Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson has called on the NRL to practice what they preach after the game vowed to crack down on dangerous contact but failed to do so in their 31-18 loss to Parramatta.
Just two days ago, the NRL sent an email to clubs and officials encouraging the use of the sin bin and calling for minimal tolerance for avoidable contact with the head or neck.
The edict came out of concern for players suffering injuries from foul play, but acted as the most unfortunate prediction for Friday night’s controversy at Bankwest Stadium.
Eels stars Dylan Brown and Marata Niukore were both allowed to stay on the field despite two incidents of foul play that is now set to cost them time on the sidelines.
Brown’s sliding knees in a tackle sent Roosters half Drew Hutchison to hospital with broken ribs and a possible punctured lung, while Niukore was put on report for two shoulder charges within a minute.
Niukore’s hit on Sam Walker was late, before a shoulder charge on James Tedesco caught the Roosters skipper in the head – yet he still wasn’t sin-binned.
“(The NRL) came out sternly this week, and obviously not,” Robinson said.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
“Don’t send a letter and then not back it up.
“That incident (with Brown and Hutchison) wasn’t good enough from the Bunker and the referees.”
Brown’s dangerous contact with Hutchison happened just before halftime but, bizarrely, wasn’t placed on report until after the break.
Robinson fumed at the response time, with around 20 minutes passing between the incident and the decision to put Brown on report, which gave the Roosters a free interchange for foul play.
“There was no action whatsoever on the field,” Robinson said.
“We couldn’t even replace Drew with a free interchange because it wasn’t even on report at that stage.
“They looked at it ten times and they couldn’t find anything.
“And then, they had all of halftime and we run out on the field and they say, ‘It’s on report now’.
“They could have told us ten minutes in, so I could have changed them in the dressing room.
“But they told us as we were running out on the field, so I had to make a split-second change as soon as we ran out on the field. It’s ridiculous. That’s incompetent.”
Robinson said he will not ask the NRL for a ‘please explain’ because they should already be concerned about the flaws in the system.
“They don’t need me to ask the question, they should be looking at it themselves,” he said.
“How does it take 20 minutes to put someone on report, or to get that information to me when they had a lot of looks at it.
“They should have put it on report on field, really simply.
“Honestly, how many looks did they need?
“It’s just poor.”
Watda
Guest
It will take the whole 30 players plus to buy in....won’t happen overnight so patience will be needed.
Hard Yards
Roar Rookie
Deliberate foul play, whether to the head or not, should have one consequence: go enjoy your new job as an Uber driver. Brown's knee to Hutchison was intentional and despicable. Bugger off .
Rossi
Roar Rookie
He's right, they've let JWH keep leading with his elbows and Crighton and Radley continue to hit high; need to stop em eh Robbo!
Big Mig
Roar Rookie
The NRL is doing it’s job. They said a few weeks back that they would crack down on “high shots” Dylan Brown’s shot was a “low shot”, knee to the ribs, no contact to the head, therefore cannot be considered high, so nothing to review for the Bunker. Move on (add “sarcasm’ emoji)
mushi
Roar Guru
They warned them (many weren't cynical either they were silly at 3rd or 4th tackle) but then the "sin bin" event was post the double foul play. So Cecchin by then had already decided the only people getting a rest were the wounded.
Aiden
Guest
The he NRL is immature when it comes to head injuries it’s that simple. Culturally that is. They have all the rules but don’t apply them. They are more interested in policing marginal knock ons that offer no advantage than they are looking after player welfare.
Jason
Roar Rookie
I'm no fan of how the Roosters operate and tbh the officials also didn't back up the crackdown on cynical 6 again tactics that the Roosters employed during the game. That said, he is 100% correct and both of those Parramatta players should have been sent off. The thing stopping them is the media and other influential people busting out the idea that it would 'ruin the game'.
kk
Roar Pro
I am in awe of the 'Bondi Wall.' The courage was limitless. Cronulla sure got lucky having Craig Fitzgibbon sign as coach. Can they develop the same brand of courage and skill?
In brief
Guest
Zero protection for players in league ..
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
Fair enough assessment. I thought Robo was quite measured, but it appeared that the system and officials were off their meds that night. Shambolic. Getting word about a report that late is unacceptable.
Kerry Hanson
Guest
The NRL has become a joke .