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Is there room for greater displays of sportsmanship in rugby league? Or is there no place for fair play when your season is on the line?
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Last night’s Broncos-Panthers sudden-death final confusingly seemed to suggest the affirmative to both.
It was deemed sporting by commentators when referees stopped play for Corey Oates to be treated for a sickening head clash in the 21st minute.
This came despite Penrith scooping up the loose ball and jetting into the clear, destined to claw back from an early 0-6 deficit.
I’ve got to say, even as a childhood Broncos fan, I thought it should have been play-on, not called back as it was.
Throughout a season we witness defensive teams concede countless points through all manner of inconveniences.
If the ball remains in play, it’s a tricky tightrope to walk by allowing referees discretion which injuries they blow the whistle for, and which ones they let go.
That’s especially the case when the injured player is in a position where they cannot be harmed further or impede the flow of the game.
Further to that, if the expectation was that sportsmanship and consideration should have been shown by the Panthers and the referees when Oates went down, why was it not expected of the Broncos on the subsequent set in defence?
Brisbane defended a stoutly as ever in the next set of six, making no concessions for the preceding actions.
In football we see the ‘fair play’ kick back to a team or out of bounds when a player goes down injured, in cricket we occasionally see the batsman walk if they know they are out, but the umpire has missed it.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Even in combative sports we typically see fighters touch gloves, apologise and take a break after a low blow or other accidental foul manoeuvre.
All add a touch of class and humanity to the contest.
What would have been fair compensation for Penrith being called back from an almost certain try?
Did the refs do the right thing? Were the Broncos entitled to give no inch in return for the compassion shown to them in a vulnerable situation?
If I’m deemed totally heartless for thinking Penrith should have been allowed to continue the sequence of play while Oates lay prone, then I suggest there should at least be a concession adopted for future similar instances.
I’d propose that it if the ball pops free when a player is seriously injured and time-off is called when a team is certain to score, they should be given a ‘fair play’ penalty when play resumes.
This could be a shot at goal from where the injury occurs, or a stab to the sidelines for territory.
But here’s the kicker – a ‘fair play’ penalty would not be awarded by the referee, but instead by the captain of the team with the injured player.
The captain would signal to the referees a voluntary concession of a penalty, the crowd would applaud the gesture, then teams would return to hostilities.
It probably still wouldn’t satisfy those who felt Penrith should have been level 6-all last night after the Oates injury, but it would add a touch of grace to the circumstance.
It could become a convention peculiar to the sport, existing as a gentleman’s agreement and provide a timely reminder of the bond that exists even between duelling warriors.
I’m glad Oates walked away from last night’s game, I’m glad the game remained a great spectacle until the end, but I’m equally glad Penrith lost by more than six points so that the decision didn’t directly impact the result.
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