Luke Keary has slammed the NRL after unleashing his thoughts on the foul play crackdown.
The injured Roosters playmaker understands the NRL’s decision to crack down on highshots to the neck or head, but believes it has been implemented “just to prove a point”.
Keary appeared on SEN 1170’s Breakfast with Vossy and directed his frustration at the competition believing there were “so many better ways” to go about it.
“You send numerous amounts of people off the field and just ruin football, just to prove a point,” Keary said.
“There are so many better ways they could’ve gone about it.
“Involving coaches, players, referees, stakeholders of the game, getting them together and explaining: this is what we’re doing, and this is how we’re going to stop it.
“I don’t think you just walk out there and start sending people off.”
The sidelined half understands that the NRL wants to limit concussions, but believes that the majority of head injuries arise from tackling low rather than being hit high themselves.
“If you look at proper data, not many people get knocked out from high shots, they get knocked out from trying to tackle people,” he explained.
“I get it, protect the players, participation levels and probably some litigation stuff in the background.
“In principal what they’re trying to do is right, the way they’ve gone about it is so wrong it’s not funny.
“You’ve gone from zero to 100 in the space of a few days.
“It could’ve been implemented in a lot smoother way in my opinion.
Keary is also against the constant sin binning, stating that not all head contact deserves 10 minutes in the bin.
“Our game is not black and white,” he stated.
“It’s played aggressive, it’s played intense, and you can’t say if you touch someone in the head you’re off the field.
“There’s a real grey area there.
“It will turn, like we’ve seen this before in our game, with putting your foot on the ball to play the ball and shoulder charges,.
“They go way over the top just to prove a point.
“Then it’ll come back and it will come back to normal and players will learn you can’t get hit in the head.”
Keary will watch the NRL’s third round since the crackdown from the sideline as he still recovers from his ACL injury.
Listen to the full interview with Luke Keary here: