“They were charging a lot more things as grade one than they had in the past. There’s no doubt that if they go off that basis for gradings, they need to look at it.
“There have been a lot of changes over the past 10 or 15 years in the game, but the judiciary and match review has always remained the same. It might be time to look at that, to find improvements and adjustments that match the current game.”
The NRL’s crackdown on head/neck contact that began in Magic Round led to a huge spike in citings. There were five times as many fines – a grade-one offence results in a $1500 hit to the hip pocket – as previous seasons.
“We can’t have guys on minimum wage losing half their pay due to an accident due to a grade one.”
Cronulla captain Wade Graham.
“Things that weren’t a grade one before became a grade one,” Graham said.
“Since the review and crackdown came in, a slip of the arm or an incidental contact is being graded.
“We need a system that reflects that change.
“A lot of time grade ones are accidents and we can’t have guys on minimum wage losing half their pay due to an accident due to a grade one. If you get two grade ones in two weeks, that’s your pay packet gone, you could even be owing money out of your pocket for an accident.”
The players were also pushing for it to become easier to activate an 18th man. Under their proposal, the substitute could come on if two players fail a head-injury assessment or if a third player suffers a match-ending injury of any type.
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They also want to have a genuine say on any issues affecting the game after they were kept out of the loop during fundamental changes such as the six-again and one-referee initiatives.
“It’s no secret that players want a genuine opportunity to provide their insights regarding the on-field product and rules,” said RLPA player operations manager Tom Symonds.
“Re-establishing a stakeholder committee that is tasked with debating various ideas and then providing recommendations would be a positive move for the game.”
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A fine mess: players call for major off-field changes for 2023
Source: Philippines Alive
