Berkeley_Eagle
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Storm sprung in new tackle twist
               By David Riccio | July 06, 2008
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,23974602-5006066,00.html
           The incidents ... Jeff Lima's 'rolling pin' tackle. / The Sunday Telegraph
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                                  FIRST there was the grapple, the crusher, the ripper and the chicken wing. Now Melbourne Storm prop Jeff Lima has plunged the premiers back into the spotlight with his "rolling pin'' tackling technique coming under NRL investigation.                    A serial offender with the controversial chicken wing and ripper tackles, Lima ensured more bad blood between Parramatta and Melbourne with his controversial tactic coming to a head in last Sunday's 24-22 defeat to the Eels.
Using all of his 104kg frame, Lima can clearly be seen rolling over and pinning his rivals with a knee pushed deep into their calf muscle.
On one occasion, Eels forward Nathan Hindmarsh is seen rising to play the ball, angrily pointing his finger at Lima.
Hindmarsh refused to get caught up in a slanging match with the Storm camp over the incident, but admitted he had been on the end of the "rolling pin'' tackle.
"I did feel the knee of a player in the back of my calf as I was getting back up out of a tackle,'' Hindmarsh said.
                       Despite Eels coach Michael Hagan preferring to leave the matter on the field, it's understood that Parramatta players and officials were angry at the ever-evolving wrestling techniques being used by the Storm players.
In the grand final qualifier last September, Lima was involved in a tackle that resulted in Eels captain Nathan Cayless having his pectoral muscle torn from the bone.
NRL match review commissioner Greg McCallum confirmed that "a player'' had come under investigation on four accounts during the Storm-Eels match.
"We were of the view that a player was using his knee to pick himself off the ground by putting his knees on the legs of other opponents,'' McCallum said.
"I spoke to Robert Finch (referees boss) about it on Monday and sent him some examples.''
Melbourne Storm football manager Frank Ponissi played down the new form of slowing down the play-the-ball, claiming Lima had been spoken to about it.
"It was all handled really well and they've (NRL) asked us to have a word to Jeff. We've done so, and that was the end of the matter,'' Ponissi said.
"It was just the way he was holding down. I don't really want to go into the technical side of things, I'll leave that to the coaches.
"But they (NRL) said they haven't seen it before and asked to keep an eye on it.
"Anything serious gets put on the charge sheet, so if it was that serious we would've heard about it.
"It's been looked at, the player has been spoken with and dealt with and that's the end of the matter from our point of view.''
McCallum said the "rolling pin'' had come about because of the NRL's crackdown on contact with the upper body and the football.
"Previously it was about controlling the top part of the body and I think it's become obvious that they can't do that anymore,'' McCallum said.
"They're not doing it, so there's other ways of slowing down the play-the-ball and that's probably to pin your knees in the legs of the opposition.
"What this is all about is trying to pin the legs so they can't get up.
"We felt it was a good thing to mention it. The club were appreciative of that and I would imagine we won't see it again.''
               By David Riccio | July 06, 2008
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,23974602-5006066,00.html
           The incidents ... Jeff Lima's 'rolling pin' tackle. / The Sunday Telegraph
                Â
                                  FIRST there was the grapple, the crusher, the ripper and the chicken wing. Now Melbourne Storm prop Jeff Lima has plunged the premiers back into the spotlight with his "rolling pin'' tackling technique coming under NRL investigation.                    A serial offender with the controversial chicken wing and ripper tackles, Lima ensured more bad blood between Parramatta and Melbourne with his controversial tactic coming to a head in last Sunday's 24-22 defeat to the Eels.
Using all of his 104kg frame, Lima can clearly be seen rolling over and pinning his rivals with a knee pushed deep into their calf muscle.
On one occasion, Eels forward Nathan Hindmarsh is seen rising to play the ball, angrily pointing his finger at Lima.
Hindmarsh refused to get caught up in a slanging match with the Storm camp over the incident, but admitted he had been on the end of the "rolling pin'' tackle.
"I did feel the knee of a player in the back of my calf as I was getting back up out of a tackle,'' Hindmarsh said.
                       Despite Eels coach Michael Hagan preferring to leave the matter on the field, it's understood that Parramatta players and officials were angry at the ever-evolving wrestling techniques being used by the Storm players.
In the grand final qualifier last September, Lima was involved in a tackle that resulted in Eels captain Nathan Cayless having his pectoral muscle torn from the bone.
NRL match review commissioner Greg McCallum confirmed that "a player'' had come under investigation on four accounts during the Storm-Eels match.
"We were of the view that a player was using his knee to pick himself off the ground by putting his knees on the legs of other opponents,'' McCallum said.
"I spoke to Robert Finch (referees boss) about it on Monday and sent him some examples.''
Melbourne Storm football manager Frank Ponissi played down the new form of slowing down the play-the-ball, claiming Lima had been spoken to about it.
"It was all handled really well and they've (NRL) asked us to have a word to Jeff. We've done so, and that was the end of the matter,'' Ponissi said.
"It was just the way he was holding down. I don't really want to go into the technical side of things, I'll leave that to the coaches.
"But they (NRL) said they haven't seen it before and asked to keep an eye on it.
"Anything serious gets put on the charge sheet, so if it was that serious we would've heard about it.
"It's been looked at, the player has been spoken with and dealt with and that's the end of the matter from our point of view.''
McCallum said the "rolling pin'' had come about because of the NRL's crackdown on contact with the upper body and the football.
"Previously it was about controlling the top part of the body and I think it's become obvious that they can't do that anymore,'' McCallum said.
"They're not doing it, so there's other ways of slowing down the play-the-ball and that's probably to pin your knees in the legs of the opposition.
"What this is all about is trying to pin the legs so they can't get up.
"We felt it was a good thing to mention it. The club were appreciative of that and I would imagine we won't see it again.''
