My worry is that after these changes are enacted and the number of head injuries do not come down what comes next? Very worrying times. I was chatting to a guy about this a few weeks ago and I predicted that the game as we know it will be gone within the next 15 years.
I’m with you in that more injuries could occur due to lower tackling.

It’s vital that any penalty takes into account the actions of the attacking player too.

We cannot look at the defender in isolation.

I watched a couple of games in the Union World Cup where a ball carrier literally head butted a defenders shoulder and the defender was sent from the field.

All the responsibility for the ball carriers safety seems to be on the defender but I think it is vital that a ball carrier is also responsible for their own safety too.

I can think of a couple of players straight away who’ll be perfecting their penalty milking techniques.

If all of this goes through unchallenged, we won't last even 15 years as a professional sport.

The game is already riddled with penalties incurred by accidental (and even soft) contact with the head. Imagine how it will look when penalties are awarded for the same with the shoulder.

It's just not possible to play rugby league under those circumstances.

This whole business is sheer nonsense devised by a bunch of people who have no empathy with the game at all and are jumping on a health concerns bandwagon just to make themselves relevant (and rich).

And it will be at the expense of our game.

The RFL are too thick, too gullible and too chicken###t to push back.

I honestly believe the only future we have now is if SL breaks away.

Spot on,the ambulance chasers will be out in force and worryingly,the no1 ambulance chaser in Hull is Hudgell at Rovers..will he be a architect in bringing the game down.God knows what will happen when it comes in as the refs are useless now and so far up themselves that it will be more cards than a good night in a casino.

I believe that there is already a lot kickback from the community side of the game but unfortunately this will have zero impact. Young kids play the sport because of the physicality of the game. As I said previously these changes may just be the thin end of the wedge and further changes will dilute the game to tick and pass if we are not careful. Nothing wrong with tick and pass but it isn’t a long term spectator sport.

Not sure that if SL did break away they would rescind the below the armpit tackling.

Well, it certainly won't happen if they all get on board with this garbage.

But I consider myself a lifelong Wigan supporter. Have been following them since the late 1960s, and was there for all the home games even during their period in the 2nd Division, but hand on heart, I can honestly say that I've got doubts about whether I can stick this one out.

For the first time in my life, I'm contemplating a future without rugby league, and I while I can't speak for anyone else, I strongly suspect that I won't be alone.

I'm too young to remember the reaction to the introduction of limited tackles, the 10 metre rule, or summer rugby, but I imagine there were a lot of people decrying the end of rugby league as we know it, it'll never work, nobody wants to see it and so on. Those same people probably found something new to moan about after a few months or years and carried on watching the game like they always had

Out of curiosity I've just pulled up a game from 1993 on Wigan TV. There are a lot more tackles below the armpit in that game than we see today, and the ruck speed it ten times quicker. If this rule change takes the game in that direction then bring it on

Sounds like we are of a similar age Cruncher. My first home game was in 1967 when all of our great players like Boston, McTigue, Ashton etc unfortunately were past their best.
At this point, because of the timing, my main concern with the changes is at the junior level. Kids need to get aggression out of their system and if we are not careful RL will become a non contact sport. I don’t think that I’m over reacting but I’m genuinely concerned that in the near future RL will become obsolete as we know it. I’d like to see the evidence that shows the vast majority of head injuries are due to head high receipt of tackles over and above actually making tackles.

Personally I can’t do without my RL and I will continue to watch the game with the changes and during 2024 I will make the effort to watch even more junior and amateur matches. My worry is that the changes for 2024/25 will be superseded by even more tougher changes. Hope I’m wrong.

I’ve no problem whatsoever with evolution of the game. The introduction of limited tackles probably saved the professional game but in typical RL fashion we went from unlimited tackles to 4. It’s a while ago but I can’t remember much opposition to summer rugby particularly in the professional game. 10 metres or 5 metres I’ve no particular preference as long as the rules are adhered to and I don’t think many people would vehemently disagree with that. The difference now is that changes could creep into the into the game that ultimately will irrecoverably change the physicality part of the game.

I’m all for a quicker play the ball but you’ve got to blame coaches, players and referees for the current at times shambolic play the ball situation. Maybe we limit 2 tacklers ie no 3rd man or refs just shout held a lot earlier. Essentially mere technicalities.

I actually thought we had rules re -head high tackles its a penalty offence.
I agree with most poster that some rules coming in just dont make sense under armpit tackles ok above its a penalty,player steps you and you grab a the collar or a shoulder that is your first reaction and that could be a penalty that is so wrong it will eventually destroy the game,next is you cannot tackle below the waist as you might damage a joint.
We already have rules for dangerous play which get penalised a new set of rules will only increase the penalties by a substantial amount where we could get the ball in play around 15 mins a half or the half last for over a hour if we stop the clock at each infringement.
This is taking us away from the game we love to a game we dont recognise.

You admit you don't remember the game before those big rule changes and in the same breath slate the people who didn't like them. As always, it's not the administrators' fault, it's just the usual suspect fans who like to have a moan.

Well, I do remember those rule changes, and I can assure you that they were nothing like as controversial as this. The plain fact is that we already have overzealous officials who penalise for the slightest contact with the head, even if it's accidental and light. The thought of those same men in charge of a rule whereby this also applies to contact with the shoulder is blood-curdling.

Just think about that. Is it possible to play a contact sport like RL under those conditions? Will there be a single set of six without a penalty incurred?

It's total nonsense.

Someone else made a comment that the game we older fans grew up with was 'barbaric' by modern standards. But that's an irrelevant point. Violent play has always been illegal. The same way dangerous tackles have always been illegal. The rules are there and can and should be applied by the game's disciplinary. We don't need to keep tightening them up to the point where non-dangerous play is also severely penalised.

This is a classic example of a bunch of little men with power, who are never happy unless they're imposing themselves further. Give them an inch and they will always take a mile.

If you think this is okay and that fans will just have to get used to it, fine ... that's exactly how the RFL are thinking. But at some point, these idiots are going to come unstuck (not least because half of them wouldn't even know to lift the toilet lid when they're having a wee if someone didn't tell them to). There's been lots of talk in the past of a SL breakaway. Personally, I think that's more likely than the fans just walking away in droves. But it may be that the fans need to walk away first. I fear that only when the clubs start losing money will they realise what an error this was.

This is what we are saying ,we have rules that determine foul play we dont need anymore.

To be honest all arguments either way are fairly irrelevant until we see the new rules and how they are interpreted in action, and in action for probably 6 months.

I’m anticipating there will be very little noticeable difference (after an initial flurry of penalties) once the players get acclimatised to the rule .

In the community game in Union all tackles were to be below sternum height, that rule is simply not being enforced by the refs.

Those first few games when it is introduced will be penalty fests. That happens with any new rules they bring in over the off season. Hopefully having a year to prepare, and the fact it is being introduced for academy and reserves this year will mean that we are well prepared as a sport and players adapt quickly. It's interesting that two people from our club have been at the forefront of pushing the positives of the new rules. Denis Betts and Prof. Chris Brookes are both in favour and have spoken to Gary Carter from The Sun https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/25010866 ... TtGfKKgtRc https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/25003075 ... ans-rules/

Those first few games when it is introduced will be penalty fests. That happens with any new rules they bring in over the off season. Hopefully having a year to prepare, and the fact it is being introduced for academy and reserves this year will mean that we are well prepared as a sport and players adapt quickly. It's interesting that two people from our club have been at the forefront of pushing the positives of the new rules. Denis Betts and Prof. Chris Brookes are both in favour and have spoken to Gary Carter from The Sun https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/25010866 ... TtGfKKgtRc https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/25003075 ... ans-rules/