Hypocrisy: the practice of claiming to have higher standards or more noble beliefs than is the case. Unfortunately, this definition describes the NRL’s current stance on head injury and their lack of policing of high-tackle laws.
It was well-publicised by the NRL this season those who suffered head knocks would be examined carefully. Players are removed immediately from play for a mandatory ten minutes, prior to being allowed to return if deemed healthy or being disqualified from the rest of the game if they fail a head injury assessment.
This stance has come as a result of medical concerns regarding long-term health problems linked to recurrent head trauma and subsequent litigation in the USA’s NFL.
This should be embraced, as it correctly places the long and short-term health of the individual above the importance of the game.
However, the NRL seem to have overlooked a vital piece of the head-injury puzzle: they appear to have done almost nothing to police illegal contact with the head and neck.
In a sport like rugby league, some head injuries are unavoidable accidents, but many are avoidable. They occur due to head and neck contact on the ball-carrier from high tackles, which are sometimes due to poor technique or reflex but more commonly are due to deliberate high-tackling techniques designed to lock the ball up and prevent offloads, and also to slow the play-the-ball.
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To the fan watching from the comfort of home, it sometimes appears that head-high tackles are being tolerated by referees. During Origin 1, for instance, players from both teams were on the receiving end of apparent high tackles, which included an unnecessary head-slam tackle late in the game from Jarryd Hayne on Justin O’Neill.
Few of these tackles were penalised at the time, with only a hit on Mitchell Pearce – which ended the halfback’s night – resulting in Will Chambers being handed a fine via the judiciary after the match.
This lack of strict policing of head-high tackles seems to fly in the face of the NRL’s otherwise tough policies regarding head injuries, which include heavy fines for teams who disregard the new policies regarding HIA.
I certainly don’t want to limit the physicality of the game. Who doesn’t like seeing big hits! However, I find no satisfaction in seeing high tackles.
The NRL needs to further encourage the enforcement of rules regarding illegal contact with the head and neck. Surely minimalising head injuries from occurring is preferable to managing them after the fact.
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