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Placing a player on report instead of in the sin bin is gutless

29th September, 2014
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Paul Gallen and Nate Myles show that the states actually love each other by having a hug. (AAP Image/Action Photographics, Robb Cox)
Roar Guru
29th September, 2014
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1145 Reads

Watching the final 20 minutes of the Northern Pride’s excellent demolition of the East Tigers in the Queensland Cup final on Sunday at Lang Park, I couldn’t help but think that the farcical scenes we were watching could have been avoided.

The stupid thing is that there is no need to change any of the rules as they are now, just apply them on the field.

The NRL has made a big deal out of trying to improve the image of the game, off the back of Paul Gallen’s punch on Nate Myles.

This was the driving force behind the ‘one punch and 10 minutes in the bin’ rule that has arguably caused the niggly, scrappy nature of some of the games we have seen this season.

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There have been enough column inches written about whether this one-punch rule is good or not, so I don’t want to go into that.

I want to talk about the absence of sin bins being used for any other offence in the game, and how placing a player on report is spineless.

On Sunday in the QRL Cup, just after half time, Pride forward Joel Reithmuller stamped on Troy Geiss’ stomach while he was prone on the floor having been tackled. If this wasn’t a send-off offence, then surely we have reached the point of anything goes – other than a punch.

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The match was already 22-0 in favour of the Pride, so arguably game over. Such a stupid rush of blood to the head could have cost Reithmuller’s team something. Instead, he was put on report.

This did nothing to help Easts, who perhaps could have used the time with a man advantage to make a small comeback. I’m not suggesting for a second that they would have gone on to win, but playing against 12 men could have resulted in a score and change in momentum.

But Reithmuller’s indiscretion cost the Northern Pride nothing.

It did however, lay the foundations for what happened next.

More niggle, the decent into scrappy, unattractive football, a late hit on Easts player Cody Walker by Ethan Lowe, and then the all-in-brawl that marred the final.

Ricky Thorby and Kenny Bromwich were both sent to the sin bin for their part (and punches) in the brawl, and were soon joined by Easts captain Steve Thorpe, who was sent off for dissent.

I would argue that had the referee used his ability to send off Reithmuller at the time of his stamp, he could have calmed the tension that was simmering between the two teams, and the game could have continued to be a fine advert for the Queensland Cup.

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Although not to the same extent as in this game, similar things have happened in many NRL games this season.

Indiscretions are constantly placed on report, building the tension between the teams and reducing the game as a spectacle. I don’t have the statistics on how many of these incidents result in bans at the judiciary (although to be fair, that’s hardly the best indication of a players guilt), but they tend to have been reviewed by the video referee, so are fairly serious.

Why have the referees lost their bottle? Have they been told to keep every player on the pitch at all costs? Teams need to be penalised for indiscipline in games, not after the fact.

If referees can’t be trusted to make important, match-defining decisions, then why are they there? Putting players on report is gutless, and needs to be addressed.

Allowing the constant niggle and scrappiness that is symptomatic of many games this year is arguably a much bigger issue affecting the image of the game than two blokes punching each other.

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