Protecting the Player and Duty of Care

[True Blue]

I cannot help but feel that if the shoe was on the other foot and a bulldog hit McInnes in the head while making a tackle, that player would have at least been sent to the bin.

There is such a thing as "Duty of Care" and a defender has an obligation to exercise reasonable care in making a tackle. McInnes was 3rd man into a tackle (which had already slowed Poasa down significantly. He came in for a tackle in an "upright" position and met Poasa's head on with his head collecting Poasa and resulting in him leaving the game after only 2 minutes.

Surely there is a case to be answered here. Was it necessary for McInnes to complete the tackle.....perhaps. But was it necessary for him to do so in a dangerous upright position? I strongly believe that there is a case for the MRC at the very least in charging him with a dangerous tackle and I have seen this done in other matches, but this was simply blatant and unnecessary.

Any views out there?

 

[Hansta]

It was an unfortunate accident. Case closed it happens. James Graham used to do this countless times

 

[rexest]

It was an unfortunate accident. Case closed it happens. James Graham used to do this countless times

stfu

 

[Hansta]

stfu

Ijja the biggest niff nuff of them all. Yallah manoosh run

 

[True Blue]

It was an unfortunate accident. Case closed it happens. James Graham used to do this countless times

Yeah Hansta I understand where you are coming from, but it could have been avoided and will continue to happen unless some action is taken.

 

[Hound Dog]

Yeah Hansta I understand where you are coming from, but it could have been avoided and will continue to happen unless some action is taken.

The game's continually evolving, I hate the chopping and changing from the NRL admin side but if they're serious about the head stuff, then something like what McInnes done was the easiest case for them to apply a previous ruling as a precedent. (The 2022 Finucane dangerous attempt contact -head clash, 2 match suspension).

Ref and support crew should of easily identified it, match review might do jack all so they don't look like the ref screwed up on a tough topic. Or use a different angle/approach but that contact could've been avoided easily by McInnes. We can say it's too late and blah blah but the fact of the matter is we lost our starting prop from the first hitup (and posession)

 

[B-Train]

It was an accidental head clash... If we were defending and our player was penalised, binned or suspended for that, then we'd all be losing our minds.

 

[Hound Dog]

It was an accidental head clash... If we were defending and our player was penalised, binned or suspended for that, then we'd all be losing our minds.

I love the doggies but I try be as impartial as possible with that sorta stuff. At least be consistent in 'protecting the players'. Accidents happen but even accidents get penalised if they're avoidable.
Is what it is, I was salty about that tackle though, to me it needed a please explain or at least do something about it for the future.

Dogs put it an effort minus a starting prop, 16v17 after the first hitup

 

[B-Train]

I love the doggies but I try be as impartial as possible with that sorta stuff. At least be consistent in 'protecting the players'. Accidents happen but even accidents get penalised if they're avoidable.
Is what it is, I was salty about that tackle though, to me it needed a please explain or at least do something about it for the future.

Dogs put it an effort minus a starting prop, 16v17 after the first hitup

It was an unfortunate play but nothing can be done about it. We had lots to complain about with the Kikau no try, the Mutilano try, Taaffe getting taken out mid air, Kikau called for a high shot when there was no contact etc. But this incident isn't on that list in my opinion..

 

[Dogs4eva13]

I don’t think a sin bin or judiciary is necessary it was an accident, however I was shocked it wasn’t a penalty. Clearly high contact to the head.

 

[Chris Harding]

The game's continually evolving, I hate the chopping and changing from the NRL admin side but if they're serious about the head stuff, then something like what McInnes done was the easiest case for them to apply a previous ruling as a precedent. (The 2022 Finucane dangerous attempt contact -head clash, 2 match suspension).

Ref and support crew should of easily identified it, match review might do jack all so they don't look like the ref screwed up on a tough topic. Or use a different angle/approach but that contact could've been avoided easily by McInnes. We can say it's too late and blah blah but the fact of the matter is we lost our starting prop from the first hitup (and posession)

And let's not forget that the Nikora hit on Kickau would have been a send off if, say, Preston had done it to Mcinnes.

 

[DinkumDog]

It was an accidental head clash... If we were defending and our player was penalised, binned or suspended for that, then we'd all be losing our minds.

Yep - same as if the Kikau disallowed try thing happened to the Sharks - that’d be fair game on TK

 

[Dogs4eva13]

The game's continually evolving, I hate the chopping and changing from the NRL admin side but if they're serious about the head stuff, then something like what McInnes done was the easiest case for them to apply a previous ruling as a precedent. (The 2022 Finucane dangerous attempt contact -head clash, 2 match suspension).

Ref and support crew should of easily identified it, match review might do jack all so they don't look like the ref screwed up on a tough topic. Or use a different angle/approach but that contact could've been avoided easily by McInnes. We can say it's too late and blah blah but the fact of the matter is we lost our starting prop from the first hitup (and posession)

It was deemed Cat 1 so I guess that means he will also means he will miss the titans game.

 

[maroondog72]

Accidents are going to happen in collision sports and this was an accident. Having said that the NRL fundamentally changed tackling techniques in their obsession to speed up the ruck,So these incidents are going to get worse. This generation of players have all been taught to tackle first contact around the ball in an effort to wrestle to the ground and control the PBS.Player welfare has nothing to do with it, it’s all about making the product a better spectacle on television.

 

[Harry Oz]

Accidents are going to happen in collision sports and this was an accident. Having said that the NRL fundamentally changed tackling techniques in their obsession to speed up the ruck,So these incidents are going to get worse. This generation of players have all been taught to tackle first contact around the ball in an effort to wrestle to the ground and control the PBS.Player welfare has nothing to do with it, it’s all about making the product a better spectacle on television.

The NRL has an audience development department to make the game attractive to broadcasters, gamblers and fans. Which is always helped by speeding up the game and making sure there is plenty of aggression and violence.
The audience development department loves explosive contact on hit ups. It is Rugby League's key marketing asset. You see it in ads the same as Bathurst 500 ads have car crashes.
NRL also has a legal department which advises on the game's compliance with duty of care, negligence law, WHS etc.

It's a simple accounting calculation:
How much money is generated by having dangerous or risky play, to protect the brand asset of violent player contact, compared with how much money would it cost the NRL if they were proven negligent in continuing to allow such risks?
It will probably be a few years before the type of tackle McKinnon engaged in is dealt with by the NRL.
But this is obviously a technique coaches are training their players to use to counter hit ups.
Over time there will be more and more head clashes like this.
Eventually the lawyers will say it is time to deal with.
But a few more heads need to be smashed in first.

 

[Untamed]

It's a collision sport & sometimes accidents happen. The 10 metre rule & obsession of speeding up the game makes collisions worse. Unfortunately most times, it's defenders getting knocked out.

 

[maroondog72]

The NRL has an audience development department to make the game attractive to broadcasters, gamblers and fans. Which is always helped by speeding up the game and making sure there is plenty of aggression and violence.
The audience development department loves explosive contact on hit ups. It is Rugby League's key marketing asset. You see it in ads the same as Bathurst 500 ads have car crashes.
NRL also has a legal department which advises on the game's compliance with duty of care, negligence law, WHS etc.

It's a simple accounting calculation:
How much money is generated by having dangerous or risky play, to protect the brand asset of violent player contact, compared with how much money would it cost the NRL if they were proven negligent in continuing to allow such risks?
It will probably be a few years before the type of tackle McKinnon engaged in is dealt with by the NRL.
But this is obviously a technique coaches are training their players to use to counter hit ups.
Over time there will be more and more head clashes like this.
Eventually the lawyers will say it is time to deal with.
But a few more heads need to be smashed in first.

Nice post mate. These issues aren’t just confined to the NRL though it’s happening all the way down to post Mod rules juniors games. More and more games are starting to resemble a UFC bout with the amount of splits cuts and head injury from head clashes etc than a game of football and that is being reflected in participation numbers across the code.

 

[dogluva]

It's a collision sport & sometimes accidents happen. The 10 metre rule & obsession of speeding up the game makes collisions worse. Unfortunately most times, it's defenders getting knocked out.

Ironically the new rules involving short drop outs no longer being a penalty in front of the posts if they go wrong, was meant to stop players getting a full head of steam up on the return...

 

[Axel_75]

I think with "kick off's", the days are numbered. If the NRL is serious about minimising concussion, then they will look to change how we restart play. The guy taking the ball up is on a hiding to nothing. They might look at Rugby and make the restart a drop out (at least this would make each restart more of a contest) or an optional tap on the 20m.
I agree with the guy who posted this thread. There was serious contact with the head (accident or not), it should have been a penalty as a minimum.

 

[wendog33]

Ironically the new rules involving short drop outs no longer being a penalty in front of the posts if they go wrong, was meant to stop players getting a full head of steam up on the return...

Yes and now there's more players crashing into each other in a melee of players contesting for the ball.