Why weren’t there any 'send offs' or 'sin bins'

Round 7 was set for a cracker between two of the top teams in the NRL, between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Manly Sea Eagles. However ened in controversy involving the refs not sending off or sin-binning Sea Eagles prop Richie Fa'aoso or Jason King, who was involved in three situations where he spear tacked South Sydney's star fullback Greg Inglis head first into the turf.

This was similar to the tackle that Bulldogs centre Krisnan Inu made on Greg Inglis, with which he copped a 8 week ban, but still questions were raised, to why he wasn’t sent off. The video shows, Krisnan Inu spear tackling Greg Inglis.

After the NRL controversially banned the shoulder charge from the game for the protection the player head, South Sydney coach Michael Maguire, as was concerned with the welfare of his player.

Three comments that he made particularly stood out:

“At the end of the day what does it take for someone to be sent off?” he asked.

“Greg was dropped on his head three times in the game and it has happened on various occasions in other games.

“I think it is an area where you have to protect your players. It’s just madness it has got to this point. I’m concerned about all my players if this sort of thing is going on."

Fa'aoso spear tackes Greg Inglis

As a result of this, the NRL referee boss has said "It's a big decision to sin-bin someone and it's a big decision to dismiss them from the field." But he added that they will review the sin bin rule and the prospect of using the sin-bin for repeated incidents of foul play, a move which could prevent a repeat of the attack South Sydney star Greg Inglis endured on Friday night.

It is likely that Richie Fa'aoso will now receive a hefty suspension as he has carry over points from an earlier incident, which Jason King is also likely to come under scrutiny by the NRL match review panel.

Hopefully in the future, refs are able to use sin-bins in particular more effectively to penalise players who put other players welfare at risk. 

ASADA investigation taking its toll on the Cronulla Sharks

As soon as NRL chief executive Dave Smith announced that 31 players were being targeted by a new ASADA (Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority) investigation into drugs in sport, information that the Cronulla Sharks would be a focus of this process surfaced.

After putting together one of the strongest teams the Sharks ever over the offseason, there were many expectations of greater success for the sharks this season. We are now coming up to round 7 and the Sharks have only won 2 of their 6 matches, with many pointing at the ongoing ASADA investigation as a major reason for this poor performance.

The ASADA investigation requires players to participate in a grueling and lengthy interview process, with a constant communication stream between players, their lawyers and their managers to ensure that they are protected. As reflected by many high profile figures in the NRL such as commentators, previous NRL greats and coaches, the switch in focus from sport to the investigation, both physically and mentally, makes in impossible for the Sharks players to be in the best form. As Brad Fittler put it, “They can’t have any intensity at all because what is on their mind all the time is what the lawyers have just been speaking about… they are going home with problems on their mind”.

A real controversy on this issue awakened when Sharks Coach Tim Flanagan finally admitted that the ongoing ASADA investigation was taking its toll on the teams preparation and game. He admitted after a couple of consecutive losses that he was trying to play down the investigation in order for the team and followers to concentrate on the game however now notes that preparation is being stunted “because there is too much stuff going on off the field”.

All participants and followers of the game are hoping that the investigation concludes on the earlier end of the four to six weeks initially exclaimed as the expected length of the investigation, especially considering the secrecy and lack of information to players, teams and fans from ASADA on their progress and findings. Worried sports fans are anticipating the process to drag out for extended periods and are expecting other teams to be more conclusively dragged into the investigation, thus damaging their season as well. The weight that is on the Sharks players and staff will hopefully be lifted as the focus on them wraps up, helping them to regain the best chance of turning around their season before its too late.

A lot weighing on the sharks minds...