So the Australian Rugby League Commission has decided to ban the shoulder charge after Brian Canavan’s extensive report and many recommendations from NRL doctors, including the highly respected Nathan Gibbs and John Orchard.
With all the crazy class-action and legal cases in the NFL, the ARLC has definitely had duty of care and legal responsibilities in mind even before the report was submitted.
But it seems either a knee-jerk, reactive decision made by the Commission, or a very pro-active decision for the future.
Why didn’t they try and reduce the interchange or have 12-week bans for contact with the head? All the players are in support of heavy suspensions if it is carried out wrong.
They’ve banned basically everything in the tackle. It’s become a run the ball up, get caressed by two defenders, one around the hips, one around the torso.
The NRL announced in its strategic plan to be the “most entertaining” game in Australia. How on earth does banning the one thing, the one thing, rugby league has over its football competitors go about achieving such a goal?
The collision is the part of the game that makes rugby league different from its competitors. It’s the exciting, exploding, edge of your seat play that makes you cringe, squirm, scream and cheer.
Nothing can turn momentum more than a big shoulder charge or tackle. Every single highlight reel for the past 10 years would have included numerous shoulder charges.
With the pressure the referees have been under in the last couple of years and the current restructure of the NRL referees system, the shoulder charge is now only going to confuse officials more.
How will they consistently identify a shoulder charge? What will be the indicators? If Chris Sandow runs into James Tamou’s hip with his shoulder cocked, will he be suspended?
The most disappointing part of the shoulder charge being banned is, in the last five years that the shoulder charge has become so big, the man who carries it out the best hasn’t been playing rugby league.
How disappointing the year he returns to the NRL, they ban it.
Sonny Bill Williams played a huge part in the establishment of the modern day shoulder charge. He was the best at it.
There was nothing better than seeing the genetically-blessed Williams slam the shoulder into an opponent in slow motion replays or bass-assisted highlight reels. His former shoulder charges were sure to have been featured in 2013’s advertisements and previews.
The statistics provided from the report indicate five out of every 10,000 tackles are shoulder charge attempts. From those five, one out of every six makes contact with the head.
2011 saw some bad shoulder charges and a couple of broken jaws, but injuries have been occurring since 1908. This is best part of the game! No one wants to see the game played with skirts on.
It will be interesting to see how the ‘most entertaining’ game of all entertains us without the shoulder charge. For God’s sake, I hope they conduct a review.
And why was the decision sent out at night via e-mail to the media? Where is John Grant to face the music? Probably sitting back having a beer at a post-game function with Prince Charles presenting a trophy while having his Maserati washed.
Anakin
Guest
"The review found that shoulder charges made up 0.05 per cent of the 142,355 tackles made in 2012, with less than four per cent resulting in injury to the attacking player and less than one per cent to the defensive player. Seventeen per cent resulted in contact with the head of the attacking player." .... You do the math & tell me it was worth outlawing!! .. plenty of other things to worry about in the game IMO.
Daniel Szabo
Roar Guru
The ARLC have got it totally wrong here. On yesterday's Triple M Rush Hour they released a stat that 5 in 10000 tackles were attempted shoulder charges, and 1 in 6 of those went wrong. There were only 4 shoulder charges in 2012. Pritchard, Vatuvei, Te'o and Inglis. That's 4 out of 26 rounds, 8 games per round, 3 Origins, 2 test matches, City V Country and the finals series! It's ridiculous, especially considering that there are already rules in place that outlaw head high contact. Swinging arms happen numerous times a game (as opposed to four times a season) as a result of a tackle gone wrong, yet the ARLC doesn't go ban tackling (although it wouldn't shock me if they did). By all means penalize the shoulder charges that go wrong. But if there's no contact with the head then there shouldn't be a problem.
Atawhai Drive
Roar Guru
I expect rugby league will learn to live without the shoulder charge, just as rugby union has had to learn to live without rucking. The influence of mothers on the Little Jimmies of the world is probably overstated. But as maximus182 himself points out, the ARLC must have had its duty of care and legal responsibilities in mind. Sooner or later, a badly injured player (or his parents) would have called in the lawyers. Even without the shoulder charge, rugby league will continue to be a tough sport for tough men.
spongy
Guest
Cugel, got to agree with you. That Hit by GI was the hit of the year. It was up there with Simon Dwyer's hit on Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
Cugel
Roar Rookie
"the mums of the players will tell “little Jimmy” that he has to play soccer or some other sport where he will not lose his head." This often gets trotted out, but is there any evidence of noticeable influence? This ruling must have came about due to the astonishing tide of crying, whining and manufactured outrage following GI's pearler on Dean Young. Well, come 2013, these people will find something else to cry about, and so it goes on.
ScottWoodward.me
Roar Guru
Max Everyone seems to be blowing up about the ban on a shoulder charge, but it is an astute call by the Commish in my view. We should never lose sight of the fact that we have no game without players and the mums of the players will tell "little Jimmy" that he has to play soccer or some other sport where he will not lose his head. The Mums are crucial in influencing their sons what sport they should play and every mum squirms when she sees a players shoulder connect to another players head. My only disappointment is that the Commish did not come down harder on any connection to the head. There is no skill in head high tackles and the AFL have it right when they bar anything about the chest. The rules should be changed so that "Johnny Raper" type tackles are encouraged. Now that is skill.
Matt
Guest
Haha, love it how someone will get smashed in defence and jump straight back up, when they're in attack and get knocked over it's like they got clobbered with a bat. It's still a tenth of what goes on in soccer but it's travelling down that path...
Matt
Guest
Union as well. The score was 5 penalties to 3 penalties. Some games a try is actually scored, wow!
Matt
Guest
I don't think you've ever watched a game of union
George
Guest
Lucky for SBW that its gone.. One shoulder charge from him and his shoulder would fall off thats how injury prone he is.
Damn Straight
Roar Rookie
Not true. There are instances of diving in rugby league games all the time...people laying down that extra 30 seconds to milk a penalty. However, it is an epidemic in soccer. Look at the A -league final last year, for one tiny example(there are several examples every week in the EPL and other European leagues). It was won as a result of a blatant dive in the box by Berisha that lead to a penalty spot kick that won them the game and premiership.
Shaun
Guest
Wow. Penalties, penalties... Isn't that what soccer is all about?! At least footy players aren't giving away penalties by acting.
Peter
Guest
WOW!!!! this is shocking news. NRL is finished!!!! There is nothing interesting in the game anymore. The whole game is based on penalties, penalties and more penalties. I give up on NRL and the bad decisions they have made. Im going to stick with soccer that sport will end up been more intense than NRL.