Have David Smith and Paul Gallen Ruined State of Origin ?

[Mr Fourex]

The so called whinging soccer-mums where all quick to attack, like it or not are the future of the game, dont know how many of you have attended kids training sessions (assuming you have kids playing the game), but these sessions are packed with mums who easily out number the dads. A mother decides what her child plays, we may think we have a say but its the mums taking them to traing/games etc and as much as i l;ike most of us here miss the origin fight, unfortunately its a thing of the past.

Juniors play with all kind of different rules that are tailored to their age.

So why not play the mandatory one punch you're off rule, only in the juniors .....?

It was knee jerk reaction made by someone who doesn't understand our game for anything other than it being just another financial commodity.

 

[Nashy]

I think for the most part, what you're describing as dangerous is the street fight......where a person who gets hit usually falls and hits something pretty hard like concrete or bitumen. The chances of someone dying on the footy field from a punch are about as high as mine are of winning lotto.

and add to that nearly 9/10 punches usually miss their mark ...... it's a massive over reaction by making it a mandatory sin bin.

At some point the human race needs to put it's caveman thinking to bed. This is a good start.

 

[Mr Fourex]

At some point the human race needs to put it's caveman thinking to bed. This is a good start.

RL would be closer to the "caveman" end of the spectrum as opposed to the book worm end. It's a physical, contact sport where emotions and adrenaline run high. It's based on gladiatorial behaviour in it's rawest form.

It's something to consider when we actually look at the game we're talking about.

 

[Brett]

RL would be closer to the "caveman" end of the spectrum as opposed to the book worm end. It's a physical, contact sport where emotions and adrenaline run high. It's based on gladiatorial behaviour in it's rawest form.

It's something to consider when we actually look at the game we're talking about.

I think you're missing the point.

I think Maynard said it best:

It'll take a lot more than words and guns
A whole lot more than riches and muscle
The hands of the many must join as one
And together we'll cross the river

 

[CaptainHook]

I love this whole push of "we have to bring back the biff to stop the niggle"

Here's an idea. The refs could do their ****ing jobs and penalise the niggling shot out of the game. But hey the useless pricks can't even count to 6 effectively so we better not give them too much responsibility.

And to expand on that, they were frustrated because the refs outright refused to penalise the bull**** cheap shots. With each one being ignored by the refs, the players each just got worse and worse, both sides feeling that they're being hard done by by the refs when their opponents get away with it. So they either keep going and going until the ref blows the whistle, or they take matters in to their own hands and punch on.

I think these comments are dead on and cut right to the heart of the matter. The problem with the "one punch, you're off" mandate is that it has opened to door for every other grubby act to be let go. The Tamou forearm in Game 2 was only a penalty because Myles reacted and it stopped play. It should have been penalised immediately. Penalise all dog acts and they'll stop doing it. If that means blowing a few early penalties both ways then so be it.

I don't mind players being passionate, but they don't need to act out like boys who can't control their tempers. That's the point.

The game doesn't need biff and players should be able to control their tempers like grown men playing a professional sport.

I like this point. I think it's a side effect of QLD's enormous success over the last 8 years. NSW are/were under pressure to break the drought so they'll resort to any low act they can. Whether it's Ricky Stuart blatantly trying to influence the ref with some of his comments on the eve of the decider of 2011 or the dog shots by Gallen in Game 1 of last year. Acts of desperate men trying to stop the rot for their team.

If a forearm (that won't be penalised) or punch is going to the give a team the slightest bit of advantage, more often than not, they're going to take it. I don't necessarily agree with it but it is what it is.