Have Your Say

Newcastle Herald Letters to the Editor: Monday, May 24, 2021

By Letters to the Editor
May 24 2021 - 7:30am
Has anyone asked the fans what they want?
Has anyone asked the fans what they want?

WITH the advent of the massive crackdown on head-high tackles by the NRL, has anyone thought the changes through, regarding fans and value for money? It is hard enough to follow the Knights (or Wests Tigers) with the inconsistencies they produce with 13 men on the field. With this new initiative, many teams are going to find themselves down to twelve men, almost from the "get go". How can any NRL team be competitive for such a long period of a match? This will lead to massive "blow outs" in scores. Not that this isn't already happening. Disenchantment for fans and perhaps, the number of people attending matches. Leading to drop in club membership and support. Where does the NRL go from there? Is it good to protect players, very over zealously, and ruin many games on the scoreboard? One solution could be, if a player is sent off for the game, that team plays for 10 minutes with 12 men. After the period is up, (from the three remaining replacements) a 13th player goes back on the field. This allows the pentalised team hope of being in the game, for the rest of the match, whilst playing with only three reserves. That is still an ongoing penalty, but giving the game some hope of giving the (long suffering) fans value for their financial investment. It is all very good for these highly overpaid professional sportsmen to cry "foul", but without a fan base, they will be crying in their milk.

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