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Any parent thinking about their child playing rugby league would’ve been forced to think twice last night after vision of an ugly all-in-brawl during a junior rugby league match was shown on Sydney’s Seven News.
The video shows a fight break out from a scrum during an under-17’s match between Kincumber and Umina on the Central Coast of New South Wales.
It’s not just the wild punching that makes you cringe, but also the sight of Kincumber halfback Ryan Cox getting kneed in the head and falling to the ground.
Now, this isn’t a story about how appalled we should all be, but more an examination of the punishment dished out to juniors who take matters into their own hands.
There is always going to be an element of kids mimicking what they see in the NRL, but at a junior level, it’s just not acceptable.
Earlier this year the New South Wales Rugby League trumpetted a “tough love in league policy”. It’s aim is to make rugby league in the under-13 to under-17 bracket safer for the players.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s tough, but it could use a tweak or two and i’d like to know what you think.
Part 4.1 of the policy says “any player who throws a punch or ‘strikes’ another during a match will be automatically sent from the field. If that player is subsequently found guilty at the judiciary, the minimum penalty will be a one week suspension.”
Part 4.2 continues “any player found guilty of breaching rule 4.1 for the third time in a season will incur an automatic minimum 12-month suspension from the game.
It looks tough, sounds tough, and is heading in the right direction, but is it enough?
The word ‘minimum’ obviously gives the judiciary the option of imposing harsher penalties, but isn’t punching another player once worth a season on the sideline alone?
If you’ve triggered part 4.2 and thrown a punch three times in one season during a junior match, you probably don’t belong in rugby league at all.
There is no reason at all for anyone aged between 13 and 17 to throw a punch at another player. These are kids!
If the bans get harsher and players are reminded of the consequences before every game, then you can bet a couple more children will think twice before taking a swing.
The battle for the hearts and minds of kids and the dollars of their parents at a junior level has never been more intense in rugby league territory.
Football boasts the biggest participation rate in the country when it comes to juniors and the AFL, through the hugely popular ‘Auskick’ program, is making in-roads in Sydney. The last thing rugby league, the most contact heavy of the three, needs is for brawls to be splashed all over the nightly news.
If you’re a parent of a teenager who plays rugby league, would you like to see tougher punishments for players, teams and clubs who fight and damage the game?
Or are you happy with things the way they are?
And if you’re not a parent, what do you think is the appropriate punishment for a player who decides to throw a punch?
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