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If the NRL was a giant school playground, the little kid would be in the principal’s office getting a talking to while the bully would be at the canteen spending his ill-gotten lunch money.
Roosters hooker Jake Friend became the latest victim of the reverse reward system yesterday.
In the 10th minute of the tri-colours clash with Manly, Friend was trying to wrestle Sea Eagles second-rower Anthony Watmough to the ground.
Watmough didn’t take too kindly to the extra effort and slapped Friend in the face after getting to his feet.
Friend, predictably, pushed back while Watmough was playing the ball and that was enough to have the pea rattling around the referee’s whistle.
Now, who do you think deserves to be penalised in this instance?
Watmough, seemingly unprovoked, slapped Friend in the face, yet he gets rewarded. Friend, in contrast, is punished for retaliating.
After that penalty the Roosters went on to defend five straight sets of six before Will Hopoate pounced on a grubber from Jamie Lyon in the corner for Manly’s first try of the day.
Just minutes later a tired and disjointed Roosters defensive line was exposed by Lyon and Hopoate again for the Sea Eagles second try of the match.
Manly went on to win 36 to 8.
That one penalty instantly changed the momentum of the game because Manly was good enough to take advantage of their slice of fortune.
Is it really fair that Manly would profit from Watmough’s decision to slap an opposition player in the face?
Shouldn’t there be some sort of punishment for the instigator instead of the retaliator?
The answer is no when it comes to the NRL and it isn’t right.
It’s an extremely smart ploy.
There’s no suggestion that Watmough deliberately slapped Friend in the face knowing that he’d get a penalty out of it. In fact, it’s more an action produced in the heat of the moment. But it sure works.
Yes, there’s the argument that Friend should be disciplined enough not to fire back, but these are men who are taught that if you get hit then you hit back twice as hard.
It would’ve gone against every urge in Friend’s body to stand there and smile while asking for another whack for good measure.
It has been an ugly part of the game for some time now and it needs to change.
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