Couldn't agree more. All this fannying around with the rules is peeing me off, especially when their are more fundamental issues with the game at a more strategic level that should be being addressed.

It's hardly difficult to determine what is a shoulder charge and what isn't.

If you make no attempt to use your arms in the tackle, it's a shoulder charge. If you at least make the effort with your arms to try and wrap up the ball carrier, it's a legitimate tackle.

If this teaches players that they can't just recklessly fly in with the shoulder in an attempt to clean out the ball carrier, not caring where they make contact, then all well and good.

What do you call making an effort with your arms? If a player hits someone with their shoulder and their arms come up, but make no contact with the player, is that a shoulder charge or a good tackle?

There's the crux though, a player can say he went in to make an attempt to use his arms into the tackle (why does it have to be "around"???) but it can easily be seen by a ref that he didn't, angle of bodies, speed of play, ref unsighted, physical position of players (attacker side steps into another player whose shoulder makes contact first effecting the tackle meaning the arms don't look like being used or didn't make contact...or did they? Video ref at every other tackle now, that might be the case no?

An example; An attacker is still making forward progress with one or two defenders hanging on, I lower my shoulder to make an orthodox tackle attempting from my point of view to use my arms but he ducks/falls at that split second and my shoulder contacts him first and my arms don't how is that going to be adjudged? I have still struck the player without use of my arms(or even an attempt) it would seem on the face of it to the ref in that split second, I could even have contacted the head yet I have made a legitimate and clearly not reckless challenge, under the new law I could possibly be sent off and banned even without striking the head.

I go into a tackle same as above, the attacking player turns and puts his shoulder right into my face (because my head is forward of my shoulder in an orthodox tackle) I get knocked out/neck injury, does the attacking player get sent off...no yet I would have as much if not more damage. I then make a claim against the RFL for not protecting me by telling the nasty attacker not to use his shoulder in the tackle. Just because the rule/RFL Law is no shoulder tackle from the defender doesn't make it right that the attacker should also be allowed to use the shoulder when in a case of law the point would be made that the shoulder charge rule was brought in to reduce injuries, so why didn't they ban all shoulder to shoulder contact from both attacker and defender?

Too much grey area and situations that will be fair tackles being pulled up and still not reducing the injuries to an extent that warrants the ban.

Er . . . who on earth claimed they are?

The governing bodies' issue here is that a shoulder charge creates the RISK of a shoulder-head contact, and thus injury.

I cant understand the RFL now saying we need to follow what the RLIF say when a few weeks ago they changed various rules, on little more than a whim, without the RLIF approving that. This has been the case every season with the RFL and NRL for as long as I can remember so its a bit rich to be hiding behind that now.

I agree that the RLIF should set the rules so that we have a standardised game the world over and all domestic leagues follow these rulings but that is a long way from what has happened here and what has happened in previous seasons.