Other Games - Round 24, 2018

[Nice Beaver]

It’s a hard one to prove, you’re not wrong. But geez the guy has some form in that department - from the look of the blood coming from McCullough’s mouth, Napa has just racked up his second broken jaw of the season from what is basically a headbutt. If they’re accidents, he needs some serious work on his tackling technique...

Agree - he has a serious tackling technique issue.

I don't think even Napa would be stupid enough to intentionally do it.

If McCulloch has a broken jaw (which, like you, I suspect he does), it will be very interesting to see how the MRC treat it.

Given he did the same thing earlier this season amd exonerated him, they are going to look like idiots if they charge him now.......then again.....this is the NRL....

 

[Harvies elbow]

Napa's technique in that tackle wasn't unlike Steve folks in his day.
He crouched and up prior to impact.
Difference is he's heaps taller.
Maybe the league needs to bring in a rule on top of the tackler being responsible for the attackers personal welfare that he can only tackle tall blokes...

 

[Nice Beaver]

Why? You can't hit someone in the head. If it's an accident - it's careless or reckless, but still illegal.

Ok. Every time there is a head clash in a tackle, someone gets 10 in the bin.

That'll work.

 

[yokahontas]

You can't smash guys in the head. What does it matter if he meant to or not, and how the hell do you judge that anyway? Isn't there a grading for careless, reckless etc. What he does is reckless at a minimum. Don't understand why the commentators are talking about whether it's "illegal" or not - hitting someone in the head is illegal, regardless of intent. What they should be debating is the grading.

I’m not disagreeing with you at all, but whether it’s deliberate or not very definitely affects the charge/grading. And as far as I’m concerned, spearing in head-first the way Napa does is very, very different to an accidental head clash - Gould is being incredibly disingenuous suggesting that’s what it is.

Remember the furore about Nate Myles using his head as a weapon, especially in Origin? Napa is doing the same thing.

 

[EaglesDontTweet]

Doubt that would be 10 in the bin in origin or a grand final. Penalty for head contact, ok. On report, ok. 10 in the bin has impacted the game.

 

[yokahontas]

Ok. Every time there is a head clash in a tackle, someone gets 10 in the bin.

That'll work.

There’s a big difference between an accidental head clash and spearing in head-first the way Napa does.

There are distinctions made between lots of ‘this body part makes contact with that body part’ situations on the field - say, deliberately leading with your feet/knees vs the accidental contact that gets made between feet/knees and another player. With deliberately kicking/kneeing another grade up from that. No different here.

 

[Sue]

Once again it’s common sense. You cant have guys being put in hospital due to a blokes crazy technique which he makes no attempt to change, even if it’s not intentional.

It’s simply up to Napa to correct his technique. He made careless, if not intentional, contact to the head. That has always been a penalty and on report every time. It does not have to be intentional to draw a penalty , hence the different grading in charges - careless or recklessly intentional.Why should it be any different here ? Gasnier t doesn’t even know the f... ing rules.

Wouldn’t happen if he could tackle properly.Thats his problem and the players with broken jaws should not have to pay the price due to his ineptness while he gets a free pass.

 

[Harvies elbow]

We are playing the broncos next week so I hope Napa has about a dozen more......
Specials on tonight's menu.

 

[Nice Beaver]

Nate Myles made an art form of it for over a decade.

Never got pinged for it. So saying that has been penalised always is not true at all.

 

[Nice Beaver]

There’s a big difference between an accidental head clash and spearing in head-first the way Napa does.

There are distinctions made between lots of ‘this body part makes contact with that body part’ situations on the field - say, deliberately leading with your feet/knees vs the accidental contact that gets made between feet/knees and another player. With deliberately kicking/kneeing another grade up from that. No different here.

Ok. So we are now going to call on refs to decide if a player intended to hit with his head, or didn't.

Like I said in the other post, Nate Myles led with his head for over a decade. I am sure he never got in trouble for it.

 

[yokahontas]

Napa's technique in that tackle wasn't unlike Steve folks in his day.
He crouched and up prior to impact.
Difference is he's heaps taller.
Maybe the league needs to bring in a rule on top of the tackler being responsible for the attackers personal welfare that he can only tackle tall blokes...

I’ll be honest, I don’t remember seeing Steve Folkes play. But crouching and moving upwards into the tackle isn’t an issue - basically diving head first at a player isn’t the same thing. Look how far out in front of the rest of his body Napa’s head is when he makes these tackles - he’s not coiled down and rising into the tackle, he’s leading with his head.

 

[Harvies elbow]

Nate Myles made an art form of it for over a decade.

Never got pinged for it. So saying that has been penalised always is not true at all.

And his use of his enormous melon was different.
He used his like a horizontal projectile were as Napa goes down and up.
Matai got done for it, when it suited them, and I didn't think most of his were illegal either.

 

[Nice Beaver]

Well Wally Lewis and Andrew Johns seem to know a bit about footy, and both agree there is no case to answer.

 

[yokahontas]

Ok. So we are now going to call on refs to decide if a player intended to hit with his head, or didn't.

Like I said in the other post, Nate Myles led with his head for over a decade. I am sure he never got in trouble for it.

They’re called on to decide whether dozens of other instances of contact during a match are intentional, reckless/careless, or accidental, why should head contact be any different?

Myles wasn’t so much leading with his head, more using his head to rough opposition players up in tackles, scrums etc. And there were definitely instances where it was obvious enough that he should’ve been penalised! No different to the Scum tactics of rubbing knees into calves etc, they get away with a lot more than they should.

 

[Harvies elbow]

I’ll be honest, I don’t remember seeing Steve Folkes play. But crouching and moving upwards into the tackle isn’t an issue - basically diving head first at a player isn’t the same thing. Look how far out in front of the rest of his body Napa’s head is when he makes these tackles - he’s nkt coiled down and rising into the tackle, he’s leading with his head.

Yoka you would know that in a collision situation at speed, you can't always make it perfect.
I have no doubt that he is aiming for first contact with his shoulder.
No one in their right mind, except for Nate, would aim with their brain box.
And yes I realise its Napa we are talking about.
Accidents happen.

 

[Nice Beaver]

So, you are saying it's ok to lead with your head and if you break a few jaws along the way, it's all good?

If the bloke is not looking at the player, how the hell is he "leading with his head"?

It is extremely unlucky and unfortunate, but I fail to see how that tackle was not the same as a hundred other tackles we see, except poor McCulloch's head was impacted by Napa's.

We will clearly have ro agree to disagree on this one mate.

 

[Sue]

Both Lewis and Johns have the intelligence of a gnat.Just because the played years ago doesn’t mean they know the actual rules applied today. I can’t imagine them pouring over a rule book or even reading st all.

You cannot carelessly contact the head.Its as simple as that . Just because the situation is unusual and not a common occurrence means nothing. He carelessly contacted the head and caused damage due to HIS POOR TECHNIQUE. That’s all that’s required under the rules for a penalty and on report to be given ,even if it was not intentional. And if he misses with his head his shoulder cleans up the head as well which is always put on report. Suspend him and force him to change his technique just as players who shoulder charged had to. It’s basic common sense.

 

[Nice Beaver]

They’re called on to decide whether dozens of other instances of contact during a match are intentional, reckless/careless, or accidental, why should head contact be any different?

Myles wasn’t so much leading with his head, more using his head to rough opposition players up in tackles, scrums etc. And there were definitely instances where it was obvious enough that he should’ve been penalised! No different to the Scum tactics of rubbing knees into calves etc, they get away with a lot more than they should.

Sorry, but 100% disagree on Myles. He absolutely led with his head in tackles.

Not "roughing" them up after the event. He was like a 120kg javelin.

 

[Nice Beaver]

I will give you a hypothetical - what if Dylan Napa did this every tackle? Employed the same technique, leading with his head, hitting other guys in the jaw? Would he get penalized at any point in your world?

Ummm the fact he does NOT do it every tackle tells me its an accident.

 

[yokahontas]

Yoka you would know that in a collision situation at speed, you can't always make it perfect.
I have no doubt that he is aiming for first contact with his shoulder.
No one in their right mind, except for Nate, would aim with their brain box.
And yes I realise its Napa we are talking about.
Accidents happen.

Correct. But once is an accident, repeated instances of it are either bloody poor technique that needs addressing, or intentional. And if he’s failed to address that, then it’s recklessly putting other players in danger and needs to be stomped on before anyone else is seriously injured.