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To get serious about concussion, ban tackles above the waist

27th March, 2017
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Josh Dugan of the Dragons is helped from the field with a suspected concussion during the round 5 NRL match between the Newcastle Knights and the St George Illawarra Dragons at Hunter Stadium, in Newcastle, Saturday, April 4, 2015. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
Expert
27th March, 2017
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1747 Reads

The NRL should be congratulated for its recent crackdown on clubs for concussion breaches, but the record $350,000 fines only treated the symptoms of the disease – and not the cause.

Concussion, we all know, is caused by blows to the head. It is an injury to the brain and long-term effects can be serious.

While it is important for players to leave the field after they have received a head knock to assess whether they have been concussed, all reasonable measures should be taken to minimise the incidence of concussion in the first place.

The starting point for reducing concussion should be lowering the acceptable point of contact in the tackle from the chest to the waist.

Under NRL rules, a tackler cannot make contact with the head or neck of an opponent “intentionally, recklessly or carelessly.”

Unlike rugby union where defenders are always held responsible for head-high tackles no matter the circumstances, rugby league players continually get away with high shots which are deemed accidental.

How many times do we see defenders make first contact with the chest or shoulder and then the arm deflects onto the attacking player’s head. Sorry about that, didn’t mean it, is hardly an excuse.

A hit in the head is a hit in the head whether it was intended or not and has the same potential to cause concussion and subsequent health issues.

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You could follow rugby union’s example and penalise accidental contact with the head, but accidents happen. How do you deter someone from doing something that was not deliberate in the first place?

The answer, in part, is lowering the acceptable point of contact to the waist, which would help to eliminate head knocks caused by deflections of the arm off the upper body.

A rule change such as this would no doubt have a significant effect on the shape of the game, but potentially for the better.

The reason players tackle high is to prevent the attacker from passing the ball and to slow down the play-the-ball.

Josh Dugan NRL rugby league concussion

There is little doubt that if players were compelled to tackle no higher than the waist, then attackers would have much more opportunity to off-load the ball.

Okay, eliminating around the chest tackles may take away some of the gladiatorial combat from the game, but surely, getting rid of negative tactics designed to slow down the play would be a good thing. More off-loads would create more continuity and attacking play. Ultimately, is that not what the fans come to see?

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If a sporting administrator had an opportunity to enhance the game as a spectacle and improve player welfare at the same time with a single law change, he or she would be crazy not to consider it.

Player welfare must be one of the main priorities of rugby league officials. Rugby league is a tough game, but it does not need to be thuggish.

It is in the NRL’s own self-interest to tackle the concussion issue head-on so to speak. Just Look at what has happened in the NFL in the US with legal action taken by former players.

That is not to say the NRL is not taking the issue seriously within the existing rules of the game, but clearly more can be done.

There are a lot of things the NRL can do to help to reduce the incidence of concussion and many of them have been widely discussed.

There is a push for the introduction of independent doctors at matches as occurs in other body contact sports such as rugby union. And there is a proposal to have an 18th player on the reserves bench to cover concussed players.

All of these suggestions have merit, but once again they treat the symptoms of the disease and not the cause, which is knocks to the head.

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The best way to minimise the incidence of concussion in rugby league is to keep the defensive armoury as far away as possible from the head, which must be a no-go area for defenders whether intentional or not.

A better game and a safer game. Anyone who uses their head, will see those twin objectives are not incompatible.

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