An opposition player is running toward you and wants to break through the other side. In essence, he is trying to score a try for his team. The basic fundamental of defence is to stop him.
In rugby league you use your shoulders. So contact with the head is going to happen.
Let’s get one thing out of the way immediately: contact with the head will continue to happen long after we are all gone. This is the National Rugby League and this is rugby league played at the highest level.
These men are paid disgusting amounts of money to play the game they love. One of the reasons they get paid so well is because they could be hurt at anytime.
Canterbury Bulldogs backrower Frank Prichard’s hit on Panthers David Simmons on Saturday night was unlucky. Unlucky for Simmons because it was just a good damn hit.
Simmons crabbed across field, straightened a little and ran into Pritchard. The big Bulldog shouldn’t pay for such good technique because that’s what it was; good technique. Watch it again.
Of course it hit Simmons high. But you can’t outlaw that kind of tackle. It was an accident and accidents happen.
Simmons believes there should be a crackdown.
“The only way to stop it would be to get tough on any shot to the head, whether it’s your shoulder or your arm,” he said.
“Then blokes wouldn’t be so careless with their tackles. I think that would be the only way to stop this kind of thing happening. It doesn’t happen very often but it could have been heaps worse for me or the next bloke. I mean, the next bloke might get a broken jaw or he might get swelling on his brain.
“They probably need some basic standards because that’s the only thing that gets players cautious of it.”
You can’t have standards because every instance will be different. We must allow some understanding and leniency.
The NRL is awesome because its thuggish; because its played by monsters who want to hurt each other. It’s brutal, it’s fast, it’s raw and it’s ours.
Rugby league is successful because it is the toughest. The game can always look to clean its image up, but if you do not have allowances for accidents like this one, the game will go backwards. If rugby league loses its brutality, what is it?
There is a fine line between pleasure and pain. That fine line is what these professional footballers have to deal with every weekend.
Players know the risk they run playing this sport. Just ask Adam Ritson.
Dean - Surry Hills
Guest
I'm with you on this one Curtis. Simmons takes a massive left foot step just milliseconds before making contact with Pritchard's shoulder. If the side-step had of been any more severe, then it would have been a clash of heads, and both parties would have been write-offs in that instance. Pritchard can't just make himself disappear - he's got a little bit of magic in his game - but not the amount needed to become an instantaneous Copperfield. Reverse the roles for a moment. Pritchard is returning the ball, and takes a massive left footed side-step at the last moment and collides with an upright Simmons. The result is a massive collision of heads as Pritchard's head fails to make contact with Simmons's shoulder. We've seen numerous examples of this happening over the years - and no player has ever had a case to answer for. Judiciary verdict : Accidents happen - case dismissed.
sledgeandhammer
Guest
So let's be honest, no one really gives a care about player welfare in rugby league.
Curtis Woodward
Expert
20 points to the winner @Crosscoder for use of the word 'sacrosanct'. you win sir!
JezRu
Roar Pro
Sorry Curtis but the reason the tackle was high was because of his bad technique. Good technique would not have resulted with any contact to the head. If Pritchard had of used good technique i.e. opposite leg to shoulder leading, knees bent and braced and a bent back, then the impact from his shoulder would of been into the mid riff or "Bread Basket" where you should be aiming for a front on tackle. By standing upright and twisting his shoulder into the oncoming player there was never going to be any other result. High shots will happen and most will be accidents. But to say this was an accident pushes it a bit for me, this is not the first time he has done it and unless he is penalised and the point made that his technique needs to be addressed, then it most certainly wont be the last.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
That's exactly the point.Pritchard has not learnt from his last effort against Graham ,when the Dogs played the Sharks. The head is sacrosanct and must be protected .There will be the odd incident in a full on contact sport.,but when it has happened courtesy of the same guy,he either has to change his tackling technique or try a sport like UFC. Tackles really should be no higher than the armpit /chest.
Pete75
Guest
I recall a certain finals match a couple of years ago when Simon Dwyer SMASHED! Jared Waerea-Hargreaves. It looked like a straight up good hit to anyone watching the game and JWH spilled the ball. JWH stays down and, sure enough, the video ref looks at it over, and over, and over again and comes up with a penalty. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ILh-w5LPYo I don't know about anyone else, but I, personally, don't want this rubbed out of rugby league.....
oikee
Guest
And last year they were all charged on merit, high is high. Look, here is another point we could make against this sort of tackle. Over the week-end we had 8 games, yet our boy Franky, a serial offender was the only guy who knocked out cold a player. Come on, stop sticking up for this chump. Every other gorilla on the pitch missed other players heads, not our boy Franky, Rub him out, rub him outttt as Seinfield would say. :) He is a thug and a bully, he does not belong with our other thugs and bullies, he got caught.
oikee
Guest
What merit, the guy was hit in the head by a shoulder. That is like me slapping you in the face but telling ya it was with a open hand, point is i should not have slapped ya in the first place. As Seinfield would say, no merit, noooo merit. All bad, all baaaad.
Curtis Woodward
Expert
Youtube Magpies/Dragons presidents cup grand final .. Tallis picks a bloke and just starts hitting him
Hanzo
Guest
Its lucky that Tallis has retired. That guy is 70 percent head which doesnt leave much room for error....
Paul
Guest
Probably but why is that? My father inlaw whos 75 and fit as a whistle reckons there soft nowadays lol. Obviously i disagree but i think that if anything they are over trained by conditioners etc who havent played the game at that level and dont necessarily under stand the endurance our games require. This is why i rate Fitler and Lockyer higher than Daley and Johns.I think They put so much work into the gym that the muscles out grow the bone structure and they become susceptible to injury. Yea iknow im just a punter who knows nothing but thats my theory. I also think that whilst players maybe drug free now some may have used growth hormones etc as juniors before any testing begins to reach the physical attributes they have compared to there parents and what they were as kids and that catches upto them as they they try to maintain themselves with out vitamins.
Curtis Woodward
Expert
I think there were more last year wasn't there ?
Paul
Guest
It does indeed, I cant believe the injurys to players before the comp even started. Theres a story, how many players missed the start of the comp through injury that wasnt cuased last season.
Curtis Woodward
Expert
Hes going to serve time. Can we just agree that this is rugby league, shit happens and people are going to get hurt ?
Curtis Woodward
Expert
Two different tackles
Paul
Guest
Leniancy? He did the same thing to wade graham last year , Sounds like a technique problem to me
Curtis Woodward
Expert
Yes it was high and yes it was good technique. This is where leniancy and understanding and common sense should come into it. Accidents happen.
kiwidave
Guest
"The big Bulldog shouldn’t pay for such good technique because that’s what it was; good technique. Watch it again. Of course it hit Simmons high." I would be inclined to say that if it was high then it wasn't good technique. That said Simmons definitely leaned into it as he stepped to his left, which made it worse, but it was high before that. It's not like it slipped up off simmons shoulder or the ball. It just hit him straight in the head.
Curtis Woodward
Expert
So every incident shouldn't be judged on its merits ?
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Well put, okiee, agree with you there. Brain damage and head injury is the scourge of all sports and the more we understand about it and the more powerful and strong the blokes causing the impacts, the worse the problem will become. Everyone has a duty of care to protect the head. (Dere's important stuff in dere, doancha know)