Cronulla were valiant on Saturday night against Parramatta. They’re a proud club that fight every game to the end and are a credit to their coach John Morris.
But after copping a bunch of injuries and having no fit players left on the bench, they pretty much had one hand tied behind their back. It’s a miracle the Sharks hung tough like they did until they conceded three tries in the last 11 minutes, which made the scoreboard look worse than it should have.
The Sharks were already going to do it tough against a team with premiership aspirations. They had zero chance after losing so many players.
Earlier on Saturday, Canberra led New Zealand 31-10 with 35 minutes to go but had just one fit bench player, no spare forwards and two busted centres playing through injury on the field. The Warriors would get the win if they kept their heads and that’s what happened.
It’s incredibly bad luck that injuries have effectively cost two teams a fair chance in games that will prove crucial at the business end of the season.
Now as the dust settles on Round 3, we’ve got 22 players injured to varying degrees and some huge potential impacts on premiership contenders.
Regular Monday readers will know I don’t need an invitation to rip into Peter V’landys and NRL head office for their lack of care towards the players, and this issue is teed right up for someone who would say this spate of hurt players is because the NRL introduced new rules at the whim of broadcasters and dinosaurs to speed up the game and increase fatigue in a misguided attempt to bring late-game ‘excitement’ from players who are already knackered after their shortest pre-season ever.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Tempting as it is to take that whack, it’ll have to wait a little bit, because we should be equally wary of using a sample size of one as a definitive predictor of what we’re going to get in the future.
As it’s been said, Round 3’s injury toll was well above average. According to Twitter’s wonderful @NRLPhysio Brien Seeney, there were seven concussions in 24 hours alone on Friday and Saturday. That’s almost double the usual concussions for a round (3.5).
That led to some idiotic commentary over the last 48 hours bemoaning the fact the NRL and its doctors have ‘been tough’ on head knocks and concussion by keeping players off the field – that’s exactly what should be happening.
And the sight of empty benches at Canberra and Bankwest Stadium has heightened calls for an 18th player substitute for injured players, probably the most significantly from the Rugby League Player’s Association.
RLPA head Clint Newton spoke to the Daily Telegraph about his Association’s concerns.
“We understand we’re in the entertainment industry but we’re also in the human being industry… we can’t have players exposed like they are at the moment,” he said.
“The concerns on player health and safety outweigh debate about the challenges and complexities of having an 18th man. It’s got to happen now.
“I want to make it clear that the introduction of an 18th man doesn’t eliminate all our current concerns but it would reduce pressure on players in the interim until we work through the impact of these new rules with more data”.
So are the new rules and ‘V’landys ball’ responsible for Round 3’s injury festival? Is this the natural endgame of the NRL’s apparent disregard for the health of their players? The honest answer is that it’s too soon to know.
Newton’s last sentence makes the key point. If you go through all Round 3’s injuries individually, there’s mitigating circumstances for almost all of them unrelated to fatigue and/or a game that’s too fast. There’s just not enough of a sample size yet to be able to correlate the impact of the new rules on the number of injuries.
Rumblings the NRL will introduce the 18th man this week as an in-season rule change should be applauded – even though it wouldn’t have saved Cronulla (or maybe Canberra) on the weekend.
Phil Gould thinks the situation is down to poor tackling techniques and an “obsession with quick play-the-balls”.
Plenty of others think this is the natural result of a collision sport played too fast with no stoppages for players to catch their breath.
Are there really no opportunities for players to rest though? According to data from The Rugby League Eye Test, one of several independent publishers producing analysis light years ahead of the NRL’s official outlets, there’s been no significant variation in time the ball is in play over the last few years.
Of course it’s early and things might change, but right now we can only go with what we can measure.
So we have to wait and see. But if injury rates keep rising and critical players like Luke Keary keep going down with long-term injuries, the NRL will have no choice but to revisit their off-season flight of fancy.
No one wants games to be decided by injury. No one wants their team’s short-term and long-term outlook to be wrecked by a long injury list. And if the broadcasters need some convincing to wind things back, you can guarantee no one will stay on the channel to watch a lopsided contest.
BeastieBoy
Roar Rookie
The New Rules are Great. Let's just give them more substitutions and Control the Head High shots. The Head High shots will soon go out of the game with some strict suspensions. Just like Punching and All in Melees did.
The Seagull
Guest
Not much talk about wrestling and tackling techniques which would seem to be the major cause of increased injuries. Especially concerning is where a player is grabbed around the shoulders and pulled straight down. No wonder players are getting knee and ankle damage.
Jim
Guest
Is the game faster. Reports say no it's not any quicker than it was last season as seen on NRL 360. Media seem to jump onto the next story which that week is the biggest thing in years depending on what happened over the previous weekend just like this one. After Eels played Storm the story was Brandon Smith is too fat. No mention of the half a dozen forward passes Storm threw but the refs missed. This week it's the forward pass that stole the win from the whingers, I mean Raiders and how there will be no players left if these injuries continue. What's next weeks stories, Who knows but whatever it is it will be blown out of proportion. It's Just another form of reality Entertainment.
criag
Roar Rookie
This is V’landys in a nutshell! What fun has he got in store for us next? A ”ball up” instead of a scrum? 3 points for a goal from the sideline? How about a half-way tap instead of a 22 metre one? The whole problem is the cause of wrestling was never addressed – just the symptoms. When the 10 metre rule came in coaches first worked out cheap metres could be gained from the dummy halves. Eventually they worked out that quick play-the-balls can catch teams offside (which also led to lots of mistakes in the play-the-ball). Teams genuinely try to get onside and can’t, meaning the play-the-balls need to be slowed by the defence. A better idea would’ve been to experiment with going back to a 5 metre rule. Many would no doubt howl that they need more space to be creative. But I saw plenty of creativity under the 5 metre rule, and just playing the ball quickly and having defences back-peddling isn’t being creative….it’s just taking advantage of the rules! If we eliminate the NEED for wrestling, we eliminate that and the need for all of V’landy’s rule changes.
AJ Mithen
Expert
100%. The Rugby League Eye Test is a fantastic resource for League fans. Just the numbers and what they say, no agendas.
The Barry
Roar Guru
It’s an awesome website...
Heyou
Roar Rookie
I read that article with great interest and will most certainly go back to the link and have a read. Thanks
Albo
Roar Rookie
Spot on Max ! Warren Ryan must have nightmares about that decision to replace Roach & Sirro in that 89 GF !! :angry:
Mango Jack
Roar Guru
I don't disagree with the idea, Tiger, but this won't do anything to stop the injuries happening. It helps the team keep numbers on the field by adding more cannon fodder, but unless we find out why they are happening in the first place, and then put in place measures to reduce them, the problem will remain.
Jimmy
Guest
The rule changes will still allow for a very fast paced game, with plenty of fatigue. Allowing the players to recover slightly every 20 minutes for say a 2-5 minute on-field break would encourage an even more focused-attack and less injuries with poor technique due to fatigue
The Barry
Roar Guru
Check out the link to rugby league eye test that AJ provides in the article it categorically and objectively shows the game isn’t any quicker, albeit on a small sample size...
Honest Max
Roar Rookie
Agree. I’m not an NRL fan but used to be. The incessant need to speed the game up has undermined many qualities of the sport itself. The scrum is ridiculous - previously prized skills are no longer relevant. The game now resembles basketball whereby a team can get to the other hand and have a shot at points with every possession. Interchange hasn’t improved the sport one bit. The best game of league I’ve seen was when the Balmain coach made a mistake and replaced Roach and Sirro and brought on tackle machines to close the game out. When the game went into extra time this decision played a key role in Canberra winning in extra time. It’s a very different sport now. Sure, the players get paid more and they’re bigger, but don’t tell me it’s better. Interchange was the worst thing that happened to the sport.
Munro Mike
Roar Rookie
4 quarters.......fatigue to open up the game.........sounds familiar......next logical step....... Is he open to merging with the AFL? Perhaps the 2020-30s will see happen what didn't eventuate in the 1920-30s.
Heyou
Roar Rookie
You weren’t the only one with eyebrows raised. I’ve got so many ideas racing around in the top chamber after reading the article and comments that I need to stop thinking and start drinking phew!
Heyou
Roar Rookie
You make interesting points. Your interesting points make a great deal of sense to me. I’m gonna have to mull these ideas over. :thumbup:
Heyou
Roar Rookie
Wit is appreciated :laughing:
Heyou
Roar Rookie
You don’t see changes in the way the game is played having any impact on the number and type of injuries? I’m respectful of your opinion but i would like some evidence based information, because I perceive changes and want to know of any correlations. I may have a change of heart as this season goes on - that is entirely possible. I still would like evidence based data analysis. How hard can it be?Hmm I think I’ll start gathering data myself because that’s how this old brain works. I simply want to know.
Heyou
Roar Rookie
I’m basing my observations on the 2020 season plus the three rounds of this season. I’m not jerking my knee (It’s wrecked, flagged out, torn up and very painful and I don’t even play a contact sport unless you consider trying to chase the dog when she escaped) I’m looking for some good evidence that the modern RL game is not causing a rise in injuries to players. I’m watching, just as you are and seeing some differences, not all of them positive. I love this game warts and all, but that doesn’t stop me from asking questions and hoping for answers.
TIGER
Roar Rookie
A well-balanced piece btw, but in my opinion, the NRL has allowed TV to hijack the sport and it seems that nothing else matters except rating etc. Let's briefly address this injury issue. I agree that it's too early to arrive at a definitive conclusion and I note several very good suggestions (obvious only to Roar contributors), but my two cents on the subject is if the speed of the game is considered vital for 'entertainment purposes than let's not only have an 18th man but a 19th and 20th and unlimited. If your total squad is 30 and given quality decreases after about 20, there would be a natural reluctance to expand past say 20 so using more than say 20 would be unlikely but available if necessary. This would solve the injury issue such as the injury crisis like Cronulla and Canberra.
Hard Yards
Roar Rookie
It was a young Ray Warren with Keith Barnes as his side kick. There was also a schoolboys knockout comp played before the cup matches at Leichhardt Oval called the Amco Shield, which I’m sure was called by a guy called John Brennan. He was a fantastic caller. It was televised on Saturday morning. I remember he gave a kid called Peter Stirling from Patrician Brothers Fairfield (who won the inaugural shield) a big wrap suggesting he could assuredly go on to bigger things in the game. Sterlo was probably 15 at the time. To this day I still reckon the schoolboys were better to watch. They were clean - no shenanigans- and showed brilliant skills and speed.