Diving in the NRL

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jbb/james

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Premium Member
Tipping Member
a bit made about diving in the nrl this week, jamie lyons been made a scapegoat for years of discretions it seems. While i am not a fan , clearly if you cant beat them then you must join them. Sterlo in particular has taken some pot shots at players charector which i think is wrong

The problem here firstly is that it is a behaviour that is rewarded by the nrl. This is the only reason why players do this. And recent changes to the vidiot have to ensure a player is cited before they can intervene, too little too late. The horse had bolted and the culture had long been set . More on the run policy , wothout thought that has scarred the game.

Secondly, the penalty. Again this is now worth way more than it had ever been, with players desperate to attract one at all costs. The stats dont lie. They lead to tries and tiredness. The game has evolved into such a predictable , boring bash and barge , through constant rule changes that the penalty is now the holy grail, and teams are prepared to chew through there grannies arse to secure one. So much so players are now seen leaving the field at half time licking there lips and wiping away the arse

You simply can not blame the players for getting on board. I hate it, it sucks but its part of the game. You cant penalise the offender, its too subjective. Its time the nrl went back to the old ways, if its missed ,let the match review system put the player on report. Let the club docs look after the players and let the game run.

They can not use duty of care when it suits them and then stack clubs with 5 day turnarounds as a bulk purchase, to appease the almighty dollar

Just another example of a common sense approach, that was avoided for the sake of media pressure.

Bring back the 5 m rule. It was the beginning of the end
 
Lyon copped a fair ribbing for his dive,fair enough too,but what can't believe is that in the same game Thurston got up claiming a try and giving high fives to all teammates yet got nowhere near the ball.I think that is just as bad if not worse than Lyon's diving
 
You've got two separate situations developing. Staying down after a "high" tackle to pull a penalty and diving from contact in "obstruction" plays to have tries reviewed. Game is getting more like soccer by the day.

They need to determine a way of penalising a player who stays down for no result. That will discourage coaches from instructing players to do it. At the moment there is no downside to diving and faking injury.
 
Soccer has a rule where if you dive you are penalised for "simulation" aka cheating. Could be the go? Lyon's dive was majestic though, a real captain's dive.
 
I also consider the movements made after being tackled, hanging on, getting entwined with the tacklers legs ALL to gain a penalty a form of " diving" and just as bad as staying down.

But unless you actually see them grab a leg it usually works.
 
Good article from Kent in today's Telecrap. Not tecno wizzardy enough to post it but it raises diving, punching etc.
 
I love Killer, but his effort was embarrassing....it was Josh Reynolds or Michael Ennis like. Jamie is better than that.
 
You know, good on Killer for what he did. He played for a penalty and got it.

However, in saying that.....what Killer did has shown just how much of a minefield the obstruction rule has become. Archer has said that he wants obstruction to be ruled black and white, to the letter of the law. Well, to the letter of the law Killer played it perfectly and got the desired result for his team. But it also shows that there should be some common sense or discretion from the bunker because otherwise players are going to do this every week (I mean obvious dives like Killer's).

Its bad enough now that every time there is a backline movement that results in a try that the defending team immediately turn to the ref and start screaming for obstruction to bail them out. But when players start to take obvious dives and get rewarded for it.....
 
100%

From now on if there's an opposition player in between the try scorer it'll be easier to bump into them than go for the tackle.
 
I reckon all the dodgy plays for penalties is increasing inline with the power refs are getting to influence games, vicious cycle, created by an inept nrl- again
 
Change it so that only a professional foul (spear, crusher, high etc) get a kick for touch. All other penalties (holding down, hand on the ball, flop, offside etc) are simply played on with a zero tackle restart. Have a minor, major penalty. Can't kick for touch or goal on a minor penalty. If possession is lost due to a minor penalty, then bring it back for a tap or scrum.
 
This problem is so easy to fix.

If the referee doesn't blow a penalty in real time and the player stays down then the referee has missed it and it will be sorted out by the match review.

The only reason diving has crept in is because the video ref/bunker review the incidents. It should be live calls for obstruction and all other penalties. The only thing the bunker should rule on is the grounding. Everything else should be the referee and touch judges (on side, forward passes, etc.)

When things are simple they tend to work.
 
You know, good on Killer for what he did. He played for a penalty and got it.

However, in saying that.....what Killer did has shown just how much of a minefield the obstruction rule has become. Archer has said that he wants obstruction to be ruled black and white, to the letter of the law. Well, to the letter of the law Killer played it perfectly and got the desired result for his team. But it also shows that there should be some common sense or discretion from the bunker because otherwise players are going to do this every week (I mean obvious dives like Killer's).

Its bad enough now that every time there is a backline movement that results in a try that the defending team immediately turn to the ref and start screaming for obstruction to bail them out. But when players start to take obvious dives and get rewarded for it.....

Yep, I think it was Jamie's way of taking the piss.
The players know the current rule isn't open to interpretation so being the professionals they are, they are doing what they can to help their team win
(This seems to get lost on us mere mortals, it's their job, yes it's a game of footy but they are professionals )
Jamie just did what he had to do....and made an absolute bird of it so no matter how incompetent the ref was he had to have seen it!
 
Team P W L PD Pts
3 3 0 48 6
4 3 1 28 6
3 2 1 10 6
4 2 2 39 4
3 2 1 28 4
3 2 1 15 4
3 2 1 14 4
2 1 1 13 4
2 1 1 6 4
3 2 1 -3 4
3 1 2 0 2
3 1 2 -5 2
3 1 2 -15 2
3 1 2 -22 2
3 1 2 -36 2
2 0 2 -56 2
3 0 3 -64 0
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