Harry Smith gets a red and it’s unlikely he plays in the WCC right? We need our best players on the big stage (this is legitimate, and the current rules suck).

A red given with 5 mins to go is not the same as a red given 5 mins in - the punishment itself isn’t consistent. Being banned for a league game should not have the same weighting as finals or internationals either, it’s a joke IMO.

We have to keep going back to: why are the rules in place? A: player safety. Next question is: so the rules work. A: no not really.

As others have said the current rules focus only on tacklers getting punished: defenders actually are at just as much if not more risk of concussion than the ball carrier.

I don’t think Watt’s card had anything to do with the new rules, it’s a shoulder charge directly to the head, it’s been a red for quite a while

Watts was an unusual one - technically on the logic both him and Westerman should have been dismissed.

I don’t know I’d love to work with the rule makers, I just feel it’s been a mess for ages and next year anyone’s guess. Those rules were an absolute shambles at academy level - laughably bad.. if they don’t integrate bettter with the senior game I’m serious, we won’t have a viable sport any more.

I cant agree that it's a shoulder charge and 100% wouldn't have been a red even last year.

Like Mom’s tackle he got binned for - just looked a good solid shot to me. If we are going to start red carding players for tackles like that next year I have no idea where the sport is going. This for me is the biggest crisis RL has faced - and of course the issues of player welfare are so serious and we need to better protect them.

My opinion has always been I would rather punish players who are genuinely grubby or just being daft, more than those that are playing hard and just get it slightly wrong.

Don’t get me wrong, Watts is capable of being daft, but I’d hate to see him get the book thrown at him for this one.

And yes I know that it’s the current climate etc but I do think there needs to be a little common sense for what is a contact sport.

I think the best referee, at the hull derby, coped very well and managed the game excellently.
the worst ones, at leeds and cas didn't.

You’re probably right, but the game needs to be refereeable more… we need to simplify the rules and remove the amount of discretion there is currently,

Another bugbear of mine is the ruck. 3 secs max to release the player on “held” or else penalise. The amount of messing about by Salford was crazy.

there is always different consistencies with different referees.
I refereed football just below football keague and as much as you try to be consistent it doesn't happen.
however there is a huge difference between the qualities of referees in super league and that's a major issue imo. perhaps better training may help I'm not sure.

Quote ="Seth"I cant agree that it's a shoulder charge and 100% wouldn't have been a red even last year.'" I disagree https://twitter.com/mikeyweal/status/17 ... 03033?s=46 Shoulder direct contact to the head, it was acred card and It would have been last year

Quote ="Seth"I cant agree that it's a shoulder charge and 100% wouldn't have been a red even last year.'" I disagree https://twitter.com/mikeyweal/status/17 ... 03033?s=46 Shoulder direct contact to the head, it was acred card and It would have been last year

Although it may not have been the case for Watts, who is responsible if the attacker dips at the last second and there is shoulder head contact?

How low do you have to get your body as a defender if the attacker is dipping into the tackle?

It’s not clear cut.

It's a good question. Watts didn't dip at all so wouldn't really apply there but under other scenarios where the tackler did then I'm guessing it would be seen as mitigation and the ref would pull out the yellow. There'll doubtless be a grey area though, the sort that usually results in inconsistency.

I can see situations where the tackler preemptively dips yet the ball carrier doesn't, resulting in the ball carriers hip/elbow making contact with the tacklers head. Contact with the head and forceful - yellow card?

This is the scenario that concerns me. I can see players being sent off when they are unable to react to an attacker making a late change in height. This is different to the lazy arms left out when being stepped, and shouldn’t be on the defender in my view.

A player dips their head forward at the line trying to score a try, are we now saying you cannot tackle them if you might touch their head?

I hope not, whilst the defender has a responsibility to protect the safety of the other players (including his co tacklers) there should be limits based on what is reasonable and practical. I can see some players deliberately ducking into defenders to try to get them sent off.

I understand why they have changed the rules, I just don’t think it’s practical or even what the players want.

I remember Chris Hill got a red for exactly this when he was at Warrington. Heavy-ish contact mind but not one he could have easily pulled out of once he'd committed to making the tackle. In that basis it's been in the rules a while already.

With the onfield interruption from the video refs it will be interesting to see if there's a decrease in bans from the disciplinary. e.g. the Momo sin-bin would have been left last season and then he'd probably of got a ban. As it is he should be free to play. I wont hold my breath though.

Quote ="christopher"I disagree https://twitter.com/mikeyweal/status/17 ... 03033?s=46 Shoulder direct contact to the head, it was acred card and It would have been last year'" I know, I've already seen that. We disagree.

Quote ="christopher"I disagree https://twitter.com/mikeyweal/status/17 ... 03033?s=46 Shoulder direct contact to the head, it was acred card and It would have been last year'" I know, I've already seen that. We disagree.

The fact that everyone disagrees on here tells you that it's pretty much an impossible job

I used to be a big fan of shoulder charges etc., however, based on how the game has been refereed the last 1-2 years, Watts was an obvious red for me. If you stay upright and your shoulder makes contact with their head, your unlikely to stay on the field. In reality, Westerman should have seen red too but they were never going to send both off.

I think if a defender decides to remain upright in a tackle, they are always going to be risking it as there will be no mitigation. If they bend, they will I would hope have mitigation and it might just be a yellow if they make head contact.

If the ball carrier doesn't bend at all, and his shoulder/elbow/hip makes contact with the tacklers head, is this a card?

No because the duty of care is on the defender to avoid the attackers head and not the attacker to avoid the defenders head.

I much preferred it in the days when reds were only given for very clear dirty play etc., however, these are not rules anymore. Players need to learn the risk of tackling upright runs the risk of yellows / reds.

Yes I think everyone can see the need to protect players' long-term health.

The problem is the way in which the RFL is trying to achieve this - it's harming the game so much whilst not doing much to prevent concussion. Would be interested in the stats as to whether the amount of concussions is actually decreasing over time with the new rules - I still see plenty of players leave for HIA. By the time you need an HIA brain injury has already occurred/is a risk. Often it is defenders who come off worst; where in the rules are we or can we protect defenders? This obsession with the obvious head-high tackling is not helping; rules have ALWAYS been in place to deal with dirty play.

Red cards on-field should be reserved for clear foul play as a punishment. They should not be used for any controversial or arguable cases live, this is where the match commission can review objectively and gather evidence. We need a points system for punishment where the sanction fits the crime much better.

The tackle Tariq Sims put on George Williams was awesome. Rugby League is a physical contact sport where you are going to get hurt at times. It's hard enough to attract players of quality to the sport in competition with football and RU, I feel at the moment we are shooting ourselves in the foot.