I’m not happy today…hello though by the way and I hope you’re well. Yes, I’m not happy with our suspension system in the NRL. New Zealand hooker Isaac Luke, less than 48 hours before a Test Match, found himself at the NRL judiciary last night defending a little striking charge that threatened to rule him out for the Test, and ONLY the Test. And the worse thing is he got suspended. I feel really bad for Luke and think it’s grossly unfair that anyone should have a one game suspension ruling them out of a Test match.
We have our suspension system all wrong where a game at the highest level is worth the same value as a game between team 15 and 16. I remember a few years ago where Ruben Wiki was not allowed to play for New Zealand but was free to play a couple of days later (for Canberra I presume).
I can’t see how that can be justified. Can you imagine if Darren Lockyer, a 300 game veteran who’s never been suspended, was charged with a tiny offence following his game last weekend and was suspended for one match? What if that one match was the Test Match, where he is Australian Captain, but he is more than welcome to play Sunday against Manly?
How is that right…?
I can’t see how a regular home and away season match is worth the same as a one-off Test Match, or any representative match for that manner.
Another example: Michael Ennis. He went to the judiciary last week to fight a charge where if he lost he would have been sidelined for two matches. That would have ruled him out for the Bulldogs match against the Tigers last Sunday AND the City/Country match this week. However, if the Bulldogs didn’t have the bye, he would have been available as soon as 24 hours following the City/Country game.
Same can be said for Cowboys forward Luke O’Donnell. He fought hard to get a two game suspension downgraded to one so he would be available for either City or Australia this weekend. Thankfully he was successful and is playing rep football this weekend. Had he failed, O’Donnell would have missed the Cowboys match against Parramatta last week; he then would have missed a representative game Friday night BUT would have played against the Dragons on Saturday night.
My point…representative games are worth more than regular season games and players shouldn’t be punished by minor offences denying them the chance to play for their country or state. I think representative matches…City/Country, State of Origin and Internationals…should be worth two regular season games.
That means a two game suspension is either worth two club games or one representative game. That would have allowed Ennis and O’Donnell, should they have failed at the judiciary, to miss two club games but play a representative game in between.
Let’s take a hypothetical look here too…let’s say Justin Hodges was cited for something following the Broncos loss to Newcastle last week and was facing a two match suspension. It should be up to the player to decide if he is going to skip the Test Match on Friday night and play for the Broncos on Sunday or if he can play the Test Match then miss two games for the Broncos.
That probably opens up a can of worms in both club interest and proving a player was to be selected anyway. And that’s somewhere for the NRL to step in and rule on. It was granted that Hodges was very unlikely not to be selected for Australia this weekend but someone like a Darius Boyd might have had a tougher time proving he was definitely going to be selected.
While my theory has a couple of flaws there is nothing there the NRL couldn’t rule on and make work. I just think it’s unfair to give rep games the same value as regular games when they are clearly different. Representative football should be the best of the best and minor indiscretions shouldn’t rob the player, or fans, of that spectacle. We’re only hurting ourselves.
That’s what happened last night. Nothing against Dene Halatau but this bizarre system has robbed us, the fans, of seeing New Zealand’s best hooker against Australia’s best hooker on Friday night. Any thoughts please email to andrew.keyte@gmail.com or leave a comment below.
Tips this week: Cowboys, Titans, Broncos, Storm
Last week: 4/8 (Total: 35/64)
Winning percentage: 55%
Talk to you later,
Keyto
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