussion,'' McGuirk said.

"The committee meet once a quarter, sometime more frequent, to discuss the rules of the game and this is just one of them.

"The NRL judiciary has already shown that the leg twists and the twisting of limbs which we've seen in the past isn't something we want to see in the game.

"The third man is different to that and that's why it's worth discussion.''

A complete ban of all three-man tackles, which has been slated by commentators in the past, is unnecessary. It would change the entire fabric of the way rugby league is played, but instead the committee will discuss other way the tackle can be rubbed out of the game and no longer endorsed by some NRL coaches.

The committee will also analyse the results from a wide-ranging NRL fan survey taken from 4,500 fans recently which saw club members questioned on the need for certain rule changes and ways to improve the game.


070562-third-man-in.jpg

An example of the "third man in" tackle. Source: DailyTelegraph
 
It's a serious issue. But surely a you can't change the rules on the eve of the finals.
 
Berkeley_Eagle said:
"It will be raised for discussion,'' McGuirk said.

"The NRL judiciary has already shown that the leg twists and the twisting of limbs which we've seen in the past isn't something we want to see in the game."

"The third man is different to that and that's why it's worth discussion.''
Oh that's right, the judiciary certainly drew a line in the sand when they clobbered Lima with a devastating suspension of ...er ...1 week. Meanwhile Watmough continues to battle the knee injury that Lima caused. :mad:
 
DSM5 said:
Looks like Isaac Luke's career will be over. The master of the grubby cannonball.

I can't believe he wasn't mentioned, didn't he cop a suspension for it a couple of years back. he must make a dozen of these tackles every game. should have stamped it out when luke got suspended but as usual the nrl sit back and wait for it to become a far bigger issue than it ever needed to be. one day they will become a little more pro-active rather than reactive
 
Pretty grey area to police, at times 3 are needed in a tackle & the point of contact when there is no luxury of a replay 1/16 the actual speed can be deceiving.
Maybe point of contact MUST be above the knees??
Usually the 3rd player will come in with a fair tackle & its only the Lima twist or Luke Cannonball that are obvious grub acts, the majority of players complete 3rd man in to stop momentum or lock up the ball, not injure.
Maybe if Lima & Luke had been charged accordingly the standards would have been set & this debate would have been almost resolved....
 
eagles2win said:
Anyone else see the headline and think Sam Thaiday

Yep, that's exactly what I thought of as soon as I read "Third man in"
 
Team P W L PD Pts
3 3 0 48 6
4 3 1 28 6
3 2 1 10 6
4 2 2 39 4
3 2 1 28 4
3 2 1 15 4
3 2 1 14 4
2 1 1 13 4
2 1 1 6 4
3 2 1 -3 4
3 1 2 0 2
3 1 2 -5 2
3 1 2 -15 2
3 1 2 -22 2
3 1 2 -36 2
2 0 2 -56 2
3 0 3 -64 0
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