SL player you dislike the most due to them "allegedly" play acting and receiving penalties?

[FearTheVee]

1 hour ago, JohnM said:

Edited for clarity.

Not true though is it - we’ll be waiting a long time for someone to say James Roby for example and there are loads of other examples across the league.

Edited September 14, 2022 by FearTheVee

[JohnM]

Since when has "truth" had any relevance to a topic such as this?

[CiderWire]

"And the award for this year's (and the previous 10 or so) greatest performance goes to.........(opens gilt envelope)......... Sam Tomkins."

A product of the Jurgen Klinsmann School of Performing Arts and Histrionics. He graduated at the top of his class, earning himsel a first, and has become the undisputable master of his art in the succeeding years thereafter.  

[Chris22]

None. These players are paid to win  matches. I don't blame any of them for doing that.

It puzzles me that staying down after taking a high shot is seen as outrageous yet other acts of cheating such as a deliberate ball steal are not. That's just as much 'milking', if not more so, than any act in the game.

[Jughead]

All of them. 

[DavidM]

It’s a two way street . Players shouldn’t stay down but players will do it if it can gain an advantage . I blame protocols that allow off field scrutiny of incidents and I blame officials who react to injuries rather than tackles . If an onfield official sees nothing then play on , and if you’re injured or want to stay down move the play the ball and get treatment in back play 

[SalfordSlim]

20 minutes ago, Chris22 said:

None. These players are paid to win  matches. I don't blame any of them for doing that.

It puzzles me that staying down after taking a high shot is seen as outrageous yet other acts of cheating such as a deliberate ball steal are not. That's just as much 'milking', if not more so, than any act in the game.

We're not talking about foul play here, we're talking about players conning the ref when no offence has taken place. "Simulation" is not acceptable in any form and there are plenty of players in SL that are known for it and are hated by opposition fans, exactly for that.

It's like diving in football, as soon as refs start booking players every time a player does it (and send them off if necessary) they'll soon stop doing it. Just takes some balls from the ref to call them out for it.

Edited September 14, 2022 by SalfordSlim

[Chris22]

11 minutes ago, SalfordSlim said:

We're not talking about foul play here, we're talking about players conning the ref when no offence has taken place. "Simulation" is not acceptable in any form and there are plenty of players in SL that are known for it and are hated by opposition fans, exactly for that.

It's like diving in football, as soon as refs start booking players every time a player does it (and send them off if necessary) they'll soon stop doing it. Just takes some balls from the ref to call them out for it.

But foul play usually has taken place. These incidents seem to arise when a player has taken head contact, the ref hasn't noticed and the player stays down to attract a the video ref's review.

[SalfordSlim]

12 minutes ago, Chris22 said:

But foul play usually has taken place. These incidents seem to arise when a player has taken head contact, the ref hasn't noticed and the player stays down to attract a the video ref's review.

You say foul play, I say minimal contact. Some of the incidents you see wouldn't be enough to knock a frail old granny over yet the player makes out they're in severe pain. Footballers get rightly lambasted for being a big wuss (am I even allowed to say that anymore?) but some of the playacting in RL is getting just as bad IMO.

[Pie tries]

11 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

 Morgan Smithies?

Nah - he just blatantly gives them away what he’s decapitated someone…

[Alffi 7]

Josh Charnley had a hugely frustrating habit of trying to trap in the tackler every time he got tacked. He used to get some penalties at first, but the vast majority of the time just made our play the ball slower.

[The Blues Ox]

Every player who has ever developed cramp at the same moment their team has to defend a drop out.

[Harry Stottle]

9 minutes ago, Alffi 7 said:

Josh Charnley had a hugely frustrating habit of trying to trap in the tackler every time he got tacked. He used to get some penalties at first, but the vast majority of the time just made our play the ball slower.

You can have him back............please.

[Dunbar]

Players staying down after high contact is a frustrating issue facing the sport today.  But it is complex.

On the one hand, if a player does stay down after high contact, that the ref hasn't spotted but the video ref does, and 'wins' a penalty then an offence has occurred.  As we are determined as a sport to clamp down on head injuries you could argue this is all fair.

But for me it doesn't feel right. I don't think there is anything more frustrating to watch than a player who is clearly ok kneeling after a tackle, refusing to play the ball and waiting for the video ref to find some contact with his head.

I always thought that a Rugby player pretended to be unhurt when he was... not pretended to be hurt when he wasn't.  It is a tough, physical game.  Staying down injured when you are not injured and you could play the ball feels wrong but as I say an offence has occurred. 

This matter is compounded when players then take to twitter or other social platforms saying the game has gone soft when a ban is dished out.  Well, you can't have it both ways.  You can't stay down pretending to be injured and then say the game has gone soft.

There is only one group that can change this and that is the players and coaching staff.  How do they want the game to be played?  How do they want to be perceived by the people paying to watch them play?

Another reason why I respect Trent Robinson so much is that he was so angry at the suggestion his players stay down after a tackle.  He clearly doesn't like the tactic and this will permeate to his team. 

We need more people in the game to be angry at the practice.

[Chris22]

13 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

We need more people in the game to be angry at the practice.

I think our partisan nature comes in here too. If a player for the team an individual supports does it, then a blind eye will be turned.

Say it's the Grand Final. Two minutes to go. One side trails by two. They feel head high contact and are close to the posts.

What does that player do? Stay down and try and win the penalty and tie the match? Or get up and probably lose the match. The practice almost pits the sport against the team.

If the player got up, they may face internal criticism for not playing 'smart' as well as from their own fans. If they stay down, they face wider criticism.

I don't think there's an easy answer though. Because if we say the video ref can't intervene, something substantial will be missed.

[Chris22]

Whilst we're on the subject, I'm going to rather shamelessly link to a blogpost I wrote the other week...

[Dunbar]

18 minutes ago, Chris22 said:

I think our partisan nature comes in here too. If a player for the team an individual supports does it, then a blind eye will be turned.

Say it's the Grand Final. Two minutes to go. One side trails by two. They feel head high contact and are close to the posts.

What does that player do? Stay down and try and win the penalty and tie the match? Or get up and probably lose the match. The practice almost pits the sport against the team.

If the player got up, they may face internal criticism for not playing 'smart' as well as from their own fans. If they stay down, they face wider criticism.

I don't think there's an easy answer though. Because if we say the video ref can't intervene, something substantial will be missed.

I would turn that situation around.

If, for the whole season, players hadn't stayed down in televised games to win penalties from incidents that the on field ref hadn't spotted then it wouldn't even occur to the player two minutes from time  in the Grand Final to stay down and it wouldn't even occur to his teammates and fans to be angry with him for not doing it.

[Loiner]

Fages and Levi.

[Loiner]

1 minute ago, Dunbar said:

I would turn that situation around.

If, for the whole season, players hadn't stayed down in televised games to win penalties from incidents that the on field ref hadn't spotted then it wouldn't even occur to the player two minutes from time  in the Grand Final to stay down and it wouldn't even occur to his teammates and fans to be angry with him for not doing it.

Brilliant answer.

[Saint Toppy]

Lots of players try to milk penalties during games across all clubs, but 2 of the most persistent fake injury actors this year have to be Levi & Myler.

[Gordon Street]

16 hours ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

I remember being at Central Park once listening to someone explain that Andy Gregory was an all time great as not only could he play the game, but he would simultaneously referee it too!  Haha

A fair few of us had a chortle but I suppose in the modern game it’s par for the course now.

no it isn't, certainly not any more than it ever was. Players are under far more scrutiny now. 

[Gordon Street]

 

3 hours ago, Chris22 said:

I think our partisan nature comes in here too. If a player for the team an individual supports does it, then a blind eye will be turned.

Say it's the Grand Final. Two minutes to go. One side trails by two. They feel head high contact and are close to the posts.

What does that player do? Stay down and try and win the penalty and tie the match? Or get up and probably lose the match. The practice almost pits the sport against the team.

If the player got up, they may face internal criticism for not playing 'smart' as well as from their own fans. If they stay down, they face wider criticism.

I don't think there's an easy answer though. Because if we say the video ref can't intervene, something substantial will be missed.

it's wise for a player to stay down after a high shot

Edited September 14, 2022 by Gordon Street

[Dunbar]

2 minutes ago, Gordon Street said:

no it isn't, certainly not any more than it ever was. Players are under far more scrutiny now. 

You don't think players berate, complain and shout at the ref more today than they did in the past?

[Gordon Street]

3 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

You don't think players berate, complain and shout at the ref more today than they did in the past?

no. I think we hear it more, and see more of it in close up. I also think that there is far less thuggery, cheap violence and deliberate foul play. 

Edited September 14, 2022 by Gordon Street

[Dunbar]

3 minutes ago, Gordon Street said:

staying down is a wise

 

it's wise for a player to stay down after a high shot

We can argue whether it is wise or not but even if it is wise, it is still rubbish.  Those two are not mutually exclusive. 

I'm with Trent Robinson and Aaron Woods on this one.  Don't stay down looking for the video ref to give you  penalty. 

I like Aaron Woods' solution.

“For me, if you lay down you’re straight off for HIA - 15 minutes off the field. Any time someone tries to lay down thinking they’re trying to milk something, just take them off and it’ll stop players from doing it.”

After all, if you are unable to play the ball after a high shot, you should go for a HIA.