I've now finally seen this tackle.

The suspension is a terrible decision. It was a tackle. A tackle which began round the waist and was actually quite a low impact. It's the sort of tackle which might happen a dozen times in every match. Calling it a name like "leg whip" tackle doesn't make it any kind of tackle with an intention to injure.

We play a collision sport. Injuries happen. They're perhaps more likely to happen when more tacklers are involved because it becomes impossible to fully control where pressure occurs on limbs as the tackle goes to ground.

Boudebza has been very badly done to here. I hate to say it, but given the way so much of RL works, it would surprise me not at all if Boudebza's nationality had more to do with this decision than the actual tackle.

Dreadful decision. Dreadful.

Interesting point. If it had been Roby I wonder if anything more would've happened at all?

Already in the Salford/saints game there has been a tackle exactly the same as French johns tackle on shenton. Same method, two up, one on legs. No injury, player was straight up and played the ball. Hope the number 13 for Salford gets 4 matches.........

Except that he missed the cup game the following week.

i am assuming the panel must have had additional footage that has not been publicly released. Both teams will have filmed the game, so it is conceivable that this footage is clearer that the Sky footage.
As for the panel being influenced by the comments of a coach - I think that's a bit far fetched. Those who sit on these panels are not the type to be influenced.

Is Cummings on something?

He can't be seriously suggesting there was anything wrong with that tackle on Percival?!! The game will be done away with the way things are going.

Here's hoping Percival is ok by the way.

Well we've just seen a similar tackle from a Salford player on Percival. He's gone off injured. 4 games anyone??

When looking for an explanation for a leftfield decision, it was one possibility that occurred to me, and I've been including it as a caveat. But surely somebody would have mentioned it by now, wouldn't they?

Too many people in this sport want it to become touch rugby and do away with the collision and tackle and wrestle aspects of the sport. It's doing my head in.

Cummings in commentary then was just embarrassing. Claiming that the Salford lad was waiting round the back and hanging on in the tackle...what's he supposed to do, let go and let the Saints lad run up the other end of the pitch?

Injuries happen, sometimes they're as a result of foul play but we've not seen that yet this season from anyone.

There's 2 cameras and the option to zoom either camera in with simple editing if they wanted to do that too. Just like the "super zoom" Sky use.

The stitch up stuff/they don't like our club! stuff is just the usual spouted by every teams fans when someone cops a ban, doesn't matter which team it is someone always cries foul...HKR are not being painted in a good light with the coordinated effort by Hudgell & Campese to demean the governing body and bring the game into disrepute. They should try being the bigger men and move on.

Also, technically they aren't saying he broke any rules he was just negligent and was the cause of the injury albeit unintentionally:


Which I think everyone should be able to agree with?

Looks like we'll have a few more 4 game bans handed out after this weeks matches. Tackle on Percival no different to Boudebza's and again not malicious. Consistancy has to be applied however.

Hmmm is this a new tackle technique though. I saw a few similar late last season and now a few in the first couple of games.
The one in the Salford v Saints game looked, admittedly on 1 viewing, like a deliberate technique of using the body on the back of the legs in order to bring him down. Now before people get worked up I'm not suggesting the technique is deliberately designed to injure. It's probably to try and pull the player back rather than the tackler sliding down his legs because that allows a quick play the ball.

Maybe I'm wrong but it's the technique looks similar to others I've seen recently.