Vote: Should the NRL scrap kick-offs to protect players from concussion? David Riccio and Brent Read go head-to-head

After a dramatic Anzac Day clash that saw Dragons star Moses Suli concussed just seconds into the game, debate has begun raging over whether the NRL should scrap the kick-off. VOTE in our poll and have your say.

Moses Suli went off for a HIA from the kick-off tackle. Picture: NRL Photos

After a dramatic Anzac Day clash that saw Dragons star Moses Suli concussed just seconds into the game, debate has been raging over whether the NRL should scrap the kick-off. DAVID RICCIO and BRENT READ go head-to-head.

DON’T CHANGE IT

—David Riccio

I’m all for protecting the safety and welfare of players from concussion.

But hopefully the decision makers at NRL HQ can separate fact from hysteria.

Granted one concussion in the game is one too many.

But the facts are these.

Just 3.4 per cent of all concussions last season were from a collision following a kick-off.

In other words, 96.6 per cent of head knocks came from various other areas of the game.

By scrapping all kick-offs to protect players from situations like we saw on Anzac Day when Dragons centre Moses Suli was knocked out attempting to stop Roosters hardman Jared Waerea-Hargreaves on kick-return, is to change the entire fabric of the game.

Moses Suli went off for a HIA from the kick-off tackle. Picture: NRL Photos

Once we get rid of kick-offs, what is next?

Will the game then also ban 110kg wingers returning the ball at full-pelt after the opposition has kicked down field?

You can set your watch to exactly where the discussion will go next.

I appreciate the debate, as the safety of players is paramount.

But stick to the facts and let’s work on an alternative to diminishing the 3.4 per cent of kick-off concussions.

Heavy policing and the instructing of better tackling techniques is where it must start.

CHANGE IT

—Brent Read

The kick-off - at least as we know it - is on borrowed time. Just like the shoulder charge, it is about to become a victim of rugby league’s bid to keep litigation at bay.

St George Illawarra centre Moses Suli’s devastating KO on Anzac Day only added weight to the argument that rugby league’s traditionalists are losing.

Most of us love watching big blokes take the ball from the kickoff and hurtle into the defensive line with little care for their own health.

Poasa Faamausili was ruled out just seconds into the Bulldogs Round 2 match against the Sharks after a head clash off the kick-off. Picture: Getty Images

It’s spectacular but it’s also becoming a recipe for disaster, just like the shoulder charge was before its demise. I vividly remember arguing against a ban on the shoulder charge when it was being contemplated by the NRL.

It was an argument I and many others lost. To be honest, I don’t miss it either. Despite protests about stripping away the fabric of the game, the kickoff will go down a similar path.

The traditionalists will throw their hands in the air and declare that rugby league is on death’s door. They’ll suggest that rugby league is losing its way.

The realists among us will accept that it is inevitable. It’s certainly better than the alternative - losing millions, and potentially billions, in a legal stoush.

The game will move on. It always has. It always will.

Originally published as Vote: Should the NRL scrap kick-offs to protect players from concussion? David Riccio and Brent Read go head-to-head