Pressure point in grapple evolution
22.02.2008
By: Brent Read, Dan Koch
Rugby League
FIRST came the grapple tackle, then the equally dangerous crusher. Now there are rumours one club is aiming to circumvent the game's laws by turning its attentions to pressure points.
NRL chief operating officer Graham Annesley yesterday confirmed the league had heard the rumours but said it was yet to receive evidence of clubs flouting the rules.
If they do, watch out. Annesley warned the NRL had the power to punish players and clubs acting against the spirit of the game.
``If it happens we would be concerned about it,'' Annesley said. ``But at this stage we have no evidence that any club is either training or preparing to do it.
``If it does become an issue the judiciary has ample power under the laws of the game in relation to contrary conduct to be able to deal with it.''
The NRL has spent the best part of four years trying to eradicate the grapple tackle and its off-shoots.
The issue came to a head late last year following Brisbane's loss to Melbourne at Olympic Park, with Broncos coach Wayne Bennett and his players complaining about the Storm's tackling technique.
Within days NRL chief executive David Gallop announced a crackdown on the crusher tackle, which involved pressure being placed on an opponent's neck.
The NRL appeared to have won the war when coaches endorsed changes to the rules which outlawed any prolonged contact with the head or neck.
However, all that has done is force clubs to look for new methods to dominate their opponents in the ruck area.
The Australian understands at least one club has spent large parts of its pre-season re-working its technique to move away from the upper body.
Instead, the focus has been on using the legs to dominate the opposition and slow down the play-the-ball.
Wrestling coaches, the bane of league officialdom, have suddenly increased in importance as techniques are reconstructed and refined.
Suggestions that pressure points (areas of the body which can be used to force somebody into submission) could be exploited signals another evolution in the grapple tackle war.
Brisbane athletics performance coach Chris Haseman, a former Australian heavyweight wrestling and mixed martial arts champion, warned that someone could be seriously injured if the rumours became reality.
``The idea of joint locks and manipulation coming into the game is pretty worrying and I would hope that any time that sort of thing is spotted the league comes down heavily on it,'' Haseman said.
``You are talking about something which is very dangerous, particularly in such an uncontrolled environment.
``Having a couple of blokes in a tackle acting as an anchor point while another player is twisting or locking joints is going to lead to injuries.''
One coach contacted yesterday suggested the NRL should get on the front foot and conduct an immediate investigation.
Haseman agreed the game's governing body needed to be pro-active.
``I guess from the administrators' perspective you just have to say that they can't afford to let their guard down and assume it has been dealt with,'' he said.
``If they don't watch this stuff, as I said, players will end up hurt.''
Referees coach Robert Finch spoke to the 16 clubs about the grapple issue two weeks ago.
``The bottom line is most of the time we are always reacting to those things, and we have been since 1908,'' Finch said.
``But I think we're far better equipped now to deal with it.
``They're probably not doing their job if they're not looking at ways to give their team an edge.''
