There are two current evils in the NRL: the shoulder charge and Twitter. One is codified as a law of the game, with opposition, and the other should be.
I doubt anyone would oppose Twitter being banned for use by NRL players.
The first shoulder charge penalty of the year was given recently in a trial match between the Titans U20’s squad and the Burleigh Bears.
George Rose, of Manly ilk, is the first NRL first grade player ‘charged’, pardon the pun, with the honour of committing the same on the field, in the Indigenous All-Stars Match.
The NRL are embarrassed.
The players are upset.
But hey…that’s what players do.
They are full time athletes with a huge amount of time on their hands: time to post on Twitter about the coffee they had the morning, their opinions on the Oscars and the consistency of their bowel movements
Call of Duty
November last year the ARLC put out a statement reading “The Commission has reviewed a detailed report into the shoulder charge and accepted a management recommendation that the increased size of athletes was creating a situation where the shoulder charge could, if maintained, lead to an unacceptable injury risk.”
The clubs and the NRL owe a legal duty of care to their players (indeed the players owe it to each other on the field). Like it or lump it, the decision to ban the shoulder charge is entirely consistent with that duty on the NRL’s reasoning.
For now, it is here to stay (at least for this season or the first couple of games or maybe one game before a clarification).
Cool Sports Cases
The most well-known criminal action against a player was in 1985 when Leigh Matthews was charged with assault for an attack on a fellow player ‘off the ball’. He was fined $1,000 but, on appeal, the fine was reduced.
The conviction was not, however, overturned. So players can be held criminally liable for their actions depending on the circumstances.
In civil terms, Jarrod McCracken case in rugby league (pre-Civil Liability Act mind you) was probably one of the most infamous in recent times.
McCracken won his action against the Melbourne Storm Rugby League Club, Marcus Bai and Stephen Kearney for damages after a lifting tackle gone wrong.
In the Court of Appeal Justice Ipp was “left in no doubt whatsoever that the tackle constituted a gross infringement of the laws of the game and there was no modicum of care in the actions of Messrs Kearney and Bai.”
So players can be held civilly liable for their actions depending on the circumstances.
On Notice
It’s pretty simple: all NRL players are on notice that shoulder charges have been outlawed. They have been outlawed because of the increased risk of injury they pose – see the media release.
In Opposition
The most vocal opponent of the shoulder charge to date has been George Rose. Great quotes after the All Stars match and Morris flattening include:
”When it first happened, that was my thought, they didn’t need to make it illegal, just crack down on the bad ones,”
”I didn’t think there was any malice in my one tonight. It was an accident, obviously, but it felt good doing it. I usually have it happen to me; the one time I pull it off is when it was illegal. Straight away when I did it I thought, ‘Oh s**t.'”
Nice save George: it was an accident, obviously. To be fair, George isn’t the only one riling against the new rule.
Jeremy Smith from the Knights said “I think the ban is a joke”.
James Maloney from the Roosters said “Worst decision ever made…BANNING THE SHOULDER CHARGE…if u don’t like the contact sport we play…maybe MARBLES would be more up Ur alley”
Aaron Woods from the Tigers said: “There’s nothing better than seeing someone get smashed by a shoulder charge. What a joke”
Linking All This Together
There is always the chance that a player will get injured this season from a shoulder charge, perhaps seriously.
Players: maybe just shut up while you’re ahead. Go back to twittering about the consistency of your bowel movements.
Don’t end up in The Australian with a story that opens like this.
“THE first player to be penalised for a shoulder charge, George Rose, said he always intended to produce one in his first match as a form of protest at the NRL’s decision to ban the tackling technique for this season.”
Had Morris been injured I would have been only too keen to take his case if I was a personal injury lawyer.
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