NRL 2021: High shot crackdown causing confusion for players
Ben Hunt says the inconsistent approach to how high tackles are dealt with during a game is leaving players guessing.
NRL
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Dragons skipper Ben Hunt says the new high tackle crackdown is struggling for consistency as the Red V count the cost of a brutal local derby that has seen their already depleted squad take another massive hit.
The Sharks left Kogarah with a gripping 13-12 win in golden point, but all the talk was on the head-high blitz as three more players were sent to the sin bin, while another eight were placed on report.
Paul Vaughan was the only Dragon sent to the bin for a glancing blow on Sharks centre Will Chambers, while Cronulla duo Josh Dugan and Mawene Hiroti spent 10 minutes off the field even though their tackles appeared more forceful.
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The stop-start nature of the contest frustrated the players, but Hunt was more concerned with the high tackle interpretations as the NRL tries to enforce black and white rules for a very grey area.
“You hear the ref and you think ‘geez, what now?’” he told NCA NewsWire.
“It’s a bit confusing out there because you’re guessing half the time.
“You hear a whistle and you don’t know if someone is going to be sent for 10 minutes, sent off or not sent at all. It’s pretty hard at the moment and I don’t actually know what to say about it because it’s pretty confusing for everyone.
“They are really enforcing these rules, and it’s up to the NRL to find consistency because we’re not there yet. They have to find a way to make it more consistent because to me, it feels like it’s all over the shop.”
Dragons coach Anthony Griffin fired up at the fact Hiroti wasn’t marched for his shot that knocked Cody Ramsey out of the game, pointing to the fact it would have been a send off under the interpretations at Magic Round.
And as Hunt says, simply putting a label on a tackle won’t clear up the confusion when every hit should be judged on its merits.
“As far as I know, if it’s a direct shot to the head then it’s 10, and then if they deem it’s direct with force then I think it’s meant to be sent for the game,” he replied when asked if he understood what constituted a sin bin.
“But how are any of our tackles not with force? You’re using force in every tackle you make and there were a few shots that seemed pretty forceful and direct to the head (against Cronulla).
“We lost Cody for the game but their player only spent 10 in the bin. It’s confusing.”
The crackdown has already seen the Red V hit hard with Josh McGuire, Mikaele Ravalawa, Tyrell Fuimaono and Tariq Sims suspended last week, and they have more concerns with three more players placed on report on Friday.
That’s on top of a shoulder injury to Matt Dufty, who could be joined in the casualty ward after St George Illawarra had three players fail their HIAs.
The setbacks come at a horrible time for the club who would have been banking on six competition points given they face the bottom three teams over the next three weeks.
“The first thing we’ve got to do is work out who’s available and then try to assemble a team. We’ve got to get on with life because this is rugby league and we’ve got to do a job, no matter who gets picked,” Hunt said.
“It’s frustrating, but we can’t make excuses because everyone has injuries and suspensions, so we just have to get on with life. Everyone who comes in just has to do their job.”
COACH GRATES AT ‘GLORIFIED GAME OF TOUCH FOOTBALL‘
Sharks caretaker coach Josh Hannay says rugby league is at risk of turning into a “glorified game of touch football” if the powerbrokers at NRL HQ don’t get the balance right when it comes to the stricter rules for high tackles.
Cronulla had five players put on report during their thrilling 13-12 golden point win over the Dragons on Friday night, with Josh Dugan and Mawene Hiroti both sent to the sin bin for making forceful contact to the head.
The debate around the crackdown has been fierce since the game took a stand during last week’s Magic Round, and it appears the NRL isn’t backing down to the public backlash.
The intentions are absolutely right, but the execution of the policy has left players, coaches and fans scratching their heads, with Dragons coach Anthony Griffin calling the punishments on Friday inconsistent to what we saw last week.
Simply telling someone to tackle lower isn’t going to magically make high tackles disappear, especially when increased fatigue is leading to sloppier decision making.
“I’m not against the crackdown at all, but we also need to understand that the players need to be recalibrated in terms of how we tackle,” Hannay said.
“They’ve been taught for a long time now about tackling over the football and stopping the football and trying to stop a player that way.
“To expect players to turn that switch off and now become a lower tackle – particularly now that the game is faster than it’s ever been – it’s a bit of a recipe for disaster in terms of a faster game with more fatigue.
“We’re trying to tell players overnight ‘listen, if you tackle high then we’re going to punish you harder than we’ve punished you in the history of the game’.
“It’s going to be a controversial part of our game week in, week out until we all wrap our heads around it that this is the new game, this is the new era and this is how it’s going to be officiated.”
Hannay says the onus is on coaches to alter tackling technique, but concedes it’s impossible to put a time frame on something that is ingrained in the modern player to limit offloads and quick play the balls by grappling high.
And even if the NRL achieves what they’ve set out to do, Hannay fears it’ll only create more problems as the game moves further away from the heavy collisions that make it such an enthralling contest.
“It’ll take as long as it takes. It’s going to come down to how they’re coached and how they’re taught and how we prepare them now,” he said.
“The issue for me is lower tackles are going to create an even faster game. I think we need to be really careful about this obsession with the speed of game.
“For every action there’s a reaction, and we need to make sure this game doesn’t become a glorified game of touch football.”
CONFUSION OVERSHADOWS GOLDEN MOMENT
The Dragons had Paul Vaughan sent to the bin for a high shot on Will Chambers, while the Sharks lost Josh Dugan and Mawene Hiroti.
Vaughan’s hit wouldn’t have been penalised a fortnight ago, but there was less debate in the shadows of half-time when Hiroti was marched for a high shot that knocked Cody Ramsey out of the game.
“It’s confusing. The tackle on Ramsey, if that had happened in Brisbane last weekend, then someone gets sent off,” Griffin said.
“As long as they’re consistent then everyone is happy, but as you saw tonight, it’s mass confusion as to what’s 10 minutes, what’s a send off and what’s a penalty.
“He can’t protect himself when he’s running with the ball like that. The kid had a whole body to tackle him, so if ever they look at a deliberate high shot that put (Cody) out of the game, that was it. It’s confusion.”
The fill-in Dragons fullback failed his HIA, sparking a mass reshuffle to a team that was already missing roughly $3 million in talent after last week’s suspensions and an untimely injury to speed machine Matt Dufty.
Fans may have been divided on the first two tackles, but no-one was complaining when Dugan was sent to the bin for belting Billy Burns across the nose with a tackle that should have seen him sent off.
There was more drama and confusion to come as Briton Nikora collected Jack Bird high with seven minutes to go but remained on the field. From the ensuing set, Vaughan stayed down and was awarded a penalty from in front after Teig Wilton was pinged for a crusher tackle.
Jack Bird levelled the scores at 12-12, but neither team could win it in regulation as Corey Norman sprayed two field-goal attempts in the final few minutes.
GOLDEN DRAMA
The high tackles overshadowed a low-quality match that was saved by a dramatic finish that saw Townsend go from villain to hero to win it in golden point.
The Sharks halfback had a horrible night as he dropped the ball three times and had two field goal attempts charged down, but the Townsville-bound playmaker found a way to win it at the same ground his right boot let him down against Canberra.
There are still huge issues at Cronulla, but at least Josh Hannay can finally celebrate his first win after enduring a horror few weeks in charge of a team that has shown very little since he took over from John Morris.
“He wasn’t perfect, but he’s the guy we’re going to go to in those moments,” Hannay said of his halfback.
INJURY CRISIS
The Dragons may struggle to name a 21-man squad for next week’s game against the Tigers after another horror night at Kogarah.
Already without the suspended quartet of Mikaele Ravalawa, Tariq Sims, Tyrell Fuimaono and Josh McGuire, the Red V are facing a crisis after Ramsey, Jaiyden Hunt and Max Feagai all failed their HIAs.
“There’s no one that’s in any real trouble. They’re all alert,” Griffin said.
To make matters worse, Vaughan, Poasa Faamausili and Josh Kerr are all on report.
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