The NRL is “getting tough” on head knocks and concussions by ensuring the victims of high tackles and illegal play are taken out of the game.
Meanwhile, the guys dish the stuff out – and more importantly, the guys who dish it out – get hit with a feather duster.
It’s clear the NRL views suspensions as damaging its product. There’s a certain (flawed) logic to it. Short suspensions (1-2 weeks) have become fines. Mid-term suspensions (3-4 weeks) have become short and long-term suspensions (5 weeks +) only happen to nobody players from battling clubs.
I’m as old school (dinosaur) a fan as there is. I’d love it if head injuries weren’t a thing and we could see players with a wobbly boot, getting back up and making a heroic play two minutes later. I love the crime and retribution element of big men going hammer and tongs. I’d love to see games like Sunday’s Souths v Easts devolve into running brawls.
But I love footy more and that’s just not our reality anymore.
“Doctors and lawyers will ruin our game.” Maybe, but we’re making it pretty easy for them.
Peter V’Landys is nothing if not a politician. That was great for the NRL when we needed someone to deal with governments to get the game restarted through COVID-19. Unfortunately, most politicians are extremely short-term focused and that’s not what the game needs when dealing with head injuries.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
When league is hit with a class action from former players – and it will come – where will it get the millions (billions?) of dollars it’s going to need? I’m no lawyer, but I don’t imagine it would be terribly hard to establish how the NRL isn’t remotely meeting its duty of care in allowing illegal, brain-rattling play to go pretty much unpunished.
The head-in-the-sand attitude from some of our commentators isn’t helping either. Constant excuse making for the guy whose forearm or shoulder has just seen his opponent medi-cabbed off the field. “He can’t just disappear.” “It bounced up off the ball.” “The attacking player fell (2cm) into the tackle.”
There’s also an argument that this has always happened in league – and that’s a load of BS too. Tackle techniques have absolutely changed over the last few decades of footy.
Everyone in my generation was taught “first man in low, second over the top.”
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You could be forgiven for thinking the technique is now “first two launches in simultaneously over the top of the ball, third man in aim for the ribs and fourth man go for the knees.”
Aiming over the top of the ball is fine when it comes off. But it’s also a high-risk move. Head clashes with opponents and teammates are the first concern. Then we have the “it came up off the ball” and “he fell into it” issues. The objective of the game is to put your opponent on the ground. How is it a surprise every time an attacking player’s body height drops? How is it a surprise that a tackle aimed above the ball might bounce up off the ball?
You don’t have to defend that way. The best front-on defenders I’ve seen targeted below the ball and drove up into the ball carrier’s ribs. Trevor Gilmeister, David Gillespie, Ian Roberts, Dean Lance, Wally Fullerton-Smith, Wayne Pearce, and Peter Ryan never seemed to have this problem. Jake Trbojevic probably has the best technique of modern players and doesn’t need to hit high.
Ian Roberts (Anton Want/Getty Images)
“But they’ll get offloads away if we don’t wrap up the ball?” say the coaches. So flippin’ what? As if adding a less predictable, high-level skill that creates attacking opportunities wouldn’t be better for the fans. Just quietly, I haven’t seen too many players concerned with getting offloads away while Jurbo rearranges their rib cages.
But there’s no incentive to change. Coaches can coach their players to “wrap up the ball” with their high-risk upright tackling style. If a few stars get their heads scrambled in the process? Well, it’s a tough game. Always has been. Pay a fine and more of the same next week – for the defender.
If the game’s fair dinkum, players that are knocking their opponents out week after week need long stints on the sideline. We know that approach works. It’s worked before.
But it will take a leader to set that course, not a politician.
Hondo
Roar Rookie
In light of all the concussions in the NRL and the possible ramifications of those why hasn't the NRL made head gear compulsory for all league players at all levels. Some protection for the head of players surely would be better than none.
Griffo 09
Roar Rookie
That's true. I think I'm generally meaning contact to the head. Head hitting the ground also be dealt with in terms of dangerous tackles/throws. The jolting not caused by contact is something a little more difficult to deal with; however, dealing with the above matters would result in substantial risk reduction.
Chris
Guest
It’s not only tackles above the shoulder, that can be the cause of brain injuries. Just the hard jolting in general, from very hard tackles , head collisions, head hitting the ground . Those things all cause the brain to be shaken around hard , inside your skull.
Panthers
Guest
Yes, I felt very sorry for Mario Fenech , after seeing that prognosis about his health. No doubt there’s many , many more former players in that same boat as him now. Plus so many who would have passed away early over a long time , from the same brain related injuries. With them & their families never really knowing the real reason behind their early deaths.
Noosa Duck
Roar Rookie
Anecdotally, I reckon there’s heaps more head to head contact and defenders shoulder to attackers head contact (as opposed to the old coat hanger style high tackle where contact was made with the forearm) I take it Baz that you mean in the game to-day...I agree and as you stated about wrapping up the ball. You tackle a bloke hard enough around the legs he is going to the ground at a rapid rate and is not going to get a pass away anyway. What annoys me is that full force body contact bounces the brain around anyway and we really need to bring back the line distance to 5 metres if not 7. We have massive blokes running at each other from 10 metres. When they introduced the 10 metres we did not have as many huge specimens playing the game as we do to-day. Once upon a time a bloke at 17 Stone (100-108 kilo) was a big forward now we have players at 20 -22 stone (125-135 kilo) running full bore at each other. Solomona hits Keary with a (legit) full frontal tackle Keary brain is sure going to do some bouncing around inside his melon. It all adds up over a career in the game.
Westie
Guest
Murray was in a bad way against the Roosters. Could hardly get up, stumbled. No way was he alright at all. Yet now claiming that he was fine. What happens if one of these players dies on the field ? After stumbling around & then gets another hit.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Thanks mate - appreciate it…
AJ
Guest
Thanks for this piece, very good. So much negligence around this, the league, clubs, coaches and staff and gung ho commentators. Most people I speak to did not enjoy that game overall, despite there being some beautiful passing and tries. When one of these psychopaths really damages someone, they'll throw him under the bus and run for cover.
Daffyd
Roar Rookie
When my dad was at boarding school, one of the brothers carries a yard rule in his cassock and utilized for the slightest infraction. Students learnt to give him a wide berth. Amazing the lengths that people will go to to inflict pain. Hmmm... maybe just go straight to a cattle prod and use the left over tape for the handle?
Big Daddy
Roar Rookie
I suppose we should all watch the article on Mario Fenech on 9 which says because of head knocks he has the brain of an 80 year old person. Also Royce Simmons is suffering from dementia but the NRL still don't see the head knocks as an issue as they let a lot of these things be given a fine . It was on the agenda for a while but obviously their priorities have changed .
AJ Mithen
Expert
This is good gear Baz
Womblat
Guest
I think it only seems that way, Pomoz. Players who "go out to hurt" as their main motivation get weeded out real quick. I agree NAS and JWH trample the fine line but if they were truly malicious, and it could be proved, they would have been drummed out like your John Hopoates or Danny Williams or Bob Coopers of the world. The judiciary is weak but they aren't totally stupid. I have little love for either but NAS and JWH have been around ages and know exactly the fine line. And as brutal as they are, how many concussions have those two players caused this year? A tiny fraction of the whole number. They aren't an example that applies in this issue. There's no connection. Aggression doesn't equal concussion. I'd be prepared to try what you and TB suggest but it's only opinion that it would work. My firm opinion is it won't. Heavy contact will still be there and concussions will continue, probably worse than before because now you have to deal with knees instead of chests or try tackling Paulo with only one mate, or whatever. I see these "solutions" will not only miss their intent, but cause way more problems. The game will suffer, it'll be less watchable, heaps more stoppages, and a watered down version of already watered down beer. And by that stage winding it back will not be possible. We'll just agree to disagree.
JennyFromPenny
Guest
TheB, have you noticed, (has anyone noticed), that this was Magic Round in replay ? On report = 10 minutes sounds like a very recent change. There were players only the week getting told their tackle was on report, before marching back to their position. Wasn't the aftermath of Magic Round '21, that Annesley acknowledged the refs went overboard in binning every reportable offence ? Have they reintroduced what all and sundry previously howled down as overkill, including the NRL themselves ?
Pedro
Guest
I think we are on the same page. Stronger more consistent penalties around head contact would at least cause a rethink around tackling technique. It would alter the risk/reward equation which currently favours going in fairly upright. More offloads would be no bad thing.
JennyFromPenny
Guest
Noone has raised that this all could have been a one off, that players from both sides, misinterpretted the Taylan May decision. That you could no longer be suspended through the finals. It definitely had that feel to it for me. Come next week, May will have sat out two games since his verdict. Time done.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Yep. It’s all anecdotal but I think there are more high tackles and concussions than the old Wild West days of the early 80s. Suspensions are certainly much, much less
The Barry
Roar Guru
“It’s what the fans want…”
The Barry
Roar Guru
Haha… I don’t think the judiciary has studied under those nuns and aren’t wielding the feather duster with anywhere near the timing power and accuracy As an aside, when I was in infants school the head master had a thing called the “tail warmer”. It was a wooden paddle that he’d drilled holes into and covered with what looked like skateboard grip tape. When you got in trouble you bent over and got a few licks across the backside with the tail warmer What disturbed me about this years later was the amount of thought and effort he’d put into it. I can’t imagine it was department issued, like a cane (or a feather duster) So he’s started with a wooden paddle and at some stage thought “it’s not swinging through the air as fast as I’d like” and drilled some holes for aerodynamics. Then “it’s just not getting the purchase I need on those young backsides…eureka, grip tape” Who knows what his next innovation would have been…?
Daffyd
Roar Rookie
TB I'm curious... You said... the guys who dish it out – get hit with a feather duster. When I was in primary school the nuns dished it out to me with a feather duster. Twice. (The first was my second day of kindergarten because I didn't now how to tie up my shoe laces. (mum bought me the clarke's shoes with buckles the next day.) They would hold the feathered end and give six across the tail with the handle -- something like a Viv Richards square cut. I nearly threw up. If those fellas are really getting the feather duster delivered properly by nuns, they will be the best behaved players on the field. At least till second class :)
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
Superb. Perfect subject matter, eloquently expressed. Well done TB. I went out of my way to catch the Easts Souths game after the write-up here and it didn't disappoint but the game can't continue like that. It won't survive the class action suit certainly coming their way