On the back page this morning of The Daily Telegraph there is a pledge from the New South Wales Origin squad that they won’t take dives, no player will stay down to try and milk a penalty, and I so hope this is the case.
It is becoming a real blight on the game. A sport that has always prided itself on toughness, that scorns the actors you see in football that roll around the ground in pain, well league has its share of actors, we have to admit that.
Referees can’t play doctors, they can’t be sure if a player is actually injured or not. To rid this game of the practice, it can only be driven by the players.
We saw Tyrone Peachey late in the Titans v Storm game play for a penalty, and the Tigers’ Dane Laurie got up smiling after earning a penalty in the match against the Panthers.
Gamesmanship maybe, but certainly not a positive on behalf of the fans in rugby league, in fact I would say the fans hate seeing it. Full stop.
You can blame the game’s officials and rule makers for some things, but certainly not everything.
As a matter of fact, often it’s the coaches and players who are to blame for the way the game is played.
A classic example, the officials didn’t introduce wrestling to the game, but they are the ones who have to act on it, and have to cop the criticism if they’re inconsistent on how they rule on it.
In the case of players staying down and playing for penalties, this is entirely up to the player whether we continue to let this be a practice in the game, or stamp it out altogether.
Let’s hope the stance taken by the New South Wales players is the way things are going forward.
Good luck to the Blues, the proof will be in the pudding.
But if it is the case, and they play it tough, then they will have the admiration and respect of even the Queenslanders for doing so.
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