Round 12 - end of the crackdown

[McHunt]

Boxing and UFC are about to end then

Are players "employees" though, or are they self-employed contractors? WHS laws are different for each. I'm only familiar with construction where the Principal Contractor is ultimately responsible (though everyone has a duty of care to themselves and each other too) - I wonder how the law applies to a situation like the NRL.

They've clearly gotten advice that they need to "do more" to prevent head knocks, but at some point there is a residual risk. You will NEVER eliminate head injuries in rugby league. Similarly in construction, there are always residual risks and shit can always happen no matter how much work goes into risk assessment and control.

I'm not trying to give legal advice - I'm not qualified to do that - but the concept of a duty of care is pretty straightforward. If the NRL organizes a business that it knows implicitly carries a high risk of this nature, and it turns a blind eye to it or acts in a way that is knowingly inept, it certainly opens itself up to class litigation.

It's in the NRL's best interest to stay ahead of this knowledge curve, and that's what it's doing.

The more I think about what happened in the Magic Round, the less inclined I am to rail against what we've taken for granted as part of the spectacle, as disappointing as it's been.

If it's any consolation, when I was at school it was OK for teachers to physically punish and humiliate you in front of the class. The older I get the more I wish that on the youth of today.

 

[Big Del]

I'm not trying to give legal advice - I'm not qualified to do that - but the concept of a duty of care is pretty straightforward. If the NRL organizes a business that it knows implicitly carries a high risk of this nature, and it turns a blind eye to it or acts in a way that is knowingly inept, it certainly opens itself up to class litigation.

It's in the NRL's best interest to stay ahead of this knowledge curve, and that's what it's doing.

The more I think about what happened in the Magic Round, the less inclined I am to rail against what we've taken for granted as part of the spectacle, as disappointing as it's been.

If it's any consolation, when I was at school it was OK for teachers to physically punish and humiliate you in front of the class. The older I get the more I wish that on the youth of today.

Yep ! Hitting kids with black board rulers and threatening to throw kids off the 1st floor should never have gone away ...

 

[Big Del]

Oh and Steve Mortimer has early onset alzheimers he thinks its related to head knocks .

Kent: Mortimer’s diagnosis creates more heartache​

Steve Mortimer’s dementia revelation should be a wake-up call. Instead, concussion critics remain ignorant as the Players Association uses the debate to leverage other complaints against the NRL.

 

[Sproj]

Oh and Steve Mortimer has early onset alzheimers he thinks its related to head knocks .

Kent: Mortimer’s diagnosis creates more heartache​

Steve Mortimer’s dementia revelation should be a wake-up call. Instead, concussion critics remain ignorant as the Players Association uses the debate to leverage other complaints against the NRL.

Kent and his idiots all keep totally missing the point. Absolutely no one is against the crackdown, no one AT ALL.

The issue is the way it has been handled and the lack of communication before doing something that has fundamentally altered the way the game is played and has fundamentally screwed up some results. The issue is also with ignoring the reality a lot of head injuries are caused by going lower and tackling around hips. The rules on high shots are still the same, nothing has changed there, they have always been illegal. The problem is the one-sidedness of the officiating and the face the refs inconsistently police it now to the point of majorly disadvantaging a given team on a given day.

More consultancy and a more thought out implementation of the rules would likely have solved this problem.

 

[Big Del]

Kent and his idiots all keep totally missing the point. Absolutely no one is against the crackdown, no one AT ALL.

The issue is the way it has been handled and the lack of communication before doing something that has fundamentally altered the way the game is played and has fundamentally screwed up some results. The issue is also with ignoring the reality a lot of head injuries are caused by going lower and tackling around hips. The rules on high shots are still the same, nothing has changed there, they have always been illegal. The problem is the one-sidedness of the officiating and the face the refs inconsistently police it now to the point of majorly disadvantaging a given team on a given day.

More consultancy and a more thought out implementation of the rules would likely have solved this problem.

Your definition of absolutely no one is obviously different to mine ?
Players association + Phil Gould are very big voices in this space .

 

[Sproj]

Your definition of absolutely no one is obviously different to mine ?
Players association + Phil Gould are very big voices in this space .

They are not complaining about taking care of players, they are complaining about the fact they were not consulted and that it wasn't bought in during the pre-season. They are also complaining about the inconsistency of it and how much it is affecting one team and not the other during the game. These are legitimate issues.

 

[Nashy]

They are not complaining about taking care of players, they are complaining about the fact they were not consulted and that it wasn't bought in during the pre-season. They are also complaining about the inconsistency of it and how much it is affecting one team and not the other during the game. These are legitimate issues.

This sort of completely disregards the fact that the players aren't allowed to bag decisions by the refs for fear of fines. They're not allowed to give us their true feelings, so they're complaining as best they can under the rules they work under.

 

[BooKhaki]

If a penalty is not blown, and you stay on the ground holding your head, it needs to be a mandatory HIA.

What Laurie did last night was bullshit, and getting rid of these soccer efforts will be a help to ending the crackdown.

 

[scobie]

If a penalty is not blown, and you stay on the ground holding your head, it needs to be a mandatory HIA.

What Laurie did last night was bullshit, and getting rid of these soccer efforts will be a help to ending the crackdown.

The fact he made it so obvious is what really got me. And unfortunately once that kind of play acting gets into the game, it stays.

 

[something]

What do you guys think is the best way to manage HIAs?

Need to ensure players don't milk, and that there is a degree of safety.

Also, so that referees can't influence decisions too much

 

[Foordy]

What do you guys think is the best way to manage HIAs?

Need to ensure players don't milk, and that there is a degree of safety.

Also, so that referees can't influence decisions too much

pretty simple ... some stuff they do get right. others not so much.

here's how it should be handled.

• if a player fails to protect themselves when falling, loses consciousness or stumbles when getting up ... automatic HIA (they already do this)
• if a player stays down after contact to the head, automatic HIA (min 5 minutes) will seriously reduce the milking for a sin bin/penalty
• no more of these 30 second HIA (a HIA can't be performed that quickly), this is a rort to get a free interchange, plain and simple.

 

[BroncsFan]

pretty simple ... some stuff they do get right. others not so much.

here's how it should be handled.

• if a player fails to protect themselves when falling, loses consciousness or stumbles when getting up ... automatic HIA (they already do this)
• if a player stays down after contact to the head, automatic HIA (min 5 minutes) will seriously reduce the milking for a sin bin/penalty
• no more of these 30 second HIA (a HIA can't be performed that quickly), this is a rort to get a free interchange, plain and simple.

On the last one that isn't a HIA rort that is the free interchange that has been around for like 15yrs and comes into effect whenever a player is put on report for foul play... they can use it for crushers, late shots, etc.

Teams have just now realised how to rort it. I believe the storm may have started it, and it's probably because they've been rorting the HIA for so long already. It has also become more prevalent with the lessening of what goes on report nowadays... a love tap now goes on report, which automatically triggers a free interchange.

 

[BroncsFan]

What do you guys think is the best way to manage HIAs?

Need to ensure players don't milk, and that there is a degree of safety.

Also, so that referees can't influence decisions too much

If it's me then I'm making it that the player that comes on for the HIA has to be the player that comes off when the HIA is complete AND once the 15mins for the HIA is complete and the player has passed their HIA they must come back onto the field as soon as the opportunity arises (typically the next attacking set).

You also keep the rule that if a player goes off for a second HIA that's it and their night is done.

Under those rules the team looking to rort only gives the player at best a 15min break, but if they fail to abide by either of the above it counts as a normal interchange... to me it would not be worth the risk just to give one of your forwards a 15min break, especially if there is a risk that they cop a second legitimate head knock and their night is suddenly done.

I think it is basically a call back to the blood bin... where a player had to go off the field to get cuts, etc. sorted out and they would bring a temporary player onto the field... but once a player was fixed up they would come on for whoever subbed on.

The other thing you could do with that rule is reduce the time off the field... so instead of giving someone a 15min break, which might be beneficial for a guy like Jurbo who typically plays 80, you could bring it back to 5 or 10mins.

5 mins is **** all break if you're looking to rort and represents a bigger risk if you fail to abide by the above rules. It's also not that bad if a player legitimately has to come off for a HIA, but teams try to avoid it in order to keep their better players on the field.

You could also combo it up with the @Foordy suggestion that a player looking to take a dive has to go off for a 5min HIA. It would just become too much of a risk to take a dive for a penalty to then be off the field for 5mins, make sure you take the right person off when you're being subbed back on and also sub back on when they need to (i.e. in the next attacking set)... because if you don't you lose an interchange.

 

[Foordy]

**** has launched a tirade at the NRL because Feldt wasn't sent off for the hit on Murray here's what he said on NRL360:

“In regards to the crackdown, I think the NRL showed themselves as a gutless organisation last night,”

“Kyle Feldt hit Cameron Murray high and should have been have been straight off the field."

“In club football, three weeks ago he was being sent off. So for all this rubbish they carry on with that ‘we’ve got to be consistent’ – that is a shoulder into the face.

“And then they doubled down on how gutless they were because they charged him with a Grade I dangerous contact which showed that they thought they got it down at the lower end, which is a complete lie and a complete misrepresentation about what it’s all about.”

“We heard all of the tough talk about it before the game and as I said, it was gutless,” he added.

“It just showed that they’re not there, it’s all PR and spin and they’re weakening already. They want to try and change the game and they allow that to be a Grade I dangerous contact which ends in a fine. Like, seriously.”

James Hooper added:

“The crisis-merchants that had the whistleblowers ruining the spectacle clearly had an impact because it went the other way. They had to have been directed to put the whistle in the pocket.”

 

[Dash]

I've seen that replay probably 10 times now, did Feldt not whack him square in the shoulder blade? Am I blind?

 

[Aldo]

**** has launched a tirade at the NRL because Feldt wasn't sent off for the hit on Murray here's what he said on NRL360:

“In regards to the crackdown, I think the NRL showed themselves as a gutless organisation last night,”

“Kyle Feldt hit Cameron Murray high and should have been have been straight off the field."

“In club football, three weeks ago he was being sent off. So for all this rubbish they carry on with that ‘we’ve got to be consistent’ – that is a shoulder into the face.

“And then they doubled down on how gutless they were because they charged him with a Grade I dangerous contact which showed that they thought they got it down at the lower end, which is a complete lie and a complete misrepresentation about what it’s all about.”

“We heard all of the tough talk about it before the game and as I said, it was gutless,” he added.

“It just showed that they’re not there, it’s all PR and spin and they’re weakening already. They want to try and change the game and they allow that to be a Grade I dangerous contact which ends in a fine. Like, seriously.”

James Hooper added:

“The crisis-merchants that had the whistleblowers ruining the spectacle clearly had an impact because it went the other way. They had to have been directed to put the whistle in the pocket.”

"Crisis merchants"......is Hooper for real? **** that bloke can spit some shit. What a stupid fucking comment. How do these blokes have a job? The only job they are fit for is cleaning the toilets at the local curry house.

 

[Sproj]

"Crisis merchants"......is Hooper for real? **** that bloke can spit some shit. What a stupid fucking comment. How do these blokes have a job? The only job they are fit for is cleaning the toilets at the local curry house.

He is so unprofessional. In what other sporting code around the world do you have a highly prominent (unfortunately) media figure constantly having a go at the audience? In what other organisation do you have the moron in charge constantly attacking fans and insulting them?

Then they wonder why this when coupled with a product they have made almost unwatchable is losing fans in droves. Until these media idiots and the guy in charge are gotten rid of, this sport is in danger of killing itself. This is not an exaggeration as I know I’m not the only long term fan who can’t watch league these days.

Some of us can’t even be bothered watching origin because this sport has been absolutely ruined all because the idiot in charge sold the product cheaply to be exempt from scrutiny by these idiots and get like a two week jump on the AFL. Extremely short term gain for a potential slow and very, very painful death.

 

[Cult]

I'd change so many rules about this sport at the moment.
- 7 tackle sets can only be awarded if the defending team catches the ball on the full. They need to earn it.
- Suspensions are only for violent/really bad acts. A 1% of a a players salary fine would suffice for other illegal acts.
- Set restarts (if they really fucking need them) only occur inside the opposition half. Inside your own half you get to kick for touch.
- 5 minute sin bins need to be brought in
- Legs tackles to be considered like dominant tackles used to be, especially if they want to crack down on high tackles
- The Panthers have to play the ball with their feet at least half the time
- Blockers should be penalized every time. If they're not attempting to catch it's a penalty every time
- Attacking players shouldn't be able to help their team mate or "lend weight" if they're being pushed back into the goal/out of the field of play. That's pretty much an obstruction
- Players have to move forward when a tap is made, not when the ref blows his whistle (already a rule but they never care)
- Passes actually have to go backwards. There's too much grey area with the hands having to go backwards and it's always ruled differently
- Go back to the old stripping rule
- If a player is laying in the ruck, the defense can't move forward until the dummy half has picked up the ball
-Get rid of the scrum and kick off clock. They never use it anyway
- 2 point field goals are stupid

Off the field
- Home team commentators (especially on Fox)
- A luxury tax for clubs that actually earn money off the field. This would push clubs to be successful off the field or kill them, allowing for expansion to new markets
- Debutant compensation. A player who debuts for your club get's an extra 10% off the salary cap or something
- NRL Media taking priority over idiots like Hooper and Kent
- A trade and transfer window
- Proper rep weekends with 3 games for each team. QLD VS NSW, NZ VS Tonga or Samoa (or a joint team), QLD residents VS NSW residents, women's Origin etc.
- A proper reserve grade competition
- Attempt to take the name Rugby back as it's far more marketable and known worldwide