News: Bill Harrigan targets 'the immobiliser' tackle

[swoop]

REFEREES coach Bill Harrigan has put NRL clubs and players on notice after raising concerns over the latest off-shoot in the game's wrestling evolution - a dangerous practice that involves defenders spearing in at the legs of players while they are held by other tacklers.


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[DSM5]

To stop this the referees should call held quicker. What I see happening is that the ball carrier, when held by two players, continues to wrestle forward until the third man comes in and tackles around the legs. If Harrigan is so concerned then he should school the refs into calling 'held' earlier in the tackle. Simple really.

 

[Frogz]

Isnt our game in great hands...Harrigan, Macallum under the covering eye of Gallop.
They are only reacting to what Farrar said the other day....Melbourne have been cheating for years,on the field also, and they are always 3 months late by the time they act. Nothing will come of it after this weekend.
Where is the bloody Independant Commission so that some of these imposters get put out to pasture.
The game isnt in a bad way...Its just the management.

And why has it taken them till round 18 or watever it is, when they noticed it in the trial matches.

 

[smcgarrigle]

Correct DSM5 ..... but not only that, if progress is stopped by the 2 defenders how is a 3rd defender coming in low, whether he is spearing in or not, not similar to a "flop". Cameron Smith and Ben Hornby are the biggest culprits in the league, after the player has already been held. Fancy getting a tick for the that type of tackle on your sheet..........even I could have made them.

 

[Jatz Crackers]

What ever the reaction, Bellamy will be plotting the next "not in the spirit of the game" technique to circumvent it.

Solution is to have ASIO bug the places bellamy/storm use to think tank these tactics & know about them before they infiltrate the game.

 

[Masked Eagle]

All clubs are doing this type of tackle and I hate it. I think it only luck that there hasn't been a serious knee injury out of the practice.

 

[Ian Martin tragic]

Tricky one. Several tackles last monday night by both teams were like this. If the attacking player is still moving I don't see how it can be illegal for a 2nd or third player to do a low tackle to bring him down.

As DSM says it's about the held call, but if the player is still struggling to get an offload away even if not moving forward the refs have been giving a lot of leeway to encourage the continuation of the play. And if that policy changes the people will be blowing up when the refs give penalties for passes after they have called held. And if they police the 'held' call more rigorously that will generate alot of penalties also for defenders going on the the tackle...

The alternative to this penalty-inducing change in applying the rules is to have one about careless or reckless or intended damage to the attacking player by contact with the legs when the defender is 2nd or 3rd man in.... tricky!

 

[Wolfpack]

To stop this the referees should call held quicker. What I see happening is that the ball carrier, when held by two players, continues to wrestle forward until the third man comes in and tackles around the legs. If Harrigan is so concerned then he should school the refs into calling 'held' earlier in the tackle. Simple really.

It's not that simple though DSM, if you try to get around the problem by decreasing time in the tackle you just head back towards a touch football style of game that no one wants to see the league adopt.

The NRL just needs to get serious about enforcing proper tackling technique. Get the refs to go & penalize the cheat for every tackle like this they make & chalk it up to not playing within the spirit of the game. Let Bellyache cry about it, we've heard it all before.

 

[Phantar]

What ever the reaction, Bellamy will be plotting the next "not in the spirit of the game" technique to circumvent it.

Solution is to have ASIO bug the places bellamy/storm use to think tank these tactics & know about them before they infiltrate the game.

Never mind JC, in the eyes of clueless dilettantes like the Scarlet Bandana (Peter Fitzsimons), Melbourne are a seriously impressive outfit who apparently can do no wrong. Read his column in today's SMH.

Wonder if Frank Ponissi is still tongue-punching Frank Stanton in the fart locker?

 

[swoop]

The scum that brought in the tactic weren't the ones pinged for it. A souths player has been pinged for it and there are calls for it to be banned and doctors are asking that players be suspeneded for it.