Will you two just get a room somewhere?

I do apologise for having so many fans from south of the river these days

Probably argue about where the location should be

I don't know whether Robert Hicks intends to clamp down on less than perfect "play the balls" by himself or whether a directive has been sent to all refs to tighten up. My guess is some will penalise in a draconian manner while others will continue to just kid they didn't see the illegal play the balls.

Did Jamie Peacock get pinged for it today?

Reason I ask is that he's never played the ball correctly in his life.

I think everyone was pinged for it. Let's just see if refs are as keen when someone goes over for a matchwinner in the last minute from a "quick" play the ball.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. At the start of every season, there's a directive or two sent out to refs to clamp down on this and that and whatever else the wind happens to have blown in during the off-season. This time around it could well be the PTB. It'll all be forgotten about by Week 2 or Week 3 and normal service shall be resumed.

Yes, it is an RFL ref directive. It has been a feature of all the per-season games so far and as AP says, it will disappear just as quickly as it appeared. Both feet on the line when defending within the final 10 anyone!

Playing the ball with the foot should be a basic requisite - we teach our kids this as a core skill, the least the pros can do is follow one of the ingrained rules of the game

Why? I mean we're the running code. The other code focuses on technical areas. Just my opinion but I don't care if the foot touches the ball. It's just a means to bring the ball back into play.

Isn't the rule that you should "attempt" to play it with the foot or have I just accepted an oft heard "Stevo-ism"?

I don't believe it.

That's true I think, no touch required.

Bore off with the excuses, Melbourne (and the NRL) have a far greater player pool in Aus and NZ to choose from, kind of evens it up.

Nope section 11 page 26 states "when the ball touches the floor it must be heeled(ie backwards) by the tackled palyer.The ball must not be kicked or heeld by the player marking him.
The ball is in play when it has been played backwards."

The interpretation of this rule in recent years has always been that "an attempt" must be made to play the ball with the foot. If the RFL are going to crack down on this rule then many of the younger player will have to be re-taught their 'play the ball' technique.

I would rather the RFL and referees concentrated on moving off the mark, rather than the foot touching the ball. That was a far bigger issue over the last couple of years, and a major reason why we have a lot of penalties for so alledged holding down.

With the refs under instruction to focus on the actual playing of the ball moving off the mark will be a bigger issue as there is more chance of getting away with it.

But to be fair the playing of the ball is a joke it does need cleaning up. So many occasions in sets of 6, where ball is slung under without touching the foot. In last couple of seasons when the ref does blow up for an incorrect play the ball it is so frustrating beacuse there are dozens in every game that do go unpunsished. So I'm glad they are trying to tackle it. But it will be very much 'Memo of the month' until the next buzz word. So it will be pedantville for a month then normal business will resume.

There's a new interpretation for that this year I believe, making it easier for the marker defender to get back 'onside' too.

Totally agree Gotcha/BB it does need sorting there's nowt worse than the player who's tackled getting up and walking 3/4m forwards then steppping to the right or left and then the markers getting pinged for it.

There's nothing worse than someone who says there's nothing worse than something relatively insignificant.

There's one thing even worse than that:




Gok Wan.

Whilst it's happening and effecting the game it isn't insignificant

You are him.

Nah....more like a Rylan Clark wannabe

Bad hair and under fed?