Opinion Has the NRL moved the goal posts?

[chisdog]

Graham Annesley in particular since the high tackle crackdown has said that if a player has fallen a foot in a split second it doesn't matter, the onus is on the tackler not to hit the player with the ball in the head. Now he is saying different.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/mor...-over-bunker-blunder/ar-AALgfXR?ocid=msedgntp

NRL's damning admission over bunker blunder

The NRL has conceded the decision to sin bin North Queensland's Reece Robson in the dying minutes of Friday's match against the Sharks was the wrong call.


Robson was sin-binned in the 77th minute, after collecting Cronulla's Aiden Tolman around the head, although most felt that the contact was unavoidable as Tolman was falling, leaving Robson no time to adjust.

Referee Peter Gough sent Robson to the sin bin, describing the tackle as "careless."

However when the match review committee met after the match, Robson wasn't charged for the tackle.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1405825717628149763

"It was certainly a case where the bunker's intervention and the decision to send the player to the sin bin wasn't warranted," said the NRL's head of football, Graham Annesley.

"This is a very different type of tackle to most tackles that we see that will result in a sin bin or even a send off.

"Robson approached Tolman almost with his back parallel to the ground, he was bent at the waist, he had both arms outstretched and looked as though he was intending to tackle Tolman around the waist if Tolman had still been upright."

Annesley pointed out the mitigating circumstances around the tackle meant no fault could be attributed to Robson.


"Is it reasonable to expect that Robson could have done anything more to avoid the outcome of that tackle? I think the answer to that is 'No'.

"I have no problem with the MRC (match review committee) deciding not to proceed with that tackle, it is very different to most high contact that we see.

"Going forward, we would like to see that type of tackle not (resulting in) disciplinary action against the player concerned."

© Getty Reece Robson of the Cowboys is sent to the Sin Bin during the round 15 NRL match between the North Queensland Cowboys and the Cronulla Sharks at QCB Stadium, on June 18, 2021, in Townsville, Australia. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
Annesley said the referees have "very detailed" instructions about what constitutes a dangerous tackle, guidelines that he says have been further refined over the weekend.

"It's impossible to cater for every eventuality that might take place during the course of a game," he said.

"We're going through an adjustment period. The players are going through an adjustment period, the match officials are going through an adjustment period as well.

"What we're trying to do is make nuanced changes to how they deal with these things in the hope of getting more of them right.

"We'll still get debates, but what we have to do is get the referees and bunker officials on the same page."

 

[chisdog]

If this is the case, I feel really sorry for Hetherington last week, who could do nothing to avoid getting sent off.

Is this because of what Trent Robinson said? Why are they taking notice now so many weeks & suspensions/fines later?

This is just more corruption of the game. If you are going to move the goal posts you need to let everybody know, so the referees don't send off / sin bin players unnecessarily & clubs can challenge decisions that were incorrect.

Geez the NRL leadership is a mess!

 

[Caveman]

It's a farce!

I reckon the reason old mate who took katoa out on the weekend didn't get binned because Eels already had one in the bin, and it would be "unfair".

Bulldogs should sue nrl for not taking care of their players when they procedures in place to address these things and chose not to.

Maybe we can start a go fund me page to sue the nrl for being pricks in general.

 

[D0GMATIC]

Its ridiculous, a defender can have already created momentum to a legally tackle a player who is coming toward him, the attacker then slips or ducks just prior to contact, its impossible for a defender to automatically adjust and stop his arm that was on target to hit the ball or chest. Just like when commentators say of a decoy runner or someone in the ruck "he can't just disappear" nor can the tacklers momentum disappear. It might look easy enough in slow motion, but physics doesn't work in slow mo

 

[D0GMATIC]

It's a farce!

I reckon the reason old mate who took katoa out on the weekend didn't get binned because Eels already had one in the bin, and it would be "unfair".

Bulldogs should sue nrl for not taking care of their players when they procedures in place to address these things and chose not to.

Maybe we can start a go fund me page to sue the nrl for being pricks in general.

The nrl need to come out and say "we got this one wrong" .changing the interpretation mid season was doomed to failure . Particularly when statistics suggest 70% of concussions come from players tackling low and having their head in the wrong position,they aren't even really addressing the concussion issue properly.
The Nrl are still working out their policing and punishment of changes they made , And yet they gave players no time to adjust the tackling styles they have had since they were kids.

 

[Dogs4eva13]

Gloss has def come off Vlandys, my guess is he will leave at end of the season while he can still claim to be a success. Longer he stays more obvious how shit he is.

 

[Scoooby]

It’s corrupt, as I’m sure we are very aware of!!

 

[Typical dog]

How the fuck didn't Nathan brown get binned???
Katoa didn't even come back on

 

[MatstaDogg]

How the fuck didn't Nathan brown get binned???
Katoa didn't even come back on

The question we have all been asking. It's become a league of cherry picked decisions on behalf of the refs. Between the binning and non binning of players to the frustrating 6 again restart rule, which 90% of the time no one knows what it is for and easily manipulated to advantage teams, it is just a shit show of a product now. I love rugby league but I absolutely hate what the game has become today. If it wasn't for my love of the Bulldogs, I could quite easily walk away from the NRL in general.

 

[D0GMATIC]

The refereeing is so unpredictable and inconsistent now, its ridiculous

 

[SPEARTAKVIDREFS]

I just wish the NRL imploded and from the ashes a new league would rise.
Hate to see people lose their jobs but FMD, in the space of 2 years the game has turned into a joke.
Spoke to a bloke that walked out of the Broncos mid game last weekend and said he wont be re-newing his membership after many years.
Made it clear wasnt because they're sitting down the bottom of the table, just said hes fed up with the reffing and he made the point no fan regardless of who they support want to see constant thrashings.
It will be very interesting seeing membership numbers a month into 2022.

 

[alchemist]

NRL considering changing kick off rules in an attempt to stop blowouts

NRL considering changing kick-off rules in an attempt to stop blowouts

NRL considering changing kick-off rules in an attempt to stop blowouts

www.foxsports.com.au

keep telling yourself you know better than the fans as to what they want and see where you end up

 

[chisdog]

Confirmed - goal posts have moved. Was there any other players from the weekend who could have challenged this?

Ravalawa banned for four matches; Taukeiaho cleared

Dragons winger Miakele Ravalawa has been banned for four matches after unsuccessfully challenging a shoulder charge citation while Roosters prop Siosiua Taukeiaho has been cleared of a grade one careless high tackle for his shot on Nathan Cleary in round 15.

www.nrl.com

I am getting so sick of these inconsistencies. If you are going to change things at the very least tell everybody. Now it's as if there is one rule for the Roosters & another for everybody else. I guess time will tell the next time Tedesco gets hit in the head, probably on Sunday!

 

[chisdog]

I'm just watching a replay of NRL 360. Paul Kent has previously been saying that any contact to the head needs to go. All of a sudden he is talking about accidents. Is there collusion here between the journalists, the NRL & Trent Robinson?

All we want is consistency & if you move the goal posts tell everybody beforehand & not when it suits a favoured club!

 

[habs]

Graham Annesley in particular since the high tackle crackdown has said that if a player has fallen a foot in a split second it doesn't matter, the onus is on the tackler not to hit the player with the ball in the head. Now he is saying different.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/mor...-over-bunker-blunder/ar-AALgfXR?ocid=msedgntp

NRL's damning admission over bunker blunder

View attachment 25607The NRL has conceded the decision to sin bin North Queensland's Reece Robson in the dying minutes of Friday's match against the Sharks was the wrong call.


Robson was sin-binned in the 77th minute, after collecting Cronulla's Aiden Tolman around the head, although most felt that the contact was unavoidable as Tolman was falling, leaving Robson no time to adjust.

Referee Peter Gough sent Robson to the sin bin, describing the tackle as "careless."

However when the match review committee met after the match, Robson wasn't charged for the tackle.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1405825717628149763

"It was certainly a case where the bunker's intervention and the decision to send the player to the sin bin wasn't warranted," said the NRL's head of football, Graham Annesley.

"This is a very different type of tackle to most tackles that we see that will result in a sin bin or even a send off.

"Robson approached Tolman almost with his back parallel to the ground, he was bent at the waist, he had both arms outstretched and looked as though he was intending to tackle Tolman around the waist if Tolman had still been upright."

Annesley pointed out the mitigating circumstances around the tackle meant no fault could be attributed to Robson.


"Is it reasonable to expect that Robson could have done anything more to avoid the outcome of that tackle? I think the answer to that is 'No'.

"I have no problem with the MRC (match review committee) deciding not to proceed with that tackle, it is very different to most high contact that we see.

"Going forward, we would like to see that type of tackle not (resulting in) disciplinary action against the player concerned."

[emoji767] Getty Reece Robson of the Cowboys is sent to the Sin Bin during the round 15 NRL match between the North Queensland Cowboys and the Cronulla Sharks at QCB Stadium, on June 18, 2021, in Townsville, Australia. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
Annesley said the referees have "very detailed" instructions about what constitutes a dangerous tackle, guidelines that he says have been further refined over the weekend.

"It's impossible to cater for every eventuality that might take place during the course of a game," he said.

"We're going through an adjustment period. The players are going through an adjustment period, the match officials are going through an adjustment period as well.

"What we're trying to do is make nuanced changes to how they deal with these things in the hope of getting more of them right.

"We'll still get debates, but what we have to do is get the referees and bunker officials on the same page."

Just say it was wrong you spinner.

 

[gbrussell]

Moving the goal posts on a regular basis is an NRL specially. It's because they have NFI.

 

[B-Train]

I'm just watching a replay of NRL 360. Paul Kent has previously been saying that any contact to the head needs to go. All of a sudden he is talking about accidents. Is there collusion here between the journalists, the NRL & Trent Robinson?

All we want is consistency & if you move the goal posts tell everybody beforehand & not when it suits a favoured club!

There's definitely collusion between the Fox media and the NRL. They all passionately defend every stupid decision V'landys makes, even if as you point out they completely contradict what they were saying just weeks ago. Whereas they wouldn't stop hammering Greenberg until he was fired.

I wish they were as relentless towards V'landys because as bad as Greenberg was, V'landys has been twenty times worse and is completely changing the sport in the space of a year.

But clearly that won't happen as they have an obvious agenda and V'landys either has them scared or in his back pocket. He's a politician that will keep making horrible decisions to save his own ass instead of admitting to a mistake.

 

[gbrussell]

When Super League came along in 1996, the team who scored kicked off. This gave them field position and the opportunity to create a turnover of possession without having to work their way out of their own red zone.

 

[senshidog]

The problem is that the NRL have created so many rules these days, they have created convolution and contradiction in areas.

The old addage of "keep it simple stupid" needs to be brought back into the NRL, because we are talking about incidents that happen and are reviewed in split seconds.

If a player runs into defence and drops to his knees, does that mean it's an instant sin bin and penalty if he's hit high, because if so we will see coaches instruct players to start doing that (assuming they aren't already).

Rules don't create clarity, they create the ability for coachs to effectively cheat by instructing players to leverage the rules and benefit from them.

The NRL need to sit back and regress a stack of their rules. The game is a contact sport and as long as there is onus and duty of care to wipe out the majority of dangerous actions, some things are going to need to slide for the betterment and future of the game.

Bring back the shoulder charge, but heavily penalise DIRECT contact with the head or neck for any tackle. Keep the rules for things like crusher, attacking the legs, and spear tackles, and tackles when a player is in the air. Get rid of the ability for any defenders to crowd / decoy run to protect a kicker contesting the ball. Get rid of scrums.

Hey presto, the games instantly more exciting.

 

[gbrussell]

The problem is that the NRL have created so many rules these days, they have created convolution and contradiction in areas.

The old addage of "keep it simple stupid" needs to be brought back into the NRL, because we are talking about incidents that happen and are reviewed in split seconds.

If a player runs into defence and drops to his knees, does that mean it's an instant sin bin and penalty if he's hit high, because if so we will see coaches instruct players to start doing that (assuming they aren't already).

Rules don't create clarity, they create the ability for coachs to effectively cheat by instructing players to leverage the rules and benefit from them.

The NRL need to sit back and regress a stack of their rules. The game is a contact sport and as long as there is onus and duty of care to wipe out the majority of dangerous actions, some things are going to need to slide for the betterment and future of the game.

Bring back the shoulder charge, but heavily penalise DIRECT contact with the head or neck for any tackle. Keep the rules for things like crusher, attacking the legs, and spear tackles, and tackles when a player is in the air. Get rid of the ability for any defenders to crowd / decoy run to protect a kicker contesting the ball. Get rid of scrums.

Hey presto, the games instantly more exciting.

Great post.

Because we have NRL administrators who have never worked for a club either as a coach, player or in club admin, we have as a collective now running the game who lack an understanding of how the game is really played.

This is the worst admin in my 60+ years combined as fan, player, referee and coach.

A clean out is needed and people put in the ARLC who understand the game and not make knee jerk decisions that either give the game a better image or make the game faster and more spectacular.

It is a gladiatorial game and as such accidents do happen but some of the sin bins and ultimately suspensions have been ridiculous and dare I say it inconsistent.

There is a lot wrong with the game at the moment. Fans aren't watching games played by other teams if you believe what people on this forum are saying. Which I do.

The current admin won't be the ones fixing it however because they don't understand how wrong they are.

GET NEW PEOPLE ON THE ARLC WHO HAVE A BETTER KNOWLEDGE OF THE BLOODY GAME.