I agree with the sentiment, I don't like seeing players falling to the ground and meekly accepting a tackle, I'm just saying the way the rules are Pearce and the ref were in the wrong, and it should have been a penalty. Would love them to change the rules, but as they stand it was the wrong call. Didn't affect the game though so thats something.
Exactly. If the rules need fixing (and they do in several places because they are too difficult to interpret for referees) then fix them, but the referees job is to enforce the rules as written.
I like it too.
But I also like driving at 80km/h in a 60 zone
I also like consistency from refs
Were not getting it. We never do.
Sad but true.
No, it shouldn't hae been. A voluntary tackle is when a player plays the ball without being tackled, not when you hit the deck and invite a tackle. If they want to cut this out of the game they need to change the rule, but as it stands the ref got it wrong.
True. A voluntary tackle is automatically out of the question if the defender actually tackles the player. It didn't used to be like this, and because the interpretation has changed it is confusing to a lot of fans (like the double movement with momentum interpretation).
The NRL referees "guidelines" (rules shouldn't need guidelines...) say that if the ball carrier gets up you can tackle them, or if they don't you can lay a hand on them and then they are tackled, and if they aren't tackled and play the ball, it is a voluntary tackle (which is stupid, because in any other situation when you have the ball and are not tackled you can roll the ball back between your legs without penalty, but if there are defenders nearby the referee can interpret that as a voluntary tackle).
Here, the defenders put their hands on the player so he was tackled, and the further dragging should have been a penalty. It is stupid, but its the rule and has been applied like that for quite a while.
Last week we had a player dive into the field of play and two defenders waited for the player to get up so they could smash him, and the player waited on the ground so he wouldn't get smashed, and we had a strange stand off where neither side wanted to play. And if the ball carrier had played the ball, then it would have been a voluntary tackle. So how did this joke of a rule get resolved at that time? The referee called the tackle despite the player not being tackled, so the play the ball was allowed! What a farce :crazy: