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?
Friendly
Guest
Good point in regards to 'common law'. We are guided by 'knee jerk' policies that come at us from NSW RL. If you read the penalty it states 'one week suspension' which does not clarify the penalty properly. It should state 'One Competition Match Suspension'. That way we will not have solicitors at appeals stating that they missed last week 'which was rained out' so he should be fine to play this week. RUBBISH. If they wish to make these policies, then give them some thought as to the wording, how it will effect judiciary panels and last but not least 'appeals tribunals'.
andrew
Guest
Does a player have the right to self-defence without being suspended? How many punches does a player have to take before defending themselves also? Under common law will self defence will stand up before the judiciary? Not all players are guilty
joshw
Guest
I am not sure if it has been mentioned, but the TLIL program wasn't implemented at the time that this fight occured.
poseidon07
Roar Rookie
Being fairly young myself and having had experience in junior sport yes parents can often be problematic however it is not really only restricted to that and to be honest a lot of fights in junior sport have nothing to do with hating the other team or really have much point at all. Playing in a high school AFL competition in Queensland there was a fight in a match really for no reason it seems. Sure i guess there was a bit of a push or something or some little thing was said but i think that a lot of the problem is that teenagers and even kids as young as 11 or 12 see that kind of stuff on tv in the proper leagues and feel its ok to do that sort of stuff. Not saying thats the only reason, but from my experience, a lot of the fights seem to be started for miniscule reasons, essentially just for the sake of having a fight. Also its kinda seen as a 'safe' place to do it. If that happens on the street its counted as an assault but if its on a sporting field then its fine.
yewonk
Guest
the consequences should be severe and far reaching.
Mark
Guest
The CRL does not play under the Tough Love in League regulations. The policy is currently being trialled in NSW Junior Leagues only. This fact is "trumpeted" in the policy document. The entire policy will be reviewed at seasons end with feedback sought from stakeholders in those Leagues. The final regulations will then (hopefully) be introduced across the country. To date the policy has been succesful, with Leagues reporting a reduction in send off's for striking compared to 2010, and the referees have noticed a drop in player discent. I have seen the entire video of the match in question and have no doubt that the fight was premeditated. Shame on the players, shame on the coaches. No doubt there will be years on the sidelines for some of these dills.
blackstar
Guest
How can you expect juniors to learn discipline and show restraint ,when grown men in state of origin carry on like they way they do with there grubby tactics and fighting ,and channel nine commentators (phil ghould) approving this type of behavior,please can someone step to the plate and show some leadership and save this game from this thuggish behaviour.
steve ellis
Guest
You have to be suss that this incident was shown and somewhat beat-up by ch7..fullfilling its role as the propoganda arm of the AFL and paying off part of its $100mill of contra advertising... .... maybe they were trying to show that they are fair and umm 'balanced' ..as coincidently a few days earlier they did run the story about the Paul Roos onfield incident at junior AFL in sydney.... only thing ....half the story they showed kids at junior soccer......que ?? the joke that is commercial tv in this country ....
GoGWS
Roar Guru
Surely the player's own coach and/or the parents would be pulling the plug well before a rule like 4.2 would be needed....if 4.2 is needed then something has gone wrong at club level.....one fight i guess can be explained away based on circumstances but the second fight should ring alarm bells about that player's lack of discipline/control....one fight is possibly bad luck, twice is almost never bad luck - it's a player issue that the coach/parent needs to resolve....if I was coaching a player who was in two fights in a season I'd probably be asking that player to basically 'show cause' why he shouldn't be kicked off the team...convince me you shouldn't be kicked off the team, convince me it won't happen again....I could see that being the likely course....
Nathan
Guest
I have never understood why players grouse about referees interrupting the flow of a game by calling these sorts of things up. I once saw a comment from a player who detailed a match with four injuries including two ambulance cases! And his complaint was that the ref was too strict! Keeping firm hold of the match might cause people to grumble, but it beats the alternatives!
Nathan
Guest
I do think there needs to be a lot of focus on player behaviour. A lot of the time the kids aren't getting riled up by their opposing numbers, its their own parents who are winding them up! I know (Association) FootballWest will levy small but noteworthy fines on clubs for each player on their team that draws a card, so an ill-disciplined outing can get a team shorted a hundred bucks, which should make for an interesting talk from the coach.
Dean - Surry Hills
Guest
Growing up in Manly, I saw a spiteful contested three game Rugby Union day against Gordon back in the late eighties. The evening ended with an all-in brawl outside the Manly Union Club on Sydney Road after players had attended Groucho's nightclub upstairs. There were more than fifty players involved in the fracas - with people pulling Gordon players off the buses waiting outside, in an attempt to get a few good ones in. I'm yet to witness any such event at a League game, or after party.
Gareth
Guest
Brings back some memories. In U16s we played a game against Umina that the referee never had control of. He let a couple of spear tackles go, so we of course retaliated in kind without penalty and the whole thing kind of snowballed. We set for a scrum, and the opposing five-eighths were just standing there screaming threats at one another. The ball came out and they just ran at each other fists cocked and it was on. The game ended up being abandoned, and a handful of parents copped year bans for running out and abusing the sh*t out of the ref for letting it get to that point. It was ugly, and not something I'd ever want to see repeated - but any threat of suspension, no matter how significant wouldn't have stopped it happening. It wasn't like there was any great animosity between the teams beforehand. Most of us knew each other from cricket, school, etc, and had no grievances. It all came down to the refereeing. We weren't going to stand by and let them smash our mates without penalty, and they weren't going to back down either. The whole thing was purely situational and "heat of the moment" type stuff. So in short, strong discipline on the field is a far more effective response than the threat of suspension/bans - and it needs to come before a punch is thrown, not after.
itsuckstobeyou
Roar Pro
Not sure why it isn't already up, but here is a snippet of the brawl: http://au.news.yahoo.com/video/national/watch/25400387/885697/2/ I suspect that knee to the head might just get him more than a week on the sideline.
Jaceman
Guest
Apparently Matt S from two posts before you disagrees - hes heard of AFL and RU issues so obviously your premise is incorrect...I have to say I hadnt heard of the AFL issue in tasmania and a few drunken yobs at a GPS RU game hardly relects on the boys playing...
hutch
Guest
This happens in all sports, yet only the incidents involving rugby league seem to make the national news. I wonder why that is? Doesn't mean that this type of violence should ever be acceptable, but I can't work out why it is a major news story if it involves one particular sport and doesn't make the news in another!
The Cattery
Roar Guru
No one on here is making this a league bashing thread. We almost all agree that there is a big problem with parents and sport, expecially boys sport.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
the book exists - it's called Lord of the Flies!! :)
Matt S
Guest
Wasn't it a year ago or so rugby union was in the news for all in brawls by drunken oldboys at GPS school games? Or what about death threats toward under 10 junior AFL players in Tasmania? Don't make this a rugby league bashing thread as all sports have major issues and all sports I believe are doing their best to address a problem that most probably won't entirely go away.
Paul
Guest
By the time the sporting season comes to an end there will be heaps of cases of clubs being kicked out of competitions, racist taunts, bullying, parents yelling verbal abuse at kids, fights, sexist behaviour, homophobic comments – the list goes on. At Play by the Rules - a cross-federal/state government initiative which offers a range of online training, advice and resources on appropriate behaviour in sport, member protection information and codes of conduct, we hear far too many of these type of stories of violent and inappropriate behaviour in grassroots sport. Education is the key - for parents, players, administrators and coaches. Having strong policies and codes of behaviour in place backed up by stringent penalties is also paramount. Pass the word around about www.playbytherules.net.au - it just might prevent another incident like this occuring.