The shoulder charge debate thread

[AJB1102]

Who the f**k is he to say what has and hasn't a place in our game? He's a numbers man - count the amount of merkins cheering when Kasiano got put on his bum. Count the amount of players, fans and commentators who want it.

 

[Pete Cash]

As someone said, bouncers are still in Cricket.

What about UFC? Don't think anyone has died, but its undoubtedly the most violent legal sport around and also the fastest growing sport on the planet.

Us stripping back entertaining parts of our game is not the way forward.

New helmets are being introduced that protect the neck. It will be no doubt mandatory in junior cricket and be the standard in men's. Chris Rogers wears the new design if anyone is interested.

The ufc have long medical suspensions if anyone is knocked out and the ref is supposed to stop the fight when appropriate. Rugby league players just get smashed over and over again.

 

[adamkungl]

There are people who think Rugby League will grow by being safer :lol:

Let's do some basic maths:

Fans lost or less enthusiastic due to safety crackdowns = Some
Fans gained or more enthusiastic due to safety crackdowns = f**king zero

Growth achieved :lol: Smith and Greenberg, crunching the numbers to a brighter future

 

[AJB1102]

New helmets are being introduced that protect the neck. It will be no doubt mandatory in junior cricket and be the standard in men's. Chris Rogers wears the new design if anyone is interested.

The ufc have long medical suspensions if anyone is knocked out and the ref is supposed to stop the fight when appropriate. Rugby league players just get smashed over and over again.

So NRL increased the penalties faced for a shoulder charge gone wrong. Other than that if you land one proper its just another reason for the ref to blow his whistle.

With the concussion rules in place now RL players shouldn't be getting smashed over and over again.

 

[Pete Cash]

Players suffer terrible injuries after the nrl ignores medical advice. The nrl gets sued

Smith and Greenberg can't even crunch any numbers because they had to sell off all the calculators to pay for Josh millers nurse/drool cleaner.

 

[adamkungl]

Can the legal geniuses here explain how every other sport operates with safety concerns?

 

[Pete Cash]

Well the NFL has taken safety measures. Players aren't supposed to fly at each other using the helmet as a weapon, defenceless receivers are protected etc.

 

[BunniesMan]

Can the legal geniuses here explain how every other sport operates with safety concerns?

Union banned it years ago.

It's only a matter of time before the AFL follows the NRLs lead. The NRL has been proactive about getting ahead of this before a high profile accident happened. The AFL dragging its feet might cost them, it wont cost the NRL.

 

[Hutty1986]

They're gone, and should stay gone.

 

[AJB1102]

Players suffer terrible injuries after the nrl ignores medical advice. The nrl gets sued

Smith and Greenberg can't even crunch any numbers because they had to sell off all the calculators to pay for Josh millers nurse/drool cleaner.

Worst concussion I seen in a long while was Matai the other week. He jumped to contest a ball then landed hard through no fault of anyone. If someone comes to the NRL and presents evidence that falling hard on the turf can cause serious brain damage, what do you propose we do in order to fight of this massive impending lawsuit everyone is shitting themselves about?

I guess all this suing bullshit derives from the NFL. Key difference to my knowledge was the NFL were given the info on concussions, but chose to lock it in a drawer and act like it was none the wiser.

There has to be some level of risk accepted by the players, and so long as they're provided with all the information available to make that decision I think we're jumping at shadows with this lawsuit talk.

 

[AJB1102]

Union banned it years ago.

But continue with real scrums which have f**ked up a lot more people than the shoulder charge.

 

[Pete Cash]

Well the shoulder charge was always in trouble when literally every club doctor advised that it be banned

 

[BunniesMan]

Well the shoulder charge was always in trouble when literally every club doctor advised that it be banned

This. It really is that simple. The doctors advised it should be banned. And then the lawyers advised they had no choice if they wanted to avoid legal responsibility. People have to take the emotion out of the equation.

 

[AJB1102]

Well the shoulder charge was always in trouble when literally every club doctor advised that it be banned

Cool.

 

[I Bleed Maroon]

Look I would be a lot more pliable to the opposing view on the SC if:

1. the rules were actually policed properly, not just at the ref level but at the MRC level as well.

2. You actually account for the one shoulder charge that has gone unnoticed, the one coming from the player who is hitting the ball up. If you are allowed to do it with the ball in hand, why can't defenders do it?

At least try and look like a professional organization that properly considers issues properly before they act on them, instead of having one knee jerk reaction after another to whatever the media decide to whinge about next.

 

[Chicken_Hunter]

If the NRL is liable to be sued then the UFC must be up shit creek.

 

[Pete Cash]

Iirc the ARLC said that about 20 percent of all shoulder charges made contact with the head. That's quite high when you think about it. Out of every 5 shoulder charges 1 is to the head.

 

[betcats]

As someone said, bouncers are still in Cricket.

What about UFC? Don't think anyone has died, but its undoubtedly the most violent legal sport around and also the fastest growing sport on the planet.

Us stripping back entertaining parts of our game is not the way forward.

If we treated concussions the same way as the ufc Kyle turner would of been forced to retire last season.

 

[I Bleed Maroon]

Iirc the ARLC said that about 20 percent of all shoulder charges made contact with the head. That's quite high when you think about it. Out of every 5 shoulder charges 1 is to the head.

That's because the penalties weren't tough enough. That's the one part I can't wrap my head around is how the NRL didn't see this and act on it long before Dean Young was ever wiped out by Inglis.

The rules could have been very clearly stated: Contact the head in the act of a shoulder charge and you are gone for an exorbitant amount of time, far longer than it is probably worth even attempting the charge at all.

 

[Pete Cash]

If the NRL is liable to be sued then the UFC must be up shit creek.

Why ?

Refs err on the side of safety with stopping fights, they aren't getting knocked down over and over again like in boxing and there are medical suspensions to stop concussions piling up.

Now, I don't know if combat sports will still exist in 100 years but mma is relatively safe because there is no standing 8 count to keep a fighters brains being pummelled.