The NRL is on track to more than double its record for the most sin bins in a round, after the game’s new edict saw Magic Round start amid farcical scenes.
Eight players were binned in the opening two games on Friday night, with Wests Tigers, Newcastle, Brisbane and Manly all having two expelled.
With six games to go, that number is well on track to surpass the record 14 players that were sin-binned in Round 11 in 2018 as the high in the NRL era.
The sudden rise has come as part of a two-pronged crackdown across the game.
Six players were sent on their way for professional fouls and ruck infringements on Friday night, while two Broncos were ejected for high shots.
The NRL are desperate to eradicate dangerous contact, after a surge in high tackles and players being charged for contact with the head this year.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Likewise, deliberate set restarts have become an issue, with the majority given away to slow the ruck early in sets.
But regardless, Knights coach Adam O’Brien insisted the sin bins were not the answer after his team’s 36-18 loss to the Tigers.
“We had a guy going off, thought it was really harsh, on the back of a couple in a row,” O’Brien said.
“And I reckon they had one go after about seven penalties in the second half.
“I don’t think that’s the answer, I don’t know (the solution). There’s blokes paid more than me that can figure that out.”
Broncos coach Kevin Walters, however, refused to blame the sin bin for the 50-6 drubbing at the hands of Manly.
In bizarre scenes, six separate Broncos incidents were put on report with Jordan Riki and Tyson Gamble pinged twice and Matt Lodge and Tevita Pangai once.
Riki and Gamble were also binned, with the former’s coming when he led with the head into Morgan Harper as he tried to bring him to the ground.
In fairness, the match was already over at 26-6 when the pair both went in the space of 40 seconds of each other.
“We were all aware of that (crackdown). Everyone was notified,” Walters said.
“We spoke about it during the week. Everybody got a hand out.
“We’ve got bigger problems. We have to look at ourselves… The referees don’t tick the scoreboard over.”
Meanwhile, Manly coach Des Hasler said teams simply had to respond to it, with both their sin-binnings meaning little as they came in the last minute.
“I think we’ll see a bit more of it over the weekend,” he said.
“It’s probably more the timing. The directive has come from the commission and they’re trying to run the game.
“And then you’ve got the other side of the coin. We’re trying to coach the game and players are trying to play the game.”
Bunney
Roar Rookie
I must have my Broncos glasses on, coz I can't see it as anything more than a penalty, move on.
criag
Roar Rookie
It's the way he runs. Even Trent Robinson said the guy who got sin-binned in magic round for the high hit on Teddy shouldn't have.
Paul
Roar Guru
Yep, it was a careless high tackle and that now warrants a report and 10 in the bin. Does it deserve a suspension - IMO probably not and all he'll cop is a fine, but down the track it will be interesting to see what sort of penalties a similar offence might incur.
Bunney
Roar Rookie
I'm dumbfounded by that charge Paul. Do you honestly believe that tackle was worthy of 10 in the bin and a week or two suspension??
Mr Right
Roar Rookie
EA, you make some good points but I truly believe this should have happened a long time ago. A lot of fans are really annoyed that it is happening but I think most fans would agree that it is is happening in May & not in September.
Mr Right
Roar Rookie
John, over the last 10 years players have rarely been sent off & defenders are getting more careless in making legitimate tackles. Junior Rugby League numbers have dropped away considerably. Would you place that in the category of relevance or coincidence?
Mr Right
Roar Rookie
Longer suspensions? Blah blah blah. A big forward can take out a star half back 5 minutes into a Grand Final & get a 4 week suspension instead of a 2 week suspension. It does not reduce the chance of you losing the game. He will replaced in the next 4 weeks of the new season & the offender’s team will most likely go onto win the Grand Final. Parents watching the game will see the incident & will be less likely to allow their kids to play the game at a junior level.
Mr Right
Roar Rookie
Didn't think he was injured? What sort of Neanderthal are you? Look at the bigger picture, the NRL is trying to curb over aggressive defence & increase long term player welfare. If a player gets up after the incident & stays on for another 2 mins but is then taken off due to not being stable on their legs & plays no further part in the game nor the next week. Which club has been more disadvantaged? Not for a moment am I advocating touch football. I have great memories of Martin Bella, Shane Webke & Glenn Lazarus charging forward for 15-20 metres & it taking 3 defenders to bring them down. I also have memories of a big runner named Daryl Brohman being brought down by a Les Boyd elbow breaking his jaw & being allowed to stay on the field! He was later suspended for 12 months. Explain the logic of that to me? Players knowing that violent incidents will result in them being sent off is the best way to avoid these incidents occurring. We might be different sort of footy fans Tim, but I don’t need to see a player throw his shoulder into an opposition player’s head to enjoy the game.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
I would prefer to see the player put on report and suspended for longer periods rather than reducing the game to a walkover and end in an Aussie Rules score. I have argued for longer suspensions before.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
Did they lose their player for the night? I didn't think he was injured.
Mr Right
Roar Rookie
Tim, I have seen so many times when an overly aggressive tackle slips high striking the ball carrier in the head & he is taken off with concussion. The penalty is awarded & the player is placed on report but continues to play. He is later charged & is suspended for 2 weeks. But he takes the early plea & gets 1 week. He freshens up for his return in a fortnight. Meanwhile the other team loses their player for the night & the player takes a week or two to recover. I ask you, which team has been disadvantaged the most by this violent act? Our game should be 70% brilliance, 30% bestiality not the opposite. Our great game doesn't need to be that aggressive to enjoy it & attract big crowds.
Timnaik O'Shaughnessy
Roar Rookie
So anything suspiciously or presumptively high (dangerous) will be sin-binned and time wasting in the ruck will also be carded. Right out of the rugby union playbook. Goodness me.
mach4
Roar Rookie
Wish I could give you 10 more thumbs up.
Paul
Roar Guru
"you ruffian"
Paul
Roar Guru
it certainly sounds like a reasonable compromise. A dominant tackle only means the tackler has a few more seconds to get off, so while that type of play the ball would be a tad slower, it should not mean guys take forever to get off the ball carrier, If they do, they get 10 in the bin, as we've seen this round
MUCK
Guest
Yep , its time to start bending your back again boys instead of running into each other like mating walruses. Trevor Gillmeisters fee just went up as a tackling coach .
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
Make a low tackle a dominant tackle and high tackles would disappear as the only other tackler would be to wrap up the ball and there isn't much time for that to happen. The tackled play can't stand up until the tackler is standing in position. It doesn't fit PVL's obsession to make the game faster but it would make it better by reducing high tackles altogether.
LeftRight
Guest
You & your mate are 100% correct. The now very commonplace incidence of head clashes is directly caused by "modern" tackling techniques (or total lack of them). The ball carrier and 2 or 3 defenders now collide in upright positions & consequently clash heads, oftentimes injuring the defender for God's sake! One day soon any tackle above the shoulders or maybe hips will be illegal irrespective if an injury is caused or not (like AFL has always been). Players & coaches just need to get on board or exit the game.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
Muck gave us the solution. Encourage tackling around the legs by making it a dominant tackle. Allow the tackler to stand up and get into place before the tackled player can stand up and play the ball. This rewards low tackling and the second tackler would stop a player passing as he goes down intercept the rare pass as the tackled player is falling. The speed up the game fans would complain but apart from PVL there wouldn't be many.
MUCK
Guest
A mate and I have harped on and whinged to each other for easily ten years but about theres no reward for tackling around the legs one on one. It was not considered a "dominant " tackle , whatever that is and would result in a quick play the ball as the tackler would be penalised if they held on for a second . This was when they started to wrap the ball up with two or three tacklers up higher , wrestling the player more than tackling the player. For some reason this style would be allowed to hold the player for longer than a round the legs one on one tackle . We , my mate and I have always thought this was why there were so many hits to the head either directly or by arms bouncing or sliding up and it just seemed so obvious that by letting players who tackle low one on one to hold the player down a little longer until there was a marker in place the high shots would start to disappear. Like how tackles used to be . Simple right ? But for some reason its never discussed. The high shots and wrestle and cannon balls etc etc all came about by taking away the time a low tackler could hold on for . It started with all this dominant , surrender bull crud . Now my prediction is next week we will see more head knocks from players trying to tackle low and putting their heads in the wrong place because none of them know how to tackle correctly because theyve never been trained to because theres no benifit , its actually a detriment to their defence to tackle one on one , its crazy .Apart from Victor Radley how many players could or do consistently make a one on one tackle ? How often do we ever see a classic one on one low tackle cutting a player down or in half ? Almost never . Why , because they have to instantly let go and theres a quick play the ball , scoot from dummy half and a loss of 20m. Change this and high shots halve overnight.