It should be an NRL September to remember... But why does it all seem so familiar?
Ah, September. The sun is shining and blossoms are blooming as we emerge blinking into the spring sunshine from our (thankfully) brief winter hibernation.…
Roar Guru
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Ah, September. The sun is shining and blossoms are blooming as we emerge blinking into the spring sunshine from our (thankfully) brief winter hibernation.…
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Anzac Day is sacred, making money out of it is not.
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.
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I don’t know what your first paragraph means. Go back to the live blog or the match report on the roar and highlight where I was howling about Nikora’s tackle being deliberate. I’ll offer a 100% gilded apology of you can find it
Nikora and May both flew out of the line at a player with the ball. Both hit the player after the ball was gone. Both jumped into the tackle and left their feet at the point of impact. Nikora hit Kikau in the head with his shoulder. May hit Walsh in the face with his head
Yeah, they’re so different that you can clearly call one an accident and the other 100% deliberate 😂
Game’s gone soft, huh? League's tough enough without dangerous incidents getting feather touch from judiciary
Yeah, I acknowledge it was ‘just’ clumsy wording… but some of the angst around this would have been negated if the ref had stuck to defining the foul play by the actual rules of the game, instead of making stuff up
Isn’t the refs duty of care? 😂
Game’s gone soft, huh? League's tough enough without dangerous incidents getting feather touch from judiciary
News that Piakura has limped off at training 🤢
Round 4 Team Lists Late Mail: Newcastle lose star to 'medical condition', Manly shuffle pack
News in that Piakura limped off at training
Round 4 Team Lists Late Mail: Newcastle lose star to 'medical condition', Manly shuffle pack
I agree completely. I didn’t like the duty to bend your back immediately afterwards because it doesn’t exist. The ref – more than anyone – should be using the laws of the game to explain decisions
I came around on what he was intending, but still don’t like it
The best hitters in the game hit under the ball not over it. It shouldn’t be that hard to clean up… if they want to
Game’s gone soft, huh? League's tough enough without dangerous incidents getting feather touch from judiciary
…and this week Trindall has to go (for Galvin)
Round 4 Team Lists Late Mail: Newcastle lose star to 'medical condition', Manly shuffle pack
For sure… every time league has needed to crack down on foul play, long suspensions has been the go
I’m sure there were “games gone soft” calls when Jim Comans stopped players getting king hit in the early 80s
That’s my concern with the current administration. They’ve clearly shown they want talent (product) on the field as much as possible. Short suspensions have become fines, long suspensions have become short and are the exception now
Game’s gone soft, huh? League's tough enough without dangerous incidents getting feather touch from judiciary
I’ve had some bad round 1 selections, some poor form issues, Leniu suspension, Haas and Luki injuries and now the Cleary and Tuaupiki injuries
I’ve still got Leniu and Luki in my team… haven’t been able to get them out yet
Round 4 Team Lists Late Mail: Newcastle lose star to 'medical condition', Manly shuffle pack
We can still have big hits without caving players heads in. If May had dropped his body height he would have absolutely folded Walsh. The hit would have been every bit as brutal and spectacular
Nothing will change because the MRC and judiciary (plus commentators) keep making excuses for poor technique and the administration has clearly shown they don’t want players off the field
Game’s gone soft, huh? League's tough enough without dangerous incidents getting feather touch from judiciary
I recoiled from that terminology of ‘duty to bend’ when it was first used. It’s not actually a very good description of what May did wrong. There’s no duty to bend. There’s a duty not to smash your opponent’s face in
It was silly for Sutton to use that when forceful, reckless, etc are in the actual rules of the game
But otherwise I agree. Jake Trbojevic hits as well as anyone in the game at the moment but always aims up under the ball and rarely gets it wrong. The upright over the ball technique that is coached into players is dangerous and often goes wrong
Game’s gone soft, huh? League's tough enough without dangerous incidents getting feather touch from judiciary
Saying Nikora was 100% deliberate is ridiculous. Every justification you apply to May’s tackle could be applied to Nikora’s… and vice versa. The only difference is shoulder to head contact versus head to head contact
Duty to bend was a silly statement for the ref to use but forceful, reckless contact wouldn’t have been
Foul play doesn’t have to be deliberate to be foul play
I’ve already said it was an accident. I think you need to slow down and read a bit more carefully. I’m not making an “intent argument” so not interested how much water you think it holds
Anyway, we agree it was an accident, but it was an accident caused by May’s poor technique and recklessness… as is most foul play
I’m not sure you can be objective on this one. I’m sure of this was say Jordan Riki on Nathan Cleary we’d be having a very different conversation…
Game’s gone soft, huh? League's tough enough without dangerous incidents getting feather touch from judiciary
This is the most horrendous season for SuperCoach in memory…
Round 4 Team Lists Late Mail: Newcastle lose star to 'medical condition', Manly shuffle pack
Those are impressive numbers. Is it throwing a young bloke to the wolves with how toxic the first grade squad seems at the moment?
Round 4 Team Lists Late Mail: Newcastle lose star to 'medical condition', Manly shuffle pack
I wouldn’t
I think it sends a strong message to the squad that it doesn’t matter who you are you have to win your spot back
Wilson is a talent, keeps scoring and has earned his place on merit. Tracey was unreal against the Titans, Protected Taaffe under the high ball and his kick returns were great. I don’t think Ciraldo will be ready to move Taaffe yet, but he’d be the one under most pressure for mine, with Tracey moving to fullback
Round 4 Team Lists Late Mail: Newcastle lose star to 'medical condition', Manly shuffle pack
I don’t think May did it on purpose either. Anyone that thinks a player would use his face to hit an opponent in the face while travelling at a combined speed of maybe 40kph is being silly
But how far does the “it was an accident” excuse go when you combine poor technique with reckless intent? Also, foul play doesn’t need to be deliberate. I don’t think Nikora hit Kikau in the head deliberately, but there’s no question it was foul play. Objectively why is May’s hit any different? Because he hit Walsh with a different part of the body?
I don’t want to crucify May, but with what we know about concussions now, we need to try and minimise this sort of stuff and have defenders change technique and lower their target height instead of charging in upright like he did
Game’s gone soft, huh? League's tough enough without dangerous incidents getting feather touch from judiciary
On your point 3. Something I’ve noticed recently, is it tends to be the more recently retired players who are more lax in their attitude to head knocks and with the “games gone soft, he can’t just disappear” commentary. I’ve noticed that players from the 70s , 80s and early 90s – who played in wild eras – a far less militant about the “games gone soft” rhetoric and more concerned about head trauma and concussions
Point 5. is a good one too. The NRL has taken payback out of the players hands so they have to be all over it. I think with their sanctions of some of these high shots are letting the players down
Game’s gone soft, huh? League's tough enough without dangerous incidents getting feather touch from judiciary
Yep agreed. Here guys are elite, highly tuned athletes. Mostly over 100kg and fast. It’s like a demolition derby using Ferraris
They hit each other with the impact of a car crash and do it over and over again
We don’t need to see guys getting their skulls busted for this to be a tough game played by tough players
Both May and Nikora’s tackles became high shots because of technique. Both of them had their target zone at or above tue ball and both were launching upwards at the point of impact. That technique isn’t necessary and is only a mm or two away from going wrong
I don’t think for a second that May’s tackle was deliberate. I doubt that anyone who suggests a player would launch their face into an opponents face has been near a footy field
But charging in bolt upright, neglecting his ‘duty to bend’ and then launching up and leaving the ground at the point of impact is the definition of reckless. I think we need to get to a place that when this terrible technique is used, it doesn’t matter whether contact is with the forearm, shoulder or head
Then you look at Nikora hitting Kikau straight in the head and only getting 10 minutes and two weeks and maybe the NRL has gone soft… on high tackles
It seems their preference is by cracking down on how clubs manage concussed player protocols as opposed to cracking down on the tackles that are the root cause…
Game’s gone soft, huh? League's tough enough without dangerous incidents getting feather touch from judiciary
Sorry, I didn’t mean you personally with that comment
A qualified, competent doctor examining and testing a patient over days is in a far better position to assess whether a concussion has been sustained than a qualified, competent doctor watching a couple of replays in a monitor and needing to make a call within 60 seconds
I’m assuming there’s some science between the gradings and subsequent stand downs…
NRL Round 3 Talking Points: Blowouts, bad bunnies, and bunker babies are back
Because a doctor looking at a monitor may be a reasonable control to ensure concussed players don’t take any further part in the game, but it’s not remotely reliable to test, monitor and assess
I didn’t think Walker particularly showed concussion symptoms to that the contact was that hard. I’m surprised people are zeroing in on that one as opposed to the Walsh incident
Far worse collision, far worse symptoms, yet the independent doctor didn’t seem to play a role at all. From reports the Broncos doctors cleared him of concussion and had him ready to return to the field
That incident raises far more questions about independent and club doctor roles than the Walker incident
NRL Round 3 Talking Points: Blowouts, bad bunnies, and bunker babies are back
Hot take – Norton street is a shadow of its former self…
NRL Round 3 Talking Points: Blowouts, bad bunnies, and bunker babies are back
As I wrote above, the initial grading is done by a doctor within minutes of the initial incident based off a tv monitor and no examination or testing of the player. It’s based on symptoms only
That’s the system and it provides soon be independence from the club doctors, but it’s clearly not the best or most accurate way to assess a head injury
I think it’s appropriate that there’s an appeal mechanism after the club has put the player through testing and can provide objective results that show the grading isn’t right. Clubs have to produce data and test results. It’s not just on the vibe…
NRL Round 3 Talking Points: Blowouts, bad bunnies, and bunker babies are back
Yeah “food trucks” used to be synonymous with quality, but it’s no guarantee any more
More often than not food truck translates to the local takeaway putting up a pop up gazebo…
NRL Round 3 Talking Points: Blowouts, bad bunnies, and bunker babies are back
The flip side is the atmosphere is brilliant and the fans are so close to the playing field
So there’s definitely pluses, but man it needs an upgrade. Unfortunately doesn’t seem like ground get upgrade money unless it’s a 200 million bulldoze and rebuild job…
NRL Round 3 Talking Points: Blowouts, bad bunnies, and bunker babies are back
I used to love Vossy. I love his passion for the game and respect his knowledge, but he needs to remember he’s calling a footy game and it’s not open mic night at the local pub’s comedy night
NRL Round 3 Talking Points: Blowouts, bad bunnies, and bunker babies are back
Me too… i might be borrowing players this week…
Round 4 Team Lists Late Mail: Newcastle lose star to 'medical condition', Manly shuffle pack