Time to tackle inconsistency
By Willie Mason
March 17, 2006
I AM pretty good mates with a few of the Sydney Roosters boys and through that friendship I've got to know Adrian Morley.
Moz is a nice bloke who plays the game hard.
As a result, he has found himself in trouble with the judiciary over the years. This time, however, I think he's been singled out over his tackle on Ben Walker. I thought it was a good hit.
No-one has a perfect tackling technique and no-one goes out there with the intent to hit other players with high shots. It's just that Morley has a different technique and he's used to tackling guys his own size.
If the tackle had been on me, it would have been a good hit. Bigger man on bigger man, on a front-rower such as Jason Ryles for example, it would have been okay.
That's the sort of target he normally aims for. It was just unlucky. Walker's shorter, the same height as Morley's shoulder. That's the problem with the change to the rule making shoulder contact with the head illegal.
If some bloke is running at you and slips, and you have already set yourself and hit him, what happens then? You cannot penalise the bloke for the tackle. It's the way it goes, it's a physical game. You cannot just keep pulling up little things like that otherwise you might as well play Oztag.
I certainly don't think Morley should have been suspended and this time the NRL may have gone too far. They have done the same with the grapple tackle.
I have been grappled before - most of the boys in the competition have, and they hate it. There's no doubt it should be banned. All we want is consistency.
Reni Maitua made a good hit on Steve Price in the pre-season when he made contact with him around the chest. A bloke was also around Pricey's legs and flipped him back. The referee penalised Maitua for going too high. I got penalised against Penrith when I just touched Craig Gower's head with my hand. Then you see one of our blokes getting grappled on the ground and they don't do anything about it. I know they are trying to police it, but it's a fine line.
If you make good contact and then you go for a second effort and attack the head, you should be penalised.
But if guys are going out there and there is slight contact around the chest or throat, I think that's fine as long as you're not head-slamming and trying to choke.
At the Bulldogs we do a fair bit of wrestling, practising techniques on the ground. While you cannot attack the head, you can work on little techniques with the arms and legs to win the play the ball. It's a fine line and they need to get it right so by the end of the year they're not pulling up penalties here, there and everywhere.
Tonight we face the premiers and it is a game we are looking forward to. They throw a lot at you, so you have to be on your toes.
Being a defending premier is something we had to go through last year. Although I did not play the first 18 games because of injury, I can tell you it is pretty hard. Every team lifts when they play you. They want to knock you off. It can be a good thing to have that target on your back because you have to be ready every week.
The Tigers have lost Benji Marshall and he's someone they will miss. He is such an exciting player and he creates a lot for them. But I'm sure they will adapt and probably lift.
Our five-eighth, Daniel Holdsworth, has looked pretty impressive. Most five-eighths are pretty cocky and he's got that aura about him.
He's got a great kicking game, he's strong defensively and he can throw a great ball both ways - he's got all the attributes of a really good five-eighth.
All he needs is good runners off him and people hitting holes, so hopefully the team can give him options. I've got big raps on him. You will be hearing plenty about him by the end of the year.
The Australian
