thebigredv
First Grade
- Messages
- 5,407
Spit-balling here. Just interested in others' thoughts. I'm looking into a crystal ball and can see something like this happening way down the road.
If I'm a league player I'm grateful for the measures taken by the NRL commission to protect the heads and legs of players. Each year more and more science points to the sad and dire consequences of head trauma of contact sport. I don't ignore this and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone.
And yet.
Boxing is a worldwide sport.
UFC is a growing sport.
Those athletes would sign waivers to pursuit that sport which brings them joy and freedom.
I have interest in neither but that hard rugby league we grew up with was brilliant. Was it really that barbaric? When you see Sloan getting penalised for an honest, front on, arms in try-saving tackle you have to wonder where that game has gone. I remember Paul Vaughan copping 10 for a feathery brush across a falling Shark player's nose last year in a farcical exchange. There are several examples of softness and horrible inconsistencies that are ruining the game and sparking fury in fan bases. I'm not going to list them here but not even one round and a couple trials in and its already a talking point.
Players like Hunt and Mitchell have spoken out against the way the game is going, making rules to add speed to the game but not allowing any unintentional contact with legs or head. It's a contact sport that requires the greatest amount of anaerobic fitness. Inconsequential acts continue to be unfairly penalised and it will cost a grand final win one day.
The thing is, and I honestly believe this in a world of greed, player welfare is not really at the heart of this but litigation. Fear of future lawsuits and lost revenue is what are determining these changes that have muddied the way the game is played and adjudicated on.
If I'm an outsider I'm watching Rava steam roll over the try line thinking this game is pretty great. Then weeks later he is missing 5 matches for compound infringements of tacking someone around the waist.
Much like V'landys if I see a problem I like to solve it. Surely Peter sees what we see. Either the rules are adjusted now and a bit leniency given (the simple solution), or a large enough faction of players join a Kerry Packer type entrepreneur to start a proper rugby league comp. Sounds radical but the NRL has made a rod for its back by 'moving with times' at such a swift rate. I'm not talking about a comp where coat hangers are common place but just where an accident is accident and treated as such.
The alternative is a very sanitised and confusing brand of the sport we once loved.
If I'm a league player I'm grateful for the measures taken by the NRL commission to protect the heads and legs of players. Each year more and more science points to the sad and dire consequences of head trauma of contact sport. I don't ignore this and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone.
And yet.
Boxing is a worldwide sport.
UFC is a growing sport.
Those athletes would sign waivers to pursuit that sport which brings them joy and freedom.
I have interest in neither but that hard rugby league we grew up with was brilliant. Was it really that barbaric? When you see Sloan getting penalised for an honest, front on, arms in try-saving tackle you have to wonder where that game has gone. I remember Paul Vaughan copping 10 for a feathery brush across a falling Shark player's nose last year in a farcical exchange. There are several examples of softness and horrible inconsistencies that are ruining the game and sparking fury in fan bases. I'm not going to list them here but not even one round and a couple trials in and its already a talking point.
Players like Hunt and Mitchell have spoken out against the way the game is going, making rules to add speed to the game but not allowing any unintentional contact with legs or head. It's a contact sport that requires the greatest amount of anaerobic fitness. Inconsequential acts continue to be unfairly penalised and it will cost a grand final win one day.
The thing is, and I honestly believe this in a world of greed, player welfare is not really at the heart of this but litigation. Fear of future lawsuits and lost revenue is what are determining these changes that have muddied the way the game is played and adjudicated on.
If I'm an outsider I'm watching Rava steam roll over the try line thinking this game is pretty great. Then weeks later he is missing 5 matches for compound infringements of tacking someone around the waist.
Much like V'landys if I see a problem I like to solve it. Surely Peter sees what we see. Either the rules are adjusted now and a bit leniency given (the simple solution), or a large enough faction of players join a Kerry Packer type entrepreneur to start a proper rugby league comp. Sounds radical but the NRL has made a rod for its back by 'moving with times' at such a swift rate. I'm not talking about a comp where coat hangers are common place but just where an accident is accident and treated as such.
The alternative is a very sanitised and confusing brand of the sport we once loved.
