Do you honestly think Sam Kasiano deserved a one-week ban? Forget the fact Fui Fui Moi Moi was left dazed and confused, forget that Parramatta had to play 79 minutes and 50 seconds of the match one man down and forget the fact Kasiano hit his opponent in the head.
Why?
Because it’s all irrelevant.
Where’s the problem? Kasiano not even in Origin III frame
The NRL match review committee felt the Bulldogs prop deserved to miss Friday night’s blockbuster clash with Manly at Brookvale Oval.
For what? Tackling a man who fell to the height of his hip.
Yes, it’s terrible that Moi Moi was left sick and sorry, but Kasiano was hardly at fault.
What was he meant to do? How was he meant to complete a textbook tackle on a man falling at speed?
The defence argued that Moi Moi fell 50 centimetres in 0.4 of a second. Just take a minute to digest that.
50 centimetres in 0.4 of a second!
How is any rugby league player, let alone a giant forward meant to adjust his feet, body and arms to cope with those numbers?
You can’t. It’s impossible. Superman would struggle.
Rugby league seems to have fallen into the trap of thinking that any contact to the head, no matter what the circumstance, deserves a suspension.
The match review committee has taken a stronger stance on shoulder charges that slip high in 2012.
One match bans have been offered numerous times for offences that last year would’ve been considered a good tackle.
There’s no problem with that because in those instances both the tackler and the ball runner have been relatively upright.
The tackler has taken the gamble of hitting with the shoulder and must live with the consequence if it goes wrong.
Given the recent and startling evidence of the long term impact of concussion on sportspeople it’s only right that the NRL would take greater care of its players.
But to expect Kasiano to be able to show a duty of care to Moi Moi in this instance is stretching the limits of reality.
It’s extremely unfortunate that Moi Moi slipped at the last minute. It’s even more unfortunate that he was left rattled.
But to suspend Kasiano for a week would’ve sent rugby league down a dark path.
Thankfully, the NRL judiciary applied the common sense test.
soapit
Guest
i have retracted that comment due to your statistics which you now claim are meaningless. or have you locked down a formula that takes into account all those factors you list that shows to you that 0.4s was enough in this case?
soapit
Guest
so like i said, if they made it a priority and trained for it (or at least considered what they will do in that situation) it likely could be avoided or at least mitigated enough so moi moi doesnt get taken out for the game (no superhuman powers needed). the rules and the way they're interpreted dont make it a priority and never have so would be unfair for kasiano to be suspended now out of the blue
soapit
Guest
actually, all he has to do is take a bit of sting out of his swinging arm so he doesnt knock the bloke out. doesnt even have to adjust his aim at all so i'd say it would take less time to do that, not double. otherwise yes thats all fair but just further demonstrates how pointless it is trying to argue based on numbers. so many variables. its a bit silly that this 0.5m in 0.4s seems to be the defining aspect of the case for a lot of people.
The Barry
Roar Guru
There's fewer head high tackles these days than there were 30 years ago. Where are all the insurance claims from that generation?
Anakin
Guest
Yes, cricketers, baseballers etc all have great reaction time - but they train for it!! I know myself when doing martial arts my reaction time decreased as I became aware of movements and body signals .. but again, it was a result of hours of training. How much time do we expect forwards to apply to reaction time just in case a player slips in a tackle. Kasiano getting off was common sense - and regardless of inconsistencies with other charges this season - was the right call IMO.
jdubya
Guest
Great decision! While every other sport in the world (bar a few) is seeking to eradicate the violence that occurs naturally within their games (AFL and rugby in Australia are quite public about this) Rugby League remains as a beacon for all sport. We will not weaken our game or our collisions to get women watching or to please doctors or journalists with no investment in or understanding of our great game. These men know what they are risking every time they step out onto the field and they should be willing to accept the reality that they will eventually be smacked around the head. Great decision and hopefully this precedent sets in stone the NRL's stance on contact with the head in the future.
Gremlin
Guest
Guys the big difference between kasiano and other incidents is the amount Foi slipped, it was at least a foot in length. In many other incidents the ball rjnner only slipped 3/6 inchs, in these instances the defender has not allowed for any variables, therefore they are deemed careless or reckless. A tackler can not be expected to allow for a runner dropping 30-50 cm
Mals
Roar Rookie
Punter doesn't.
bozo
Guest
Let's wait for the insurance claims for brain injuries a couple of years down the track.
steve b
Roar Guru
Brilliant Content !
sledgeross
Guest
It looked pretty bad at full speed as well though mate!
dishes
Guest
Common sense prevailed. Now we just need some common sense restored in the video referee's box.
Chop
Guest
Completely agree, the issue is the lack of consistency around decisions like this. The two in SOO match 3 that were similiar there were people saying both should've been charged, then Kasiano is charged and gets off. It's ridiculous and the judiciary is a farce.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Kasiano was already moving. Cricketers react from a static starting position. Kasiano effectively had to stop one movement and then commence another. Takes twice as long.
Dogs Of War
Roar Guru
They aren't running full steam with a 35 metre run up though are they?
Dogs Of War
Roar Guru
Do I really need to remind you of your comment? "moi moi slipped well before the impact." Which was shown to be 0.4 of a sec, with Kasino having run 35 metres to greet him. So my previous comment had nothing in relation to yours.
The Barry
Roar Guru
If you're joking - nice one ! If you're serious then that's one of the dumbest comments I've ever read.
The Barry
Roar Guru
This is the problem with judging everything in super slow mo. You see Moi Moi fall and think "He's got time to adjust" but when it's at normal speed it's all over in literally a split second. I can't see what Kasiano did wrong. I can't see how he possibly could have avoided the contact. I disagree that his arm was swinging any more that it needed to effect a good tackle. The swinging arm is in the context of a haymaker trying to take someone's head off. That clearly wasn't the case. This incident highlights the 18th man debate more than the head contact debate.
soapit
Guest
so....basically what i said in my first post which you got angry about by citing .....an exact timeframe.
soapit
Guest
1st off, once again right decision. 2nd "50 centimetres in 0.4 of a second! How is any rugby league player, let alone a giant forward meant to adjust his feet, body and arms to cope with those numbers? You can’t. It’s impossible. Superman would struggle". he doesnt have to adjust all of those, it was only his arm that hit. adjust that and problem solved. and as i noted above cricketers manage to hit a much smaller target which moves a lot more than 0.5m with only a fraction more time. certainly doesnt require superpowers. but its not the type of thing we should be putting set numbers on when there isnt really proper data to reference what the numbers really mean (as dogs of war and i concluded above). again right decision but lets not get carried away when confronted with some numbers