News NRL to tackle ‘the wrestle’ on back of South Sydney demands

Spoonman84

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South Sydney officials descended on Rugby League Central late last year armed with a dossier of evidence, a series of recommendations and a fierce determination to rid the game of its greatest scourge — wrestling.

It appears the NRL may have finally taken heed. NRL head of football Graham Annesley confirmed to News Corp on Wednesday that the governing body had hired Scott Barker — the man who played a central role in piecing together Souths’s submission to the NRL — in a newly created role that will see him monitoring trends in the game.

The NRL was at pains to insist Barker would not focus solely on wrestling. Rather, he will be charged with analysing the game and providing data to management which will guide policy recommendations to combat any disturbing trends that may arise.



Cam Murray is gang tackle around the head by Storm players. Picture: Shane Myers/NRL Photos
The most disturbing in the eyes of many remains the wrestle and its growing influence in rugby league over the past 15 years.

Barker had been working as a consultant at the NRL, having formerly been Wayne Bennett’s right-hand man in Brisbane. When Bennett left the Broncos, so did Barker. Souths brought him on board last year for a short time as they pieced together a submission aimed at eradicating the spectre of wrestling.

In that role, Barker reviewed every tackle in the NRL last year and compiled a video package highlighting tackles that pushed the boundaries in their control of the head or neck. The tackles that formed part of their submission — there was more than 30 minutes of video evidence — came from across the NRL.

Far from being a bash-up of Melbourne, as many would suspect given the controversy that has often shadowed the Storm, Souths used examples from every club, including themselves.

Their submission also included a recommendation that the match review co-ordinator become a full-time employee — former Manly player Michael Robertson has since been appointed to the position — and that person, along with a current match official, watched games predominantly in close-up angles with a focus on the ruck.

Souths also urged the NRL to end the practice of sending concerning act notices to players, insisting that actions on the field be deemed either legal within the judiciary code or outside that realm.


South Sydney GM Shane Richardson wants the wrestle policed properly. Picture: AAP/Dean Lewins
The Rabbitohs’ submission called for greater education and a greater adherence to the judiciary code when it came to laying charges, and they notably included extracts from the judicial code referring to a tackler having the responsibility to “immediately release” a tackled player from a grip or hold around the neck or a pinning of the neck or head.

There was also a reference to jujitsu, using an extract from a prominent school describing how control of the head can be used as a lever for the entire torso.

“By twisting the head you cause your opponent great discomfort and severely compromise the mobility of his spine,” the website says. “As the head is the centre of a person’s physical awareness because it contains the brain and many of the major sense organs, it is very easy to distract and upset the rhythm of an opponent by interfering with their head.”

The NRL announced a series of judicial changes earlier this month including the live streaming of hearings, one of the recommendations in Souths’s submission.


Jujitsu instructor Marcelo Rezende has worked with an NRL team to combat rivals’ wrestling tactics. Picture: Mark Evans
Souths head of football Shane Richardson insisted no single club was the centre of their dealings with the NRL.

Rather, they looked across the length and breadth of the NRL as they reinforced their case.

“We decided to go with a proactive approach to the NRL to say that wrestling has to be decreased in the game,” Richardson said.

“Ninety per cent of the public are behind it. Rather than go along complaining about what has happened, we went along with some ideas … about how we could change the game for the better.

“We did it to change the game, not for the benefit of South Sydney. As a game, we are worried and concerned about concussion and we made changes because of that.

“In my opinion this is as big a blight on the game as that. We have to make sure that the head and neck are protected. People have to understand the pressure that is put on the head because of these techniques.


Graham Annesley confirmed the appointment of Barker. Picture: AAP/Joel Carrett
“It is not a part of our game. It is something that has come in the modern game. Keeping your hands away from the head has always been part of our culture.

“Now all of a sudden it is all right to put players in head locks and control their spine through rugby league. The referees might penalise them but very few charges are ever laid.

“We’re not asking them to change the rules. We’re asking them to enforce the rules because they are in there for a reason.”

Annesley added on the appointment of Barker: “We felt it was opportune to bring some club football knowledge in-house to help provide us with information on which to formulate our future policies.

“Scott has worked in clubland for many years in an analytical role and he is now working full-time for us in a similar capacity.

“So we can get the benefit of that knowledge.”

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...s/news-story/289e424e4e66fa355657bcbe8ad9d73b
 

Spoonman84

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What a load of shit this is! Its got nothing to do with Souths trying eradicate the wrestle it’s all to do with them trying to get a advantage for their powder puff pack and when it gets dominated Cook isn’t a factor!
 

Raysie

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LOL now Bennett wants to get rid of the wrestle, when he has the fastest and mobile pack in the comp!
 

sgodllubsti

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just old wayno having a sook and cry as he so often does these days
 

Scoooby

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More dribble from other clubs. Definitely yawn material..!!!
 

Bob dog

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Can we allow a club to change a tactic to suit its style?
Never seen wrestling as a previous problem, how do you get out of a tackle?
 

Alan79

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I'm in two minds about this. Wrestling tactics can often apply pressure to vulnerable joints and often lead to injury. And it needs to be stamped out.

Like everything I think it will be selectively policed. And it needs to be monitored whether there is a conflict of interest in having a Souths employee in the role. He might get into the habit of removing the occasional key player in the lead up to Souths games.

I miss the days when the rules of the game were simple and you could easily recognise why a penalty was given. These days it's getting harder to actually see why some penalties are awarded.
 

flamebouyant

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I cant believe that none of you think tgis is a good thing. Regardless of who instigated this it os a good thing for the game IMO.
 

Psycho Doggie

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What a load of shit this is! Its got nothing to do with Souths trying eradicate the wrestle it’s all to do with them trying to get a advantage for their powder puff pack and when it gets dominated Cook isn’t a factor!
Going to have to disagree on this one. The thing I'm disappointed about is that our club didn't step up on this first, get an expert on the books, submit a thorough report to the NRL. I've been wanting them to do so for years. Wrestling IS a blight on the game. Rewatch games from the late 90s, the play the balls are faster, the attack is more open. I recently rewatched the dogs V eels 98 game where we came from behind, it is so much better to watch because of the relative lack of wrestling compared to what we see now. And I say all of that without having even mentioned the enormous player safety issues.

We would be in a good position for a crackdown on wrestling, we have plenty of mobile forwards, Renouf, RFM, CHN, and Thompson, arguably the most mobile prop forward in the game right now, arriving at end of season.

Here is what our club can do. Firstly, back the push to do something about the blight of wrestling. Secondly, find their own experts to do a thorough report on the referees, get a fair-dinkum independent analysis done on why referees are struggling and why so many people are unhappy with them.
 

Psycho Doggie

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This is the PERFECT photo for this news story. The most noticeable thing in it is not what is happening to Cam Murray. Instead notice the grand master wrestler in the background, the Cam who deserves the full heat of a much needed inquiry into the blight of wrestling put on him, Cam Smith. There he is, about to do what he does 20 or 30 times a game, be 3rd or 4th into the tackle, and usually then the last one out of the tackle. If refs had been told 10 years ago to put a stop to Cam Smith lingering in any tackles in which he is 3rd or 4th man in, and penalise him for not getting out of the ruck as soon as the tackle was effective, I put it to you that the Storm would have been much less successful. Also, Cam Smith would not be wearing the label "best dummy half in history". At the very least a proper expert-led inquiry into wrestling will most certainly leave some major question marks over his legacy, which will hopefully dog him for all his post-player career.
 

Spoonman84

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Going to have to disagree on this one. The thing I'm disappointed about is that our club didn't step up on this first, get an expert on the books, submit a thorough report to the NRL. I've been wanting them to do so for years. Wrestling IS a blight on the game. Rewatch games from the late 90s, the play the balls are faster, the attack is more open. I recently rewatched the dogs V eels 98 game where we came from behind, it is so much better to watch because of the relative lack of wrestling compared to what we see now. And I say all of that without having even mentioned the enormous player safety issues.

We would be in a good position for a crackdown on wrestling, we have plenty of mobile forwards, Renouf, RFM, CHN, and Thompson, arguably the most mobile prop forward in the game right now, arriving at end of season.

Here is what our club can do. Firstly, back the push to do something about the blight of wrestling. Secondly, find their own experts to do a thorough report on the referees, get a fair-dinkum independent analysis done on why referees are struggling and why so many people are unhappy with them.
I don't disagree with you on getting rid of the wrestle. I'm more against Souths trying to act like they are saving the game from the wrestle .

If they were a strong wrestling team there's no way they'd be marching in there with their dossier of tackles.

The NRL have let it go on too long and the wrestle is ingrained into every player and I can't see any way they will get rid of it.

Refs will be blowing a hundred penalties a game and the NRL won't have to balls to continue the crackdown because no one will like the amount of penalties.
 

Psycho Doggie

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I don't disagree with you on getting rid of the wrestle. I'm more against Souths trying to act like they are saving the game from the wrestle .

If they were a strong wrestling team there's no way they'd be marching in there with their dossier of tackles.

The NRL have let it go on too long and the wrestle is ingrained into every player and I can't see any way they will get rid of it.

Refs will be blowing a hundred penalties a game and the NRL won't have to balls to continue the crackdown because no one will like the amount of penalties.
It will take effort, but I don't think it will be too difficult if done right. If you start out by giving the refs new instructions you are asking for trouble.

Instead, let the experts put together their case, with all the data, the examples, the vids/photos, etc. Compile it into a 1-2 hour presentation that logically and inarguably defines what the wrestling techniques are and why they are being banned. Then bring in all the coaches and their staff and plonk them in front of the presentation. At the end ask if anyone has any issues (aka "Was there something Craig?"), and then say that it is all agreed, we will commence crackdown on wrestling. Put in place an adjunct to the match review committee, the wrestling review committee. Players found to have engaged in wrestling techniques as defined in the presentation will be suspended.

THEN tell the refs about it, slowly, maybe 1 bit every month so they can keep up. The real change will come from the coaches and their staff, you have to get them onboard, kicking and screaming if need be.
 

Spoonman84

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It will take effort, but I don't think it will be too difficult if done right. If you start out by giving the refs new instructions you are asking for trouble.

Instead, let the experts put together their case, with all the data, the examples, the vids/photos, etc. Compile it into a 1-2 hour presentation that logically and inarguably defines what the wrestling techniques are and why they are being banned. Then bring in all the coaches and their staff and plonk them in front of the presentation. At the end ask if anyone has any issues (aka "Was there something Craig?"), and then say that it is all agreed, we will commence crackdown on wrestling. Put in place an adjunct to the match review committee, the wrestling review committee. Players found to have engaged in wrestling techniques as defined in the presentation will be suspended.

THEN tell the refs about it, slowly, maybe 1 bit every month so they can keep up. The real change will come from the coaches and their staff, you have to get them onboard, kicking and screaming if need be.
All that is good in theory but you'd get the likes of Bellamy nodding their heads and saying we won't do it then the first thing they'll do is look for ways around it.

The Storm started wrestling over a decade ago they have suspended players for it and it hasn't done a thing,

They have tried cracking down on it and it never works. You either end up with suspension list the size of a phone book or hundreds of penalties.

Then the media blow up about so many suspensions.

The only way the wrestle will go is when the game naturally evolves and it's not longer an advantage to do it. Who knows how long that will take.
 

Psycho Doggie

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All that is good in theory but you'd get the likes of Bellamy nodding their heads and saying we won't do it then the first thing they'll do is look for ways around it.

The Storm started wrestling over a decade ago they have suspended players for it and it hasn't done a thing,

They have tried cracking down on it and it never works. You either end up with suspension list the size of a phone book or hundreds of penalties.

Then the media blow up about so many suspensions.

The only way the wrestle will go is when the game naturally evolves and it's not longer an advantage to do it. Who knows how long that will take.
I get the natural evolution argument, and it has a lot going for it. But sometimes you have to push change, and I reckon there is a big appetite out there for this change. Additionally, RL as a game is showing signs of a slow death, and wrestling is one of the main issues that has it in a choke hold.
 

Tazer

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Fans of the Storm and Roosters excluded, I would imagine most people would be ecstatic to get rid of the wrestle as its an absolute blight. They did try and police the ruck in 2018 but all it resulted in was massive penalty counts....this is because coaches like Bellamy and Robbo are happy to give away penalties when their side is on the back foot. What they need to do is bring in a 5 minute sin bin for ruck/wrestling infringements....do this and watch the wrestling decrease overnight. Coaches can cop a huge penalty count if their defence is sound but they won't put up with a man down in the defensive line for long. The trick is that the refs can't back down...they need to bring it in and stick with it. Hands all over the ball carry's head in the tackle..............5 mins! Laying on the player for longer than 3 seconds.....5 mins! Would love it if they brought this in.
 

TwinTurbo

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As well as wrestling my pet hate is peeling, although it was supposedly outlawed a couple of years ago it's still prevalent. Even watching the WCC it was the most obvious difference between the teams, with the Chooks exploiting it continuously, much to the anger of the crowd who were screaming blue murder. Not to mention the StH players who were so frustrated I'm sure it contributed to some of their missed opportunities.

Go Dogs
 

MatstaDogg

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Fuck the wrestling, it ruined the game. The wrestling side of footy is so frustrating I wish it was never allowed from the get go.

Also, fuck South's....just because it's South's.
 

bradyk

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Not a fan of the wrestle. It just prevents fast play the balls which is where the NRL is most exciting (also will be able to respect the instinctual players more, e.g. Cody Walker, if it wasn't in the game). Also players pretend they're stuck in tackles as well as players locking in defenders (which creates those 50/50 calls we hate).
 

CrittaMagic69

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I cant believe that none of you think tgis is a good thing. Regardless of who instigated this it os a good thing for the game IMO.
Not two weeks out from the season lol
 

bradyk

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There was a NRL survey with questions regarding the wrestle and play the ball speed after last season (as well as multiple other things). Either not enough people were concerned or the NRL just sees the situation differently and doesn't want to revert. It's a bit silly it's coming up now two weeks before the season starts (literally too late to do anything now). Hopefully something the NRL can address for 2021.
 
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