You can’t fart in Rugby League right now without someone suggesting we change the rules of the game.
The latest person to toss up a rule change is Matthew Johns who claims that the NRL should scrap the current interchange system, have more players on the bench, and once you’ve been replaced you can not return to the field.
The idea is that you would end up with more forwards that were 80 minute players, you would have less “gang tackling”, which is something that has always been part of the game, and you would see the weight of players drop as a result.
Good luck with the rule change. The last thing we need is another bunch of old footballers blaming their coach for Grand Final losses like the Balmain Tigers of 1989 do because they were taken from the field and couldn’t return.
The current interchange system already has its critics in terms of what happens when a player gets injured. There are only so many interchanges available and to burn one on a player that might be alright in a couple of minutes is a big call as it is.
Now imagine what happens if you can’t bring that player back. Forget clubs, coaches and doctors…players themselves will not want to leave the field!
This rule change stuff is complete hysteria. People need to calm down.
Rugby League is a great sport with some very good rules in place. If the current rules are enforced, Rugby League is actually a lot safer than many other sports.
It doesn’t matter how much the rules are change, there will be a risk doing something. If we cut back Rugby League to just being a coin toss to decide games, at some point someones going to choke to death on the coin.
People need to stop panicking any time something happens in Rugby League. It is getting very old and it is making the sport look stupid.
Hang on, safety reaction aside, no interchanges just good old fashioned substitutions is the way to go. The dynamic of the game changed for the worse when this American Football idea came in. Fresh legs performing mundane robotic charges up the middle for the full 80. No room for fatigue exploiting play to come in. Interchanges always were a brainfart of a development.