The NRL says that introducing a 15-minute rating period for crushers similar to concussion protocols – as suggested by Raiders trainer Ricky Stuart to prevent injuries from being milked for punishment – “only opens the door to abuse of the exchange rule becomes”.
The NRL announced crackdown on crusher tackles earlier this week and it only took one game to raise the specter of players staying down for a penalty – one that Stuart describes as “widespread in the game”.
Eels coach Brad Arthur resisted suggestions Maika Sivo and Nathan Brown had deliberately kept in tackles that landed storm pair Cooper Johns and Albert Vete on Thursday night’s report of Parramatta’s win.
Johns and Vete were notable absenteeism on Friday’s indictment, but Eel Marata Niukora faces a week-long ban on his own crusher tackle against Tom Eishenhuth.
Game highlights: eels versus storm
Without going into the two incidents on Thursday, Stuart praised the NRL’s move to impose a separate breaker attack fee to stamp out the “very, very dangerous” attack technique.
However, in the same discussion, Stuart called for vigilance towards the players who milked the focus on breaker tackles for penalties and called for the same scoring protocols that were used in connection with concussions to stamp out that art of playing.
“However, we have to be very careful as we have a situation at the moment where a lot of attackers are also coming back on the defensive line,” said Stuart on Friday.
Cooper Johns has been reported for breaker tackles
“And we are now finding an exorbitant amount of penalties for players getting into that position.
“Yes, we have to eradicate the duel, but we also have to be very, very careful that the players turn it into a penalty because you have a short-term career for the players.”
“I think if there are concerns about a crusher tackle it should be like the HIA. A player is put off for 15 minutes to assess the injury. Because we don’t want a player to play with you.” Type of risk around the spine or neck.
“We don’t want to risk a player with the extent of this type of injury or injury.
“There are also accidents in the game and the last thing we need is for the players to milk a penalty because it’s so prevalent in the game and we need to get that out of it.”
But NRL soccer boss Graham Annesley told NRL.com on Friday that the introduction of such rules would only encourage teams to postpone the envelope in other ways.
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Players faking concussion symptoms to allow their side to freely swap has been a problem for the game since HIA protocols were introduced six years ago.
“It is extremely difficult for anyone other than a player who claims to be injured to know whether he is actually injured or not,” Annesley told NRL.com, emphasizing that he was speaking in general and not in relation to the eel. Storm clash.
“Referees are not doctors and certainly cannot tell a player that he is faking an injury.
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“… In general, the players have an ethical responsibility not to abuse the applicable rules for protection against injury.
“Proposals to get players to spend mandatory periods off the field of play when they claim to have been injured from this type of tackle only open the door to abuse of the exchange rule.
“The bottom line is that players always have a duty to take personal responsibility for their actions, as their own integrity and credibility are at stake.”
Proctor can play again in 2020
In the meantime, the NRL will warn Kevin Proctor and Shaun Johnson in writing of their public comments leading to Proctor’s trial for biting his Kiwi teammate.
A four-game ban on the incident was served on Proctor on Tuesday, while Justice Chairman Geoff Bellew issued a strong reprimand against Proctor, Johnson and Titan’s culture chief Mal Meninga for discussing the case on various media outlets.
At one point the NRL Integrity Unit considered punishing the players for potentially impairing Proctor’s hearing.
However, NRL.com anticipates the couple are likely to receive formal warnings from Rugby League Central about the comments.
It is unclear whether Meninga will be given the same caution after claiming Proctor “feared his life was in danger” when speaking as a panelist for the Fox League last Saturday.
