Billy deserved to get off from that shoulder charge. I'm no Slater fan, but to be suspended for that type of tackle and miss out on a GF would of been ridiculous. The shoulder charge should be banned, yeah sure I agree. But common sense should also come into it, but unfortunately the NRL has almost always shown that it has very little of that over the years.
That hard and inflexible rule was always going to become an issue down the track. In a game like RL where there are so many variables happening by the second in the most full on footy code on the planet there should always be a way to make sure the penalty fits the crime.
That tackle did not deserve for anyone to miss a Grand Final. Therefore it was a badly worded rule and deserved what it got. Imagine if we increased the penalty for being on your mobile phone while driving from a fine to a minimum 1 year jail sentence with no option for leniency. Sure we can mostly all agree that no one should be on their phones while driving and the potential for something to go catastrophically wrong is increased substantially, but I also think that most would agree that the punishment is way to harsh and does not represent the needs of the people and ultimately is not good for society as a whole.
Sure we need to get the shoulder charge out of the game, but there will always be moments in games that they are either inevitable due to the very nature of the sport being so fast and players having to bracing themselves for the collision as instinctual self preservation kicks in. Or as in Slater's case when a player has very little time and has a monumental tackle to make and not many options if any, other then bracing himself for a shoulder charge, to stop a certain try.
In those sort of instances, players are not trying to put on the big hit to make a statement or anything like that, it is more of a reflex or last chance saloon type of tackle. That is not the type of tackle that a player should be robbed from playing in a major game like a GF. In fact that was a great covering tackle that was a major highlight of the game and showed the desperation of both players. A great triumph and failure moment in the game. Why would any organisation actively make rules that would take that out of their game or potentially ban their major stars and attractions from their biggest games?
Only in the NRL. But thankfully, they had a 3rd string putz representing the NRL and arguing their case and as usual the club/clubs ran rings all over them and Billy the champion player that millions love or hate will be on stage for his last ever big rumble.
Lets hope the NRL over the summer gets the wording right on this rule and it reflects more of what is good for both the players in protecting them from injury and from themselves when they get it wrong without harm or malice.
