NRL to come down hard on intentional crusher tackles
The NRL’s competition committee has voted unanimously on harsher punishments for intentional crusher tackles in a bid to outlaw the dangerous maneuver from the game.
NRL
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Players who commit serious crusher tackles could be referred straight to the judiciary as the NRL clamps down on the dangerous tackle.
The NRL’s competition committee has recommended the match review committee rub intentional crusher tackles out of the game long-term. The move needs to be approved by the ARLC before it comes into play in the NRL but that could happen before the competition resumes after the representative round next week.
Newcastle’s Mitch Barnett was charged with a grade three dangerous contact offence on Melbourne’s Jahrome Hughes.
If the ARLC sign-off on the harsher penalty, it would mean Barnett would have been referred straight to the judiciary for a potentially significantly more suspension.
Cronulla’s Andrew Fifita was also hit with a crusher tackle charge.
Former Kangaroo Greg Alexander fears someone would end up with a broken neck if the tactic was not halted while ex-leading referee Greg McCallum has called for players to be sent-off.
Players may face harsher on-field sanctions. The competition committee backed the NRL’s continued stance on late tackles particularly on playmakers.
The committee — which includes Mal Meninga, Darren Lockyer, Paul Green, Clint Newton, John Lang, Graham Annesley, Todd Greenberg, Peter Beattie, Wayne Pearce and Peter V’landys — also recommended to the ARLC that no changes to the current interchange system should be made.
“On the evidence presented, there is simply not enough reason to change the number of interchanges now,” said Panthers coach Cleary. “We made the point last year that we wanted to defer until halfway through this year to make a decision based on the way the game is heading.
“Now that we have done that, we feel there is no need to make a change.”
The NRL reduced the number of interchanges from 10 to eight in 2015 and there had been a push to reduce that number to six.
NRL’s head of football Annesley said they were not “completely ruling out a reduction” in the future.
“It became clear that a change to the approach by match officials, as well as the shot clock for dropouts and scrums in 2019 had contributed to a change to the game which was the equivalent to a reduction of interchanges,” Annesley said.
A Rugby League Players Association survey found 73 per cent of players did not support a further reduction in interchange at this time.
Originally published as NRL to come down hard on intentional crusher tackles
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