Is this a sin binnable offence?

[I bleed Maroon]

I don't normally complain about the game going "soft". The last time I did was when the shoulder charge ban was first introduced. The punching ban pissed me off as well, but I sort of begrudgingly understood why it had to be done. If nothing else it set a bad example, and was just another cudgel for the media to belt the game with (Gallen vs. Myles, what a circus.)

But this? Really? this is deserving of being down to 12 men for 10 minutes? That was simply a good hit as recently as the early to mid 2000's. Surely a penalty is sufficient enough nowadays with the spotlight on concussion, but since it looked like a real solid hit, suddenly it's a sin that needs harsh action.

TL;DR the game has gone soft.

 

[Super Freak]

Sin bin offence? No.

Penalty? Yeah, I guess.

Lewis slipped at the last second, and first contact was with the shoulder and then there was contact with the head. They have been penalties for a while, but I don't think they should be.

 

[Xzei]

cracking shot thank andrew johns and thurston fr halves being a protected species

 

[ZTop]

Even Brad fittler was ripping off about it. It was a cracker shot

 

[Morkel]

Initial few angles of it I thought it was just a good shot. Looking at it a few more times, the fact he got his directly on the head is bad, being a near-shoulder-charge is worse. Regardless of whether we believe that shot was worth a binning, by the rules it was, 100%, and probably worth 2-3 weeks. The NRL explicitly stated that there is a duty of care to not hit other players in the head. Slipping or not, you go in for a big shot, you have to wear the consequences if it goes wrong. I'm siding with the refs on this one.

 

[Sproj]

Penalty absolutely but not a binning, Lewis clearly slipped after SuA was committed.

 

[Galah]

Nope

 

[Cult]

I like to compare how others would react if a Bronco did it. If it was TPJ or another Bronco it would be a sin bin and 2-4 weeks and NRL fans would be blowing up about how dirty he is and how the punishment wasn’t strong enough.

The Bulldogs lost their halfback for the game, so the sin bin was fair.

 

[Unbreakable]

I really don't like the message being sent by the NRL that if a player goes off for a HIA it's an automatic 10 in the bin. Lewis hit his head very hard on the ground, for all we know that's where the concussion occurred.

They're setting a very dangerous precedent.

What happens in the Grand Final if a player slips in to a tackle, cops an open handed slap from an opposing player and then hits his head on their knee and is knocked out cold? Is it 10 in the bin because of the 'high shot'?

 

[Big Pete]

The message I got was similar to Morkel's. If you're going to put on a big hit, you do so at your own risk and you have to make sure that you do everything possible to avoid the head. If Su'A actually went for the bread basket, it would have been crisis averted, but he was clearly aiming for the chest and since he didn't have enough control of himself he caused Lewis to miss the rest of the game.

I hope Lewis is OK, but it was a blessing in disguise for the Bulldogs. Not only did they receive a one man advantage, they also opened up their attack and Wakeham had a career game.

 

[Midean]

Not even a penalty. He slipped and fell into it, absolutely no intent from Su'a, send Lewis for a HIA, get another dude in to play the ball and carry on.
Game is a joke compared to what it once was.

 

[Midean]

Initial few angles of it I thought it was just a good shot. Looking at it a few more times, the fact he got his directly on the head is bad, being a near-shoulder-charge is worse. Regardless of whether we believe that shot was worth a binning, by the rules it was, 100%, and probably worth 2-3 weeks. The NRL explicitly stated that there is a duty of care to not hit other players in the head. Slipping or not, you go in for a big shot, you have to wear the consequences if it goes wrong. I'm siding with the refs on this one.

Huh? you have to take intent into account, and weather or not the tackler was going for the head or not.
No way was Su'a going for lewis's head, lewis slipped, his head got hit, shock horror, its going to happen in a contact sport at no fault of the tackler.
Hitting the head is going to happen in a contact sport, no matter the rules.
The only way to stop it, is to ban any tackles above the waist, good luck getting anyone to watch that.

Duty of care is one thing, unavoidable accidents in a contact sport is another and you cannot treat them the same.

 

[Midean]

The message I got was similar to Morkel's. If you're going to put on a big hit, you do so at your own risk and you have to make sure that you do everything possible to avoid the head. If Su'A actually went for the bread basket, it would have been crisis averted, but he was clearly aiming for the chest and since he didn't have enough control of himself he caused Lewis to miss the rest of the game.

I hope Lewis is OK, but it was a blessing in disguise for the Bulldogs. Not only did they receive a one man advantage, they also opened up their attack and Wakeham had a career game.

So basically, any tackle above the bread basket is a risk and potential binning? Time to coach all your players to dive headfirst at the tackler then i suppose?
What a fucking joke.
Also Su'a had complete control the entire time, so not sure where you get his lack of control from, the hit to Lewis head came directly from Lewis slipping at the absolute last second, and short of being Neo from the matrix, there was nothing Su'a could have done to avoid that hit in that short a time frame.
Again, contact sports come with risk, and outside of playing tag footy, people will cop head shots from time to time that are not malicious in nature and just a byproduct of two dudes running at each other full tilt.

 

[Big Pete]

So basically, any tackle above the bread basket is a risk and potential binning? Time to coach all your players to dive headfirst at the tackler then i suppose?
What a fucking joke.

That's where they should be tackling to begin with, but if you're going to go on with the velocity Su'A did then you have to accept the risk that it could come back and hurt you.

Try telling James Ackerman's family the game has gone soft.

 

[Midean]

That's where they should be tackling to begin with, but if you're going to go on with the velocity Su'A did then you have to accept the risk that it could come back and hurt you.

Try telling James Ackerman's family the game has gone soft.

Thats where they should be tackling? According to who?
Also, in regards to Ackerman, shit like this is bound to happen in contact sport, hell it even happens in non-contact sport, Phillip Hughes died from the EXACT same injury.

As sad as it is, its the risk that comes from a contact sport. There has been cases like with Aaron Mahoney who played country AFL who died from a heart attack from a completely legal tackle that just happened to hit him in the right spot to stop his heart.

As i said earlier, the only way to avoid these incidents, is to play touch footy.

 

[Big Pete]

Thats where they should be tackling? According to who?

That's where they're taught to tackle one on one.

 

[Midean]

That's where they're taught to tackle one on one.

Sure, but its not where they are "supposed" to tackle, its just an optimal tackle, you are not wrapping the ball up hitting them in the breadbasket for starters, and if you are a bigger guy, smashing a little guy, you can force errors hitting the ball/chest.
I was pissed off when they banned the shoulder charge, but i fully understand why they did, the same way they banned blindside hip bumps in AFL.
There are some tackles that come with much higher risk, like spear tackles and shoulder charges, but a front on chest tackle is not one of those high risk tackles, and the fact that the opposition player slipped is the sole reason there is a conversation being had.
Su'a should not even have been penalized for that shot.

 

[Big Pete]

Where we disagree is that you see it as this regular tackle that happens 100s of times each game. I see it as Su'A attempting a big shot which is far less common and it going awry. He didn't intend to take him high but because he committed to putting on a big hit it carried a far higher chance of going wrong which is what ended up happening.

If it was intentional, he'd be sitting out a lot longer than a week. It isn't his first charge and he's lucky his record isn't worse honestly.