Will the NRL follow through with crack down on playing the ball correctly?

FANS have applauded Todd Greenberg’s call that there will be a crackdown on players using their foot to play the ball. The only problem is, a similar promise was made two years ago.

TODD Greenberg has made a promise to fans this year.

Now let’s see him keep it — for the entire NRL season.

We are talking about the so-called “new” crackdown on players using their foot to play the ball.

So far most fans and critics have applauded Greenberg’s early call in the wake of the 14 penalties blown for play-the-ball indiscretions in last week’s trial between Melbourne and Newcastle.

But understandably there is also a certain amount of cynicism.

Most years, there is a similar promise of some sort of rule crackdown over the summer only to see it fall by the wayside a few weeks into the season.

Will the NRL stay consistent with this new crackdown?

In fact, this is a similar change Greenberg was telling us they were going to enforce at the start of 2016.

Greenberg came out spruiking at the time that players would have to show a “genuine attempt” to use their foot playing the ball.

How long did that last?

Fans became so frustrated last year that The Daily Telegraph decided to count correct play-the-balls in one game between South Sydney and Gold Coast.

We discovered players didn’t touch the ball with their foot in about two out of every three play-the-balls.

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And you are also entitled to ask what constitutes a “genuine attempt”.

You either use your foot, or you don’t.

It’s really not that hard.

In fact, it’s about the first rule every junior rugby league player has been taught when they take up the sport for more than 100 years.

But after a summer spent getting ready for another crackdown in light of a new memo that was sent to clubs before Christmas, surely no player or coach will have any reason to blow up when the much anticipated crackdown kicks off in earnest this weekend.

Sloppy play the balls have been a major irk for fans.

That is, of course, unless referees don’t end up enforcing it consistently.

And not just this weekend, but every game from here until the grand final.

This is where the NRL gets itself in a knot every year.

They promise consistency but when it gets too tough or controversial they go to water.

Like they did in 2016.

It’s all good to say at the start of the season that there is going to be crackdown.

But the real test will come when a game is on the line or later in the season when finals spots are up for grabs, and the pressure on referees is far greater than it is in trials.

Originally published as Will the NRL follow through with crack down on playing the ball correctly?