'Naïve': Expert slams 'dangerous' NRL theory
Since unsavoury vision of Dragons centre Moses Suli struggling to get to his feet after a head clash on the opening kick-off of the traditional Anzac Day clash, former players and leading figures in the NRL have voiced support for the kick-off to remain.
“I think we need to keep it, it’s what our game is all about, as soon as you take that away, what is our game?,” legendary former player Cameron Smith asked SEN Radio this week. “I don’t think we can take it out of our game.”
Smith played over 400 NRL games and is arguably the next in line to become an Immortal.
Then there’s Phil Gould, the Bulldogs GM and former NSW coach, who was fined for labelling the NRL “stupid” for wanting to adjust its rules in relation to the kick-off.
“It is really frustrating watching our game be torn apart by everybody bar the coaches and the players, it just drives me mad. Doctors, lawyers and fans on social media, that’s all they listen to. They don’t listen to players,” Gould said on Nine’s 100% Footy.
Shane Flanagan was quizzed on how the problem could be repaired in a Sydney Morning Herald report that claimed the Dragons coach had brought some sanity to the debate, by highlighting that “timing and technique are everything”.
Smith echoed those sentiments on his radio spot during the week, saying that “coaching a bit better technique to make better tackles” would go some way to addressing the problem.
Yet one of Australia’s foremost concussion experts has criticised that viewpoint, calling for modifications to the NRL kick-off while denouncing claims that tackle technique can solve the problem.
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