By Nick Wright
Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf has called for an overhaul of the crackdown on high contact, believing if a player lies down in a bid to draw a penalty they must undergo a head injury assessment.
On the eve of round five the NRL warned referees would be instructed to deliver harsher penalties on contact to the head after they deemed a series of incidents the weekend prior should have drawn punishment.
Ray Stone and Isaiya Katoa react as the former is sent to the sin bin in the Dolphins’ triumph over the Gold Coast Titans.Credit: NRL Photos
What transpired was 12 dangerous high tackle charges being issued, with Woolf pointing out the same number had been dealt across the opening month of the season.
It led to a nearly three-minute answer from the first-year coach when asked for his thoughts on the issue.
Woolf confirmed the Dolphins chose not to contest Ray Stone’s one-match suspension due to what he saw as inconsistencies in the interpretations. Sea Eagles forward Corey Waddell was also given a grade two charge, but no sin bin occurred.
However, he highlighted how Titans skipper Tino Fa’asuamaleaui was sin binned in retrospect upon inspection after Felise Kaufusi did not lie down. Because of this, no penalty was awarded, and Woolf believed this was just one example of the problems emerging.
Josh Kerr also returned to his feet after a hit, which denied his side a shot at two points in front of the posts while leading 16-0, while Reece Robson (Cowboys) and Hudson Young (Raiders) were each charged with a grade one offence and escaped with a fine, but were sent to the sin bin.
The same charge was handed down to Seb Kris (Raiders), Adam Elliott (Knights), Jacob Preston (Bulldogs), Jaimin Jolliffe (Titans) and Billy Burns (Sharks) without them being forced off for 10 minutes.
“I think if you lie down in those situations you should have to go for a head knock assessment. I know as a coach, if we look at the Felise Kaufusi and Josh Kerr situations, we quite obviously don’t ask our players to lie down,” Woolf said.
“I don’t want them to lie down. But it’s hard for players not to do that if they see the reward as a penalty and a possible sin bin if you do lie down and draw more attention to the tackle.
“I know if one of my players lies down, and it’s a halfback or outside back and they have to leave for a head knock assessment, I’m certainly encouraging them not to do that again.
“I think what we’re encouraging is for players to lie down because they know they get a double reward if they do. They know it’s going to be looked at closer by the Bunker.”
Kristian Woolf
“I think we’ve created a bit of a mess and inconsistency around it. It’s certainly not the referees’ fault, but it’s something we’ve got to look at as a game so it’s not having the impact it is on players and the game in general.
“What the solution is, I’m not quite sure. I don’t think sin binning the way it is at the moment is the right solution because there’s just too much inconsistency there.”
Part of the NRL’s decision to stamp out high contact comes from a player welfare point of view, given the links to brain diseases such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
But Woolf stressed tackles occurring low had been every bit as guilty of triggering concussions.
“The fact is we play a game that’s really fast, things happen really quickly, things change really quickly and that means things can go wrong,” Woolf said.
“I don’t think trying to get everyone to tackle low is the answer. I haven’t got the evidence for this in terms of numbers, but my eyes tell me you get more of those serious concussions when people get a low tackle wrong.”
It was that situation which cost Broncos forward Brendan Piakura, who was stretchered from the field late in his side’s win against Wests Tigers in concerning scenes.
Brisbane star Ben Hunt confirmed Piakura was in good spirits, “bouncing around like nothing had even happened”, but coach MIchael Maguire would discuss tackling techniques with some players.
“It was a bit of a strange weekend with what the NRL are doing with high tackles. Madge probably isn’t happy about it, he’ll talk to some players who have some tendencies in their game, but it’s something to be aware of,” he said.
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