The hypocrisy of violence in rugby league

Real fights are occurring less and less in the NRL. The emotional and physical toll an NRL game takes on a player is huge. I think there should be zero tolerance for fighting in lower league and support the administrators for acting like this, but we must surely realise there is a difference between local footy and the NRL. It may be a double standard but then again the video ref isn't used in lower grades to and surely that's a bad thing (maybe not) . I love it when there is fights in the NRL, too much of it is bad but a bit is ok, the NRL is a different league and should be treated as such.

I can't speak for the level of violence in the past but I can state that there is violence and fighting in Junior League at the moment and it is certainly more than 2% of players. The attitude the boys have towards fighting is essentially 'do what you can get away with'. I've had players run off the bench to join in a fight and let me tell you as a coach it is a sick feeling knowing that you're losing them for the rest of the game let alone the game next week. Not to mention the potential for broken bones, head injuries etc... The decision that the RLIC needs to make is whether this level of violence is part of the game or not. In my mind it can't be part of the game at one level and not a part at another. Make a decision either way. That's what your job is.

Crosscoder your on the money, i think we live in a world of political correctness gone beserk and some things are just human nature. when we try to box it up then we get built up frustrations and an explosion.

Really halk of the kids that play rugby league do it just to hurt some body ? im really not sure thats true. maybe 2%

The level of violence in the game is well down on past years.In all contact sports, there is the get on top of your opposition player element. Scare so many kids off rl!!! Then the growth of 20% this year in girls playing the game,the fastest growing segment,would not support that theory.

what does ru test has to do with your point?

The level of thuggery and violence in RL while and is hurting the game.. half the juniors playing now do it to hurt someone.. how pathetic and scarey is that? It turns so many young kids off RL

This is a dilemma that has no real solution. I appreciate the input of the AFLers but there is far more body contact in RL, which can lead to unintentional conflict. I have coached boys in both RL and football and emphasised the need for fair play but I still get hair rising on the back of my head when the biff erupts in RL game. I can vividly remember some of the classic brawls in the Test matches between the Poms and the Kangaroos. It is not a good thing but the fight adds to the colour of the game and does something. What that something is I don’t know but it is certainly better than the banality of a RU test. The quandary it is wrong and should be discourage but is it exiting or what!

I think the differentiation should be clear enough: Israel Folau might get away with throwing a punch- schoolboy players don't. Israel Folau gets a million dollar salary, his name on jerseys and the chance to switch to the AFL- schoolboy players don't. It was a good original article, and I do see why the coach is putting the issue out for discussion, but different rules for junior RL, and the NRL shouldn't cause too much confusion. The adult world has different rules, and more often than not, much of what goes on in the adult world is, and should be, off limits to kids. It's not so very different to kids asking why their teachers are allowed to go out for drinks at the weekend, but they aren't, or their parents are allowed to drive, but they aren't. I don't know that this particularly equates to hypocrisy: it's just appropriate for different ages and circumstances.

Not really applauded for this, the footy show is on late, young kids should be in bed. I still think we have a imbalance of too many ex-league players running the show, as in presenters. Take Michael Slater? the cricket guy who is now on with fatty. He presents extremely well and gives a counter balance. League needs more and more counter balancing. I think this is where league is getting itself into all sorts of trouble. The QRL showed that they are still under the spell of dinosaurs and their methods with the Ryan James high shot. Even trying to say the guy broke his jaw kitting the ground is beyond belief. The people running the justice department at the hearing need to be sacked, or reeled in, this practise has to stop, not toomoorow not next week, now, yesterday even. Alcohol and junior rugby league, must stop now, many other issues as well. You will probably have to get a outsider in to clean up, rugby league people, or (the dinosaurs) as i call them, dont see the problems, or understand the problems, if they did, these types iof incidents would not still be happening. I mean to say, brawls at junior matches, come on. Everyone should these days feel safe to attend junior matches, if not someone has not done their job. The NRL, ARL, QRL, NSWRL, all need to come together and under the one bnanner issue a warning. Only one warning, and Bans for life are top of the list. Get it right now, we wont be still messing with this issue in 5 years time, much like the video refs, same problems year in, year out. We even have our same guys saying they will fix them, when a third party should have sweep the brooom. And you can see the same problems repeating themselves at every level of the game.

The other thing the AFL got rid of was all the sharp practices such as sniping and other rough play off the ball. I remember back in the day all the elbowing, ankle tapping, squirrel gripping, eye gouging, king hitting and everything else. One of my memories of the 1984 grand final was when Roger Dipierdimenico knocked out Kevin Walsh with an elbow as well as the previous year when he elbowed Alan Stoneham in the eye then in the return match when he was lined up by Cameron Clayton. I also remember when Dermott lined up Bewick, Vander Haar and Williams in a semi final in 1989 then William was taken out in the next game against Geelong ending his career. I also remember the 1990 quarter time brawl when Gavin Brown got knocked out and I think that is when the AFL got serious about the brawling.

I don't know about Brisbane being "league capital" - that's a term invented by the media up here and cottoned onto by Phil Gould. I think the Lions' crowds during that period had a lot to do with their success during those years, the Broncos always get solid crowds year-in year-out, regardless of how well they're doing. With the Lions it is very much tied to the results...same goes for the Roar and Reds, they never attract good crowds unless they're winning. Although Brisbane might not be league capital, but league is definitely number one among the sports up here.

Exactly...and that's where the problem lies. Kids are always going to try and emulate what they see on TV. Which is why any clean-up campaign needs to be begin at NRL level.

The AFL's method is certainly not perfect...players are instructed to "ignore the niggle" no matter what. Barry had a gutful, went whack, and was suspended for 7 games. He lived to regret it. In the AFL, there are "taggers" - players who play one on one and their only role is to shut down their opponent...and they use tactics that are borderline legal, provocative and unbelievably annoying. I think the AFL now expect an unnatural level of composure from the player getting harrassed. But ultimately, increasing the length of suspensions and fines was what killed the biff in Australian Footy. Despite the nostalgics, it will be a decision that improves the game longer term.

Problem here is that the boys I coach are not stupid. They know that the NRL players are allowed to throw punches and they're not. They see the rules for what they are - hypocritical. Which is why in junior league you see an increasing number of dog-shots, tea bags etc done where the ref can't see them. The new Safe Play Code doesn't send the message that fighting is wrong - it sends the message that don't get caught doing it until you play first grade in which case you're applauded for it. Frustrating....

Not trying to single out Rugby League at all. Fact is I know Rugby League because I coach Rugby League and this contradiction between what we TEACH and what we DO is apparent in Junior Rugby League (in NSW at least). Not sure if the same applies in other sports regarding juniors.

Calcio, many things could be written about other codes but doesn't. I remember reading a 'small'article on a force player, caught by video camera, stealing from his teammates and contract terminated but no widespread media attention. If it were an NRL player you could imagine?

i think two guys throwing down is part of the game, every one acting like it happens every game of every week, if a punch is thrown its soon over and play restarts with a penalty, lets look at the positives.

Times change and unless you're part of the Amish community, you have to change with them. What was acceptable 100 or 50 years ago might not be looked at quite the same way today. But, as you say, it's a point of difference to non contact sports and as Australian Rules explains above there are mechanisms to control the biffo, if that's what you want.

A similar article could be written about rugby union - but hasn't been - in regard to the use of the elbow/forearm by the South African on the weekend. 2 weeks.