After Origin I, the NRL should really be looking at itself rather than Paul Gallen as the problem.
Issuing a new rule where any punch thrown lands you 10 in the bin is a good step but it could have been avoided with a few rules changes.
You’ve probably seen the vision at least once but if you haven’t here is what happened: Nate Myles ran the ball up and was halted by two NSW players.
Paul Gallen then came in with a swinging arm and, accidentally or not, hit Myles in the face.
Myles, understandably, reacted by shoving and mouthing off at Gallen, who then landed four punches on Myles face before help from both teams arrived.
There are two ways this fight could have been stopped.
Firstly, outlaw contact with the head.
“Hang on,” I hear you say, “Contact with the head is already outlawed.”
That’s quite true but it isn’t enforced like it is outlawed.
Time after time I see players hit in the face and the referees either miss it or ignore it.
I have never played league but I have played union and American Football before and there are always times when an opposition player intentionally or unintentionally tackles you in a way contrary to what the rules say is allowable.
It is incredibly frustrating when the referee does not award a penalty (or, in gridiron, throw a flag).
I can therefore completely sympathise with Nate Myles when he felt a penalty should have been awarded.
In a club game it probably would have been but, as we all know, the referees – presumably under direction from referees boss Daniel Anderson, who is presumably under direction from the NRL – relax the rules in Origin.
Myles probably wouldn’t have felt it necessary to give Gallen a shove if the contact with his head was penalised, which in turn would not have led to a fight.
Apart from the obvious safety benefits of not clobbering a bloke in the head, penalising all contact with the head would dramatically reduce the number of fights, because most of them are as a result of foul play.
Players would not feel the need to punch a bloke in the face if they knew a penalty was coming their way.
The second rule amendment is to, in some way, punish not only the bloke who throws the first punch but to also penalise the instigator.
I refuse to believe Gallen, or any player for that matter, would punch someone in the face simply for the heck of it.
However, if I were in Gallen’s shoes and Myles gave me a big shove and then some verbal stick, I absolutely would have punched him.
“He physically and verbally challenged me,” Gallen said on Triple M radio last week.
“…Nate said something to me and got up and pushed me. What do you do?”
I hate seeing a fight break out only for the the guy who reacts to be penalised and the instigator escapes reprimand.
I wouldn’t say it is a common occurrence but you do see one player take exception to a tackle and sock the offender in the face, the offender naturally reacts but he is the one penalised.
Another example happened when Manly played the Rabbitohs recently. From a kick-off Steve Matai got George Burgess a bit high, and naturally a penalty was awarded.
As a Manly fan I have to say in slow motion it looked as though Matai’s arm hit the ball and bounced up into Burgess’ face but nevertheless he did make contact with the head and should have been penalised.
However, George’s older brother Sam then came in and shoved an a bent arm into Matai’s back and a melee ensued.
Despite the fact he started a melee, Burgess went unpunished.
Another example: nigglers.
A few years ago Nathan Hindmarsh did something which, by all accounts, was completely uncharacteristic of him and punched on with Michael Ennis.
Ennis is a notorious grub, he is a niggler, he pushes the rules and talks a lot and when there is a fight he is usually nearby.
I understand it would be unpractical to attempt to ban talk but do we really believe Hindmarsh would have reacted the way he did if Ennis was not pushing his buttons?
99 out of 100 times a bloke will throw a punch because in some way he has been provoked.
Therefore, if the provocation was banned there would be less fights.
I’m not saying blokes who throw punches should go unpunished, however, I absolutely hate to see someone who reacts get penalised while the initial offender gets off without reprimand.
A possibility could be as follows.
Players A from team A slaps player B from team B in the face.
Player B reacts and throws a punch.
As the rules currently stands team A would get the penalty, regardless of the events leading up to the punch, and be entitled to a tap or downfield kick plus another set of six.
Perhaps rather than the obviously much more beneficial second option, team A could simply get another set of six.
Additionally, if player B from team B did not react to an obvious attempt to provoke him, his team could get the ball from a scrum.
If any of the rule changes described above were implemented the dust up between Gallen and Myles probably wouldn’t have happened and the media frenzy which surrounded the event wouldn’t have happened either.
Therefore I say it is the NRL’s fault this happened, not Paul Gallen’s.
Simoc
Guest
At a guess Gallen wanted to make himself part of Origin folklore. He did that with his unprovoked assault on an opposition player which was condoned by the referee and the rugby league judiciary. He has been endlessly on TV and it will be in all the promo for future Origin series for years. Goal achieved. The parents enjoy the spectacle and turn their children to soccer and Australian Rules.
bully
Guest
oh my god you mean to say that adults were drinking alcohol to celebrate a victory. HOW DARE THEY!!!!!!!!!!
Noel
Guest
Totally agree with the author . I have been saying exactly the same thing for years , and have said it before in this forum .I taught referees during the 60's 70's and 80's as well as refereeing to the highest eschelon in the area myself , and I have lost count of the times I have said , in a lecture , A punch ,on the field is usually a retalliation for an offence committed against the one throwing the punch . There are other critical areas where the refereeing can be much improved , and results of decisions much clearer and less controversal , totally without rule changes . When something becomes "controversal" on the field , referees'' bosses reach for the rule book , NOT NECESSARY . However this is a subject for another time , let's get the punch sorted out first . the present action is nothing short of rediculous and will not work . We are going to get a situation arise where a number of players are involved in throwing punches , what happens then , no , not the solution , because that lies totally in the area mentioned by a previous commentator , penalise the instigator , and to be able to police the action in this manner referees have to be allowed to be in the area to see it , something they are now not allowed to do , but this will be dealt with at a future time also . Refereeing is not rocket science and Rugby League needs a simple , straight forward approach to the contol of play . I am not sure anyone in a position of authority takes any notice of what is written in this forum , my thought is that most of them have their heads stuck in another place and are blind to the obvious , Rugby League is and always will be , a great game and will continue to be appreciated by the multitudes for centuries to come , so Go You Good Thing .
Conor Hickey
Roar Pro
You're right there is a bit of disparity. As a Manly fan I remember the Battle of Brookvale quite vividly and I recall Adam Blair got two different charges in the game as opposed to Glenn Stewart's one charge, which is why Blair got from memory 7 weeks and Stewart got 3. Another good point and I don't want the video ref to get involved in the game anymore than it already is. I think ruling on all head contact wouldn't be an issue because the rule would clearly state contact with the head is to be penalised. I have a feeling the refs sometimes let stuff go either because they think it was accidental or not worthy of a penalty. Most times it is fairly obvious whether something is accidental or not, and even if it is accidental penalise them anyway, players would then bring their arms down to avoid giving away a penalty, solving a lot of problems. Helmets are fine but then the rest of the body needs to be protected from the helmet. I play NFL and I can tell you a helmet to the arm will give a big bruise at absolute minimum. A helmet to the knee is going to cause serious knee damage.
WQ
Guest
It has already been watched and nobody can find fault with it accept Paul Gallen and the NSW fans that needed to find an excuse for Gallen to belt him in the chops!
WQ
Guest
x2
WQ
Guest
Cheers oikee, I'll keep my eye out for Peeeko!
Bearfax
Guest
Conor there are a couple of flaws in your argument here that should be noted Firstly poor Gallen received, what was it, one week off for punching Myles, who quite frankly didnt retaliate. No matter what was said, the point is that Gallen attacked Myles openly and struck him in the head at least twice. One week off!. Hardlya penalty. Look at Glenn Stewart and Adam Blair's incident. What did they do, they fought and mind you neither really made any contact. Neither player struck the other in an unprepared manner, yet one got 4 weeks and the other, what was it, 8 weeks, which included the four for fighting. Where's parity. Gallen got off light. Secondly, no matter what law you have about striking the head, either most go unnoticed or where it causes anger, up to a dozen players quickly move in for a stoush before the ref can act. As for the other incidents, are we going to have video ref constantly stopping the play because someone may have made contact with the head and then wait three or four minutes while they study tapes. And it happens so often accidentally, you would have the weekly judiciary meeting five days weekly to keep up with the perps Thirdly, many players niggle and throw a punch now and then to disrupt the flow of play, and it doesnt have to be provoked. It happens often. As old George Piggins used to maintain, if a player is playing too well, you've got to get them off their game. He often used scrums to achieve that end. You cant say Ennis for example is any different. Hopoate made an art of it. You want to stop punches or contact with the head....have them wear helmets. That would stop it quick smart
sledgeross
Guest
I think, yet again, you are being somewhat dramatic Oikee! These things happen in footy, Gallen is guilty and should have been binned PLUS a suspension. No doubt about it. People are listening, at least south of the Tweed! Understandably though, up north, there is outrage. In reverse, we had the same indignation last year when Bird was held down on the ground and Tate unleashed a few to his head. The nature and passion of the game means that these men do things that are frowned upon in society. It all comes down to perspective when it comes to the issue, and quite frankly, the issue isnt Gallens actions, its the punishment meted out (or lack thereof) following.
Conor Hickey
Roar Pro
Well I think if the any contact to the head rule was enforced there wouldn't have been a fight in the first place because Myles wouldn't have felt the need to shove Gallen. You're right though Gallen could be the instigator though Myles didn't need to get up and physically and verbally challenge him as well.
eagleJack
Guest
If Nate uses his head again I guarantee he will be spending time on the sidelines. He says it is the way he tackles. Yet miraculously he manages to avoid using his head when a player is charging at him. He only seems to use it when a player is still, already wrapped up in a tackle by others. Or a player is defenceless while taking a bomb. Good on him for getting away with it for so long. But with the crackdown and policing of other areas Im sure this tactic will be watched very closely..
Australian Rules
Guest
+1
oikee
Guest
If they did that, Manly and the Roosters wont be playing any more, they do this every weekend. I hope Myles uses his head in Origin, a will be a compliment to them. And maybe all the fingers into the face and pinching players legs in the soft spots by Gallen Farrah and Woods also be penalised. Mate your clutching at straws, every team does this stuff. You heard Gallen, they have been doing it for years, but they dont use Origin like Gallen did for his revengeful act of disgrace to the code in front of Millions. A blatent act of thuggery, nobody cares gallen got his poor little leg pulled, he is a grub, that is how everyone seen him. With no remorse. And he is trying to defend this, the people are not listening, as i said, they refuse to buy into his unmoralled world. Gallen got caught out, big time. He is the bully that got caught. Nobody likes a bully.
fishes
Guest
They should crack down on the real issues- leading with the head, and the dirty, never-before-seen wrestling tactics of Nate Myles and Cameron Smith, etc. which make me sick to my stomach. There should be automatic 10 minutes for any action which is a deliberate attempt to cause injury to another player.
oikee
Guest
As confucius would say, the only blind people are those that can't see, the truth is out there. I aslo like this saying as well, i have used it a couple of times today, "Whatever Gallen is selling, nobody is buying." hehe.
oikee
Guest
Alot of what you have said makes a lot of sense, and Hoy dont need any compliments. hehe, he is normally right. Be wary of Peeeko, everything that makes sense is wrong in his little world.
Gippy
Guest
"The second rule amendment is to, in some way, punish not only the bloke who throws the first punch but to also penalise the instigator." Conor, I agree with you completely. But, surely in the case in point, the instigator was Gallen himself? Or is a swinging arm in a tackle not instigation, whereas the resultant gobful of invective is? Doesn't make sense to me. But then again, I was raised on AFL where ANY contact to the head is immediately penalised, accidental or not.
Bulldog
Guest
It was premeditated by Gallen. He and his teammates admitted it, so not sure how he can duck any blame at all on this. Should have got 10 minutes in bin, Should have been condemned by the NRL, Refs Boss and Coach. The fact it was premeditated should have seen him miss the next Origin.
solly
Guest
True. I cringed when I saw the military handing off a football to Brad Fittler during their pre-match celebrations. There is something wrong with sport in Australia that it needs to latch on to the military for moral sustenance. Athletes aren't heroes. And while the media is to blame, so too are the people who willingly accept such nonsense as part of their psychological fabric.
Football_illiterate
Guest
arent they the gummint??