I think you Putin…

This idea that player safety is wholly on the defenders is absolute bullshit…

Eg ‘the crusher’… if a players turns their back on defenders hoping to spin out, or get a ball away they are complicit in the outcome in the vast majority of instances…

Players ducking last millisecond into tackles to break through underneath the tacklers… complicit..

A half digging game into the line and passing or kicking… complicit….

Really starting to do my head in how in 2022 especially with the benefit of slomo bunkershipt is impossible to figure out the difference between incidental, deserved, or deliberate…

What next…
Oh that ball runner did his hammy while trying to evade a defender???…
sin bin….

Or a textbook cover tackle around the legs.... send off - attacking player put in a dangerous position due to falling to the ground father than being eased down by other defenders.

When the attacking players is Parra   - deserved.

You're on fire 😁

How is uncle Dan?

Making a motza…

As soon as a player turns his back call held.

Forget dangerous. Virtually all tackles are by definition dangerous. "Able or likely to inflict injury or harm". This covers almost all tackles to a greater or lesser extent.

Then allow Penrith tacklers to make another three drives, twists, turns and wait for “RELEASE” to be called…

Why in the fekk does there need to be a post-held call of RELEASE???… I can’t find that rule in the book… 

#heldisfact…

Maybe we could just acknowledge the players love to laying the game, know it’s a tough game, and accept sometimes shit happens… The only people blowing up are footywoke germoulists and ex halves…

Spot on… there is inherent risk… accepted by the players… nobody wants people to get hurt, but it happens… none of us will accept foul play… we all hate fowl play…

First grade footy players (both genders, yep, both) are a different breed than the general population… much different… they enjoy the contact…love it…  how many times do you see a ball carrier smile or positively acknowledge a hit that hurt them or ‘shortened them up’???…

The idea the game can eradicate contact injuries by implementing various interpretations is absolutely inane…

Again I’ll ask the NRLol provide some data  on how their knee jerk reactions to wokefooty types has made the game safer in the past 5 years… eg reduction in the number of concussions…I bet they won’t… it’s likely they can’t… cos the vast majority of concussions are inflicted in defender… Maybe in 75 years if we’re lucky…

All said.. I think the game as whole would be better off with Leadership that doesn’t knee jerk every time something is conflated by the wokefooty media…

And the game as a whole would be better if hack grub germoulist types like Rothfield, Kent, Weasler, and Bonnets Hooper didn’t display high levels of antegrity in the search for clicks…

#boycottNRL360…
#boycotttheterrorcrap…

Wasn't he affectionately known as "the curse"?

Unfortunately they are right on this one.
B Smith has a certain talking technique which increases the chance of twist at the knee and result in ligament damage. 

It's not your standard legs tackle that pulls back on the legs or starts at the things and ends up at the ankles. It's intended to be a sideways hit below the knees to induce the player into falling to ground and rolling on the back or side. 

Agree on this

As always you are wrong on this one…

“Standard legs tackle”… said like a bloke that never made a tackle in his life…

Does leagues self proclaimed greatest mind suggest in the worlds fastest football game he runs around to get front on or directly behind, or not make an attempt at tackling??…

Plus you negate to consider it’s the other players in the tackle that affect the outcome…

Anyone who thinks there was a problem with especially the Lolo tackle should just fekk of watch soccer and let league fans enjoy the game they directly and indirectly fund and love…

Maybe we need a rectangle imposed over players and baseball umps to determine a penalty or fair tackle between the hip and nipple…

And where does it end… no tackles from  the side because of the potential for whiplash???… I tell you where this shit ends… another shift toward touch footy and max two in a tackle…

You're welcome to your opinion and I can understand where you're coming from.

The AFL has outlawed any attack of the legs as their medical experts have identified it as too dangerous. Not sure if the NFL has a rule on it as well (maybe HD can advise).

I appreciate both these are different sports with tackling less fundamental than in league. The point im making however is that doctors have determined that attack of the lower legs especially from the side and with (as you correctly pointed out) other players simultaneously holding up to prevent natural body twist, exacerbates the risk of injury.

It's a difficult one for the game's administrators to deal with as tackling is the fabric of the game. At the moment, they will simply monitor it. My guess is they will do nothing else but make B Smith and Storm aware of the scrutiny in the hope they change their style on their own.

They already have a rule against 3rd man in attacking the legs but this one is (intentionally or otherwise) timed so well, that it is disguised as a legal (non dangerous) tackle.

And to answer your last question.....
Yes, there is growing evidence that the game of rugby league has a finite lifespan. 

You would think that the way life is going, at some point in future, contact sports such as boxing, UFC, wrestling, league, union, nfl, afl and to a lesser extent soccer may be deemed too dangerous and could become illegal.

Scary thought but it's not too hard to imagine that's where we're heading....

Over the last week or so on the back of views from a variety of sources, some I rate some I don’t, not least of which is what I’ve heard from the man himself, I reckon Flanagan is the man.

Had my doubts on a number of fronts, maybe still do, but positives outweigh the negatives and he’s simply the most outstanding candidate on the number of boxes he ticks, boxes we need ticked.

I don’t worry about Flanno junior. One of two things will happen, actually the first thing WILL happen - Senior WILL get the best out of Junior no doubt. And from there he’ll either earn his place in the team or not. I have no worries about favouritism because Senior is too hard nosed for that, if Junior isn’t good enough Senior will tell him the awful truth and that’ll be that.

So I’d make the decision soon and get him started. He’s got a history of starting mid season and it worked, worked all the way to a Premiership. The sooner he starts the sooner he begins. 

The biggest box he ticks IMO is the giving a team an identity thing.

That Cronulla team he built became the team you would’ve thought was a natural evolution of a Dogs team into 21st century football. It’s what we should’ve evolved into, instead we became a square block trying to fit into a Des hole.

Flanaghan football is Bulldog football of the 21st century. We’ll become ourselves again, which will be much easier than trying to become something we’re not. He fits, he’ll use what we are. Des and Baz tried to make us what they were.

I can't agree more. As soon as a player revrrses into thr defence he is putting himself into a compromised position.

Yep....thuggery must be removed from the game and we all hate the Rorters.

You talk about the administrators "monitoring" the game..
The administrators should do their job and "monitor" the RL product and stay the fvck out of the running of the actual game. As far as the tackles, the referees should be managing the rules better and call held much earlier in a wrestle situation and have the guts to penalise when their instructions aren't immediately adhered to.

There is one thing that every rugby league fan knows that the administration and the woke community obviously don't, and that is Rugby League is more than just a contact sport.... it is a collision sport and not a complicated one. Two teams of 13 players and one player at a time has the ball attempting to reach the oppositions goal line and 13 opposition players attempting to stop him (or her). It's not rocket science and administration doesn't need to interfere to complicate the process.

The biggest problem we have had in recent years is a poor squad.

The academy should have been done 20 years ago.

Jacko is doing a reasonable job or keeping some aspects of our DNA going.

I am not convinced Flanagan will work out any better than Des, both had success coaching their style with a squad that suited their style and a good quality squad. And perhaps some pushing of the ethical boundaries.

Flanagan more impressive than Des, as he did it with fewer star players. But still nothing to say Flanagan can cut-and-paste that formula into our club. And nothing to say he can't.

But the presence of Flanagan jnr at our club is a big red flag for me, I don't think he is up to the required standard to be an NRL halfback and it is a big gap to close.

When the son is a borderline selection, it is very easy for the dad to give him the benefit of the doubt. And very likely our next potential NRL halfback would decide there are better opportunities elsewhere.

If the club keeps making compromises and taking shortcuts, we will keep getting lost.

Our DNA is where it has always been, true Wok helped build it, but the foundations were there.

Move on Flanagan jnr and I have no objection to his dad coaching here. That is the right way to do it and the only way.

While I agree, wrestling moves around the head and neck were not part of the original game and dangerous tackle styles were always a send off.

Call held when a player backs into the opposition. Mark the spot and make the player return to that spot and play the ball after a suitable delay. If player safety is the aim, this will work, players will stop backing in.

If the player with their back turned is looking for a offload, mark the spot and call held when the ball is locked up.
Turning you back to look for an offload is a normal part of the game. Driving forward while looking for an offload isn't.

Coaches who have had success at multiple clubs.

Jack Gibson.
Warren Ryan
Wayne Bennett

Bennett failed at Newcastle, even Gibson and Ryan were more or less sacked at their last gig.

There are plenty who haven't been able to rediscover the magic at a new club or who lost the magic eventually at their current club.

Sure a record of success is better than a record of failure, but past results don't guarantee future results. The best guarantee of future results is quality players in all key positions.

A coach needs to be a good fit for the club, in our case the bare minimum requirement is a good working relationship with Gus based on mutual respect and agreed boundaries which are respected.

Then more generally, the coach needs to be a good fit for the club and the players.

Gus is the only one who can make the call, the board has to listen to his opinion. I don't know his opinion, but if we did that would probably be the next coach.

Not worried about Flanagan snr & jnr. They don't have to be related to be a favourite. Many examples

True, but related makes it more likely.

No reason why Flanagan jnr needs to be at our club, problem solved.

But I also wonder how Flanagan snr will work with Gus. Not certain either way they might work brilliantly together.

I see Gus as the new Bullfrog and the coach needs to accept that on matters like recruitment and retention Gus is boss.

I  think Gus and Des would not have worked, Gus and Bennett would not work.
Coaches like Bellamy and Robinson might work with Gus.
Ego and personality are the deciding factors.

I too think, based on what I saw on the podcast snippets on NRL360, that he is very high on the list.

Im still not sold on the Jnr thing. It's one extra experiment that we will have to live through and one I dont want to as I've made up up mind on Jnr. 

But Snr does tick alot of boxes and is ready to go.

Im also kinda unwilling to give up on the season so far out (as much as my head tells me to) so if he was to start soon and manage to turn us around, we could still challenge for finals.

(OK maybe not)