Monthly Archives: July 2011
Think You’re An NRL Guru?
Every day I deal with people telling me they know who is going to be in the NRL Top 8 and I’ve had jack of it. It always happens this time of year, I guess because finals are approaching but something takes over people and they become a NRL guru. Well here is your chance to prove it – I am betting you can’t tell me who is going to be in the bottom 8? For that matter I bet you can’t tell me which two teams will be against each other come Grand Final day? If you think you can then here is your chance.
Welcome to the first of many ‘On The Try Line’ competitions. Below are the details of the competitions.
The Bottom Feeders
The basic premise of this is I want you to pick who you think will be in the bottom 8 and in what order. If you want to be involved in the ‘Bottom Feeder’ send me an email with a table stating where the teams will place on the ladder when the finals begin. For example:
9. Newcastle
10. Cronulla
11. South Sydney
12. Canterbury-Bankstown
13. Parramatta
14. Canberra
15. Sydney Roosters
16. Gold Coast
If the final table looks like your selection at the completion of Round 26 then you are a winner. Too easy!
The Grand Finalists
This challenge is for the more skilled punter. I’m going to need you to pick the two teams that you think will appear in the Grand Final. Then if those teams face each come the first week in October you’re a winner.
There is a chance that 2 or more people will pick the same sides so if this happens then i’ll get those people to pick the margin.
To make it really fun I’ll be updating ‘On The Try Line’ with the ladder depending on where you are each week for the challenges.
If you want to be involved then send your selections to onthetryline@gmail.com. All selections need to be sent to me before 2pm of Friday 29th July. I will inform you of the prizes when receiving your selections.
Hope you will get involved!
Charlton
The Gibson Roster
Normally during this time of the year you start to notice players who weren’t in the ‘whose hot this year’ articles at the start of the season. I’d like to recognise these players with something I’ve named ‘The Gibson Roster”. No, this isn’t a list generated by the super computer in the movie ‘Hackers’ it’s actually a tribute to the late great Jack Gibson.
Quick history lesson – now before Wayne Bennett was known as the Supercoach, the original Supercoach was Jack Gibson. Unfortunately for everyone in Rugby League he passed away in 2008. He was responsible for the golden age of Parramatta football including three premierships and one of the best run-on squads the Eels would have in Brett Kenny, Mick Cronin, Peter Sterling, Eric Grothe Snr (I have to say SNR because unfortunately people might think I’m talking about the dead weight Parra had playing for them a couple of years ago) and Steve Ella. If those names are as common to you as ‘Neville Charlton’ then find yourself a Parramatta fan and ask him about the 1982 finals run.
Gibson was the original Supercoach and the idea behind the Gibson Roster is a list of players who I think Gibson would have loved to have in his starting 13.
Jack Bosden – St George Illawarra Dragons – 4 NRL Games Played
I watched Bosden play in the Charity Shield match at the start of the year and something about him sparked interest for me. At first I couldn’t explain why a kid of his size (just under 100kgs) was playing in the second row position then I saw him wrestle his way through 3 defenders to score under the goal posts. That’s when I realised that he was pure strength.
If Ben Creagh and Paul Gallen were to have a baby then Bosden is what the outcome would be. Mean as hell and ugly just the same. Take Creagh’s ability and football brain and mash it with Gallen’s skill for swallowing small children and 9 months later you have a baby Jack Bosden.
Given he is only 21 you can only imagine where good coaching and the right environment could take him. Unfortunately for me it’s taking him to the Eastern Suburbs. The Roosters snagged him for next season to fill the shoes of the departing Nate Myles. I couldn’t agree more with the substitution of Myles for Bosden but I just hope the Roosters can get out of this funk they are in and groom him into the Origin player he is born to be.
Mitch Allgood – Parramatta Eels – 15 NRL Games Played
The fact that things AREN’T currently ‘Allgood’ at Parramatta is no reason for players to be absent from the Gibson Roster. Mitch Allgood is definitely a shining light in a somewhat dim Parramatta arena for 2011. He is currently averaging a 10/22 (hit ups/tackles) for 15 games and considering he is only playing about 35 minutes of football per game you can envision where he is headed.
He comes off like a sequel to the epic tale of ‘Nathan Hindmarsh – a battle drawn warrior” with his consistency. All he needs to do is grow his hair and turn up the good guy attitude. This is my long way of saying that I think Allgood is Hindmarsh 2.0 but you’ll have to give it 4-5 years.
Not only that but his name fits in perfectly in the ‘Editors Delight’ section of my All In The Namearticle I did a few months ago.
Nathan Peats – South Sydney Rabbitohs – 12 NRL Games Played
The only thing ‘devastating’ about the Rabbits forward pack this year was the injuries they took on. With Burgess, Stuart, Asotasi, Lowe and Geddes all out for the season it meant South’s had to put up the Bat signal in the sky. Nathan Peats seems to be only the real Batman left at Redfern.
(Quick analogy…if Luke Stuart is Adam West then Roy Asotasi is Michael Keating with Ben Lowe as Val Kilmer and Sam Burgess is George Clooney making Nathan Peats our Christian Bale.)
The La Perouse junior has a shattering way of being involved in nearly every tackle he possibly can. When John Lang (Alfred the Butler) finally unleashes Peats onto the field he will normally find his way into 3 or 4 of the 6 tackles the opponents have. He currently averages 20 tackles per game but he is only playing on average 30 minutes per game. That’s 50 minutes of time he could be out stopping bad guys.
Peats is perfect for the 13 jersey at South Sydney but he needs to get in line behind Crocker, Lowe, Jason Clark and (if only) John Sutton. Lucky for the Rabbitohs fans he re-signed with South’s so essentially you are looking at the future of South Sydney. Holy Throwing Telephones Batman!
Dane Gagai – Brisbane Broncos – 6 NRL Games Played
Pronounced ‘Gay Guy’ and yes he would definitely make an appearance in the section of ‘Innuendo Intended’ for my All In The Name article. Fortunately for Brisbane the only thing he is gay about is playing good football. Here is why he and the Broncos fans are so happy:
- 4 tries in 6 games.
- 3 line breaks in 6 games.
- Youthful with speed to burn
The media are talking up the Karmichael comparisons but the big difference I see is that Gagai actually looks excited about playing football. Unlike Hunt whose excitement could only be compared to a night out in Canberra with a Carbon Tax expert.
On that topic, what’s up with Brisbane and their ability to product quality backs? Maybe it’s something in the water or just the mainstream coverage Rugby League gets up there (a small voice in my head just said ‘yeah maybe it’s the fact that they have a whole state to choose from’). Whatever it is, it seems like whenever they lose a good player, to injury or transfer they just grab the next version of that player and pop him in there (the only exception to that is Steve Michaels).
Chad Townsend – Cronulla Sharks – 5 NRL Games Played
Tim Smith, Albert Kelly, and Brett Seymour – no I’m not naming Cronulla players who belong in my Defence Rests article, these are potential halfbacks that Cronulla had and are no longer playing first grade. It’s lucky a player like Chad Townsend is on the back burner.
Do you think its coincidence that he started playing halfback for the Sharks in Round 13 right around the time they started their 4 game winning streak? I don’t think so. Here are a few factors that made a difference:
- Wade Graham had somebody to run off
- Paul Gallen swallowed Superman and he is feeding off the alien energy
- Townsend took over goal kicking duties and left room for Graham to just score tries
- John Morris isn’t playing halfback – HUGE FACTOR!Side note – Anytime Morris has to make a decision in the game there’s a 98% chance it’s the wrong one. His decision making skills are comparable to the following all time bone head decisions:
- “Let’s make Joey Johns a commentator”
- “Mario Fenech is perfect for national TV”
- “My starting line-up for the first South Sydney finals appearance in 20 years will include Shannon Hegarty”
- “Man I could smash a kebab right now”
Three of those four factors have to do with Chad Townsend. In a league that is STRUGGLING to find halfbacks we are looking at a perfect example of one.
Say what you want about the quality of ‘people’ in the Shire but they definitely know how to breed a footballer. He has a football brain and with Graham outside him he doesn’t need to make all the choices. The only bad news, as far as a team playing the Sharks are concerned is that he takes at least 3 minutes to kick a goal. It doesn’t matter where he is kicking from. It comes off like a blatant attempt to waste time but he really does take that long. Normally I would say something about that not mattering because Cronulla don’t score many points but that hasn’t been the case in past few weeks.
There is the Gibson Roster for 2011. I guess the beauty of it is that these players still have a long way to go but I believe in the next 2-3 years we are talking about them in a different format, maybe in an Origin type situation. If that happens I will enjoy all the glory of saying ‘I told you so’ and I can use this article as proof of my genius ‘On The Try Line’.
Before I take off I wanted to remind you that our Facebook page is up and running. I’d love to have you visit it and hit the ‘Like’ button especially if you are a regular visitor ‘On The Try Line’. This way you can get up to date info about new articles, changes to the site and the potential to star in the Tipping and Dream Team competitions we are arranging for next season. Thanks in advance for your support.
Repeat Sets, Wins Games
Here is one for all those stat junkies out there just like me. It goes along with a theory I have about never underestimating the power of a good kicker who can create a repeat set and the energy a team has for good 5th tackle options.
Why? Glad you asked that question; teams like Cronulla, Parramatta and especially South Sydney have terrible fire power when attacking the opponents try line. The common theme for all those teams is the lack of kicking ability. Sure Sandow and Hayne can both kick 40/20’s at the drop of a hat but as soon as they are on the line the chances of them slotting the ball out of the full are very high.
After another fruitless 5th tackle option by South Sydney on Saturday night my buddy Sam asked me to investigate the number of drop outs the Bunnies forced per game. I looked at South’s numbers and I was planning to just send him an email telling the outcome of my research. What I found out made me shake my head so much that I decided to compare it to a few other teams.
For my comparison I grabbed the team on the top of the table (Melbourne), the team in the basement (Canberra), a team who will struggle without their savvy halfback (North Queensland) and I put these numbers up against South Sydney.
(These numbers are based on the 17 games played in the 2011 season)
How craptastic is that? In summary this means that of the 17 games South’s have played this year, they have only been responsible for forcing a repeat set 21 times but their opponents have forced South’s to drop out 36 times. This means that South’s are trying too hard to score on every play instead of trying to build up momentum (plus we could also make a comment about their on the line defence but that’s for another time). When you compare that to…
Melbourne on the other hand shows why they are the front runners. They’ve forced their opponents to drop the ball out almost 50% more than they have to do it themselves. See the difference a quality hooker, halfback and speedy fullback can make?
That could be proof that Matt Orford is a horrid halfback. Of their first 5 games Canberra received only 3 drop outs from their opponents. Compare that to a whopping 13 drop outs they took themselves and it’s clear that Matt Orford has no concept of “monkey see, monkey do.” Once Orford was dropped there was a huge difference in the repeat set totals for the Raiders but it still didn’t amount to games won.
Without JT the Cowboys numbers changed drastically. When they don’t have him on the field their opponents have only taken 3 drop outs. Now compare that number to 26 for the season and you can see how something that small is evidence that the Cowboys will struggle without him.
Now look at the percentages of the teams ‘receiving a line drop out’ and it’s clear that even the side coming dead last has a better chance than South Sydney does. Warning signs for Parramatta next year who already struggle to find points. Plus have a look at Melbournes numbers and it’s evident that they are a still one of the biggest threats in the game today. Just something for you to think about the next time your team is ‘On The Try Line’
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QLD Dream Team
[Part 3 in my 3 part Origin series]
If you are just joining us check out Part 1 and 2 here
Tonight’s game is anticipated to be one of the best finishes to an Origin series in years. I heard Gus Gould say it’s “the biggest Game 3 ever played in State of Origin history”. That’s not what we are here to talk about today. I just wanted to use that as a launching point for me because of the 17 QLD players taking the field tonight 6 of those players will be appearing in my QLD Dream Team side I am about to unveil. This should give you an idea of the skill and depth the Maroons have on the field tonight.
So let’s get straight into…please the read the rules I created for making a Dream Team side here before you go any further.
Click here to see the ‘On The Try Line’ Queensland Dream Team.
‘Foundation Player’
Wally Lewis – Five Eight – 31 GP – 19-0-12
There is a reason why Wally was given the nickname the King. There is also a reason why there is a statue of him protecting the entrance into Lang Park (aka Suncorp Stadium); there is also a reason why he was given 8 ‘man of the match’ awards during his Origin run. That’s because he was the best player to ever play QLD representative football. As a youngster I used to loathe him but as an adult I saw that what he did was brilliant and he cannot be denied his monarchy. To build a QLD team around anybody else is pure lunacy and so that’s why he is my foundation player. Nobody could deny his Alpha Dog status and nobody can deny his creativity and potential to change a game. “I can feel a Four X coming on” so let’s move on.
(Below are some notes I made about the rest of the team when selecting them – although most of them need no explanation)
(Players Number-Name-Position-Games Played-Win/Draw/Loss)
1.Darren Lockyer – Fullback – 33GP – 17-2-4
How many of you saw Wally’s name and went where will Darren Lockyer play? Or maybe you said where will Billy Slater be? All those questions will be answered at the end of the article.
-Can you imagine Lockyer running off Wally Lewis? It gives me chills thinking about it.
-He would definitely be happy to not have the FP status, one less thing for him to worry about.
-I mean its Darren Lockyer…wouldn’t you have him in your Dream Team side?
2. Dale Shearer – Winger – 26GP – 11-0-15
5. Steve Renouf –Winger – 11GP – 4-0-7
-Good winger combinations of speed in attack and resilience in defence. Also ready for anything my FP could throw at them.
-Renouf was faster than sound back in the day.
-Check out this video of Dale Shearer running down ET. I saw this when looking for a video of ET for my NSW Dream Team and thought to myself that Shearer needed to be in my run on side.
3. Mal Meninga – Centre – 32GP – 15-0-17
-Big Mal gets the spot over the cast of thousands including Justin Hodges, Brent Tate, Willie Carne and Willie Tonga (who has just come back into form).
-Mal and Wally had an awesome connection and this played a huge factor when selecting him over the rest of the big names I mentioned before.
-You could give him the ball at any point and he would be dangerous. Big and strong he probably could have played in the 2nd row. Sound like anyone we know playing today’s game? (i.e. Jamal Idris)
4. Greg Inglis – Centre – 13GP – 9-0-4
-10 Tries in 13 games
-Just like Mal he could create devastation to any defensive line and still does. They both cover enormous amounts of ground with those huge strides.
-Sometimes teams doubt the ability of GI but the fans know he is a game changer. Cast your minds back to the 15th of June (Game 2) and remember NSW putting a huge kick up, Inglis goes up to catch it, juggles the ball and takes off. It was called back for a knock on but I was surrounded by 80,000 people who saw him with the ball and said to themselves “Game Over”. That’s the difference Greg Inglis can make to any side.
7. Alan Langer – Halfback – 34GP – 17-1-6
-His size made it easy for him to slip out of tackles and look for sneaky passes.
-For those of you who don’t remember just think Chris Sandow with a kicking game.
-Alfie was super creative and this may be an issue with Wally being my FP. He might need to tone it down a bit.
-Owner of the 2001 Origin series
8. Shane Webcke – Front Row – 21GP – 8-2-11
10. Petro Civoniceva – Front Row – 27GP – 15-1-11
- 2 of the best role players to ever play the game.
-Webcke struggled with the alpha dog status and maybe why he lost a lot of games. He would be happy to have that burden taken away from him.
-All these guys do is hit-up the ball, tackle everything and do their jobs like it was September football. I don’t want anything more from my front rowers.
9. Cameron Smith – Hooker – 21GP – 13-0-8
-Perfect fit for my FP, definitely wouldn’t clash because he is about as creative as paint by numbers.
-Tackling machine and loves a dummy half run.
-It was definitely a toss-up between Cam Smith and Kerrod Walters for this position but essentially I would be choosing the same player. I went with Cam because he wouldn’t have a problem with filling in as my FP if Wally was to be injured.
11. Nate Myles – Second Row – 14GP – 11-0-3
-Role player – nothing else needs to be said.
12. Gordon Tallis – Second Row – 17GP – 5-2-10
-You need at least one player to intimidate the other side – Tallis is that player for me (side note – Ben Kennedy was that player for my NSW Dream Team).
-Gordie would definitely clash with my FP but I couldn’t make a QLD side without him.
-Owner of the 2002 Origin Series.
13. Gary Larson – Lock – 24GP – 11-0-13
-Larson averaged at least a 15/25 every State of Origin game he played (hit ups/tackles).
-I remember being younger and saying to my dad that “I hated Queensland” to which he replied “so do I, except Gary Larson because he seems alright”. I mean if my old man could say something nice about a Queenslander that must mean he really was (excuse the pun) a ‘Gary Good Guy’.
-Plus the dude was a workhorse. I mean who can match those numbers I mentioned before in the team playing tonight? I can’t think of anyone.
14. Steve Price – Interchange – 28GP – 15-2-11
15. Michael Crocker – Interchange – 13GP – 6-0-7
- Price and Crocker are only on the bench because I didn’t have room to fit them in the run on side. I really didn’t want a Dream Team without these two players.
-Tackles and hit-ups are all they do so they are good fill-ins for my slow forwards.
-Crocker would be a good substitute for Cam Smith if he was to tire or get injured. Plus they both had more mongrel than you can imagine.
16. Dallas Johnson – Interchange – 12GP – 8-0-4
- I’ll give you one stat and then you decide if he should be in the team – Johnson has averaged 35 tackles per Origin game he has played. Not only that but this year alone he is averaging 45 tackles a game at club level. Why is he not in the run on squad for Game 3? You’re telling me Ashley Harrison is better? That’s a joke and everybody knows except the selectors. DJ for lock…wait what am I doing? Am I actually helping the Queenslanders? ARGH!
-I know I keep doing this but Dallas Johnson is Gary Larson 2.0 for sure. Who better to substitute for Gary Larson then his younger better version?
-Captain of Team Galifianakis.
17. Billy Slater – Interchange – 14GP – 9-0-5
I wanted to spend some time on this last selection because it’s part of the Lockyer, Langer and Lewis saga that I went through before. Please know that I do not like Billy Slater. It’s nothing against the way he plays football because I would never hate someone for their football skills. This whole thing is personal. So it got me thinking, why would I put a guy into my Dream Team when I don’t like him? I mean it’s my side so nobody is going to tell me I shouldn’t.
Here is what I decided, I looked at the list of the QLD players and said to myself “is there a better player to come off the bench, for impact reasons only, than Billy Slater?” The answer is no so this left me with no option but to put Slater in on the bench.
I spoke to loads of people about this and these were some of the points they made. I had a think about them and I’ve put in a few responses.
Wouldn’t it better to start Slater at wing over Renouf or Shearer?
No – Billy Slater is not a winger, he never will be a good winger, he is a specialist fullback and I wouldn’t want to waste him on the wing like that.
Couldn’t you swap Slater with Lockyer?
Have Darren Lockyer on the bench? You don’t know much about football, do you?
Wally could play lock, Lockyer at five eight and Slater at fullback?
I actually messed around with this option but at the end of the day I really wanted Lewis to direct traffic. I need him to bark orders and be involved in every attacking option. These are things he cannot really do in the 13 jersey.
Couldn’t you change your foundation player to Darren Lockyer and have him play five eight?
I truly believe without Wally Lewis this whole team could fail. A battle would ensue between Langer and Tallis for Alpha Dog status but with Lewis there it settles that argument 9 times out of 10.
The final verdict is that I’m happy to have Lockyer at fullback and have Slater running off the bench. If you don’t agree with that then show me a better way.
Summary
Where would the team fail?
-Considering Tallis, Webcke, Langer and Lockyer have all been ‘top dog’ at one point, it could create a huge rift between the team.
-If Wally or Alfie were to get hurt then I wouldn’t have much to go with as far as my bench goes. I could probably slot Slater into fullback and have Lockyer play 6 or 7. It’s tricky because the bench is rather slow in comparison to NSW.
Where would the team prevail?
-There are more series winners on this team than losers. This would work in their favour as far as confidence goes.
-A spine with Lewis, Langer, Lockyer, Larson and Cameron Smith does not lose. It’s that simple. You can play anybody outside them and they would win.
Click here to see my second side.
That concludes first Origin Series here ‘On The Try Line’. I really hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have. I want to say a big thank you for the feedback I got for the NSW Dream Team and I want that feedback to come through for my QLD side. You can do this here.
I expect tonight’s game to be epic in the true sense of the word. No matter what the result tonight I’m sure we can expect the drama to lift for the 2012 Origin series. Now if you will excuse me, I’ve got to come up with some fresh ideas for next year’s Origin Series here ‘On The Try Line’
How The Judiciary Works?
Today I read an article about Shane Richardson (CEO for the South Sydney Rabbitohs) asking for the Judiciary to explain to him why Dave Taylor was given a sentence of 5 weeks for a Grade 2 dangerous tackle. This got me thinking about how much I knew about the Judiciary because I couldn’t explain it off the top of my head. After I did my research I thought what better way than to communicate what I’ve learnt than through the “On The Try Line -Guide To The NRL series”.
I really don’t want this to be a boring old legal article so I’d like you to meet ‘Drexler Mandurah’. Using Drexler I will talk you through the legal system of the NRL.
Before we go on, here are a few quick facts about Drexler (that I just made up 3 minutes ago on the toilet)
- Drexler talks in the 3rd person and his most famous interview was:
Brad Fittler – “Our Bundaberg man of the match goes to Drexler Mandurah, Drexler tell us what won the game for your team today?”
Drexler – “Well if I’m going to be honest Brad, Drexler won the game for the team today.” - Drexler was born on the border of NSW and QLD so he has zero allegiance around State of Origin time.
- Drexler’s mother is half Australian half English and his Dad is half Kiwi half Fijian. This makes life hard for Drexler come Rugby League World Cup time.
Now let’s get into it.
Reported
I’ll set the scene…during a crucial game Drexler throws his arm high in the air and catches the neck of an unsuspecting player running through and stops him in his tracks. The referee see’s this and gives a penalty to the attacking team (as we have spoken about before). Drexler has broken the rules of our game and the referee decided that it might need a further look at. The referee speaks to Drexler immediately after committing this infringement and tells him that it will be put on report (normally he will do this by placing his arms in a cross shape over his head).
Being put on report is a way of telling a panel (which is called the Match Review Committee) that whatever happened, in this case it was Drexler’s clothesline, needs special attention after the game. If they agree with the referee that it was definitely an offense they will officially charge Drexler.
Drexler after the game when asked if he was worried about being put on report
Drexler – “The only report Drexler is worried about is the report on the scoreboard.”
Charged
After deciding on this charge the panel will then inform Drexler’s coaches and management, who will then tell Drexler after they review it themselves. The details of this charge will include a grade. The higher the grade is (which ranges from 1-5) then the worse the case. Depending on the charge and the grade they will be given a certain amount of base points which will come into consideration later.
For example:
In Drexler’s case he is looking at Grade 2 – Reckless High Tackle which is worth 350 base points. 350 base points means he’ll be sitting on the sideline for at least 1-3 weeks. So unless his case gets thrown out at the trial he will HAVE to serve that time. Following so far? If not then take a breather and grab a fresh can of cool Coca Cola.
In an interview with Fox Sports about the charge Drexler said this: “Grade 2? Drexler thinks anything below Grade 4 is boring.”
What’s to be done now?
So Drexler’s been put on report, the match review committee has found he broke the rules and he has been given a grading. Now he can do 2 things:
- He can take an early plea of guilty. If he does this then a deduction of 25% is taken off the base points. This 25% could be the difference between missing one or two games. After he accepts the guilty plea it’s then put on his record, which may come into play afterwards. (i.e. carry over points)
- Or he can hire a lawyer and go to what we call the ”Judiciary”.
What’s that? (Judiciary)
The Judiciary normally contains three members (it could be anyone from ex-football players, ex-coaches or ex-referees) who will oversee the infringement. Drexler’s lawyer will plead the case for him which would include one of two defences:
- Drexler can try to prove that he thinks his tackle wasn’t as bad as it may have seemed and they can try to get the charge downgraded from 2 to 1 – which would mean he could play in two weeks instead of 3.
- Or Drexler can say he wasn’t guilty but circumstances forced the head high tackle. He might say “Drexler didn’t mean to hurt that young man, but his head accidently got in the way of Drexler’s arm” or something along those lines.
Verdict
Whatever plan of attack they take, the Judiciary will make its decision. The Judiciary will ask themselves the following questions before they decide on a verdict:
- Has Drexler done this before?
If this is the second time Drexler has appeared before the Judiciary with EXACTLY the same case before (within a 2 year period) then chances are he is a repeat offender. His charge then takes on a further 50% of what it was. This would take Drexler’s infringement up to a Grade 5 tackle.
(350 base points + repeat offender score of 175 = 525 = Grade 5 reckless tackle).
- Has Drexler been to the Judiciary before?
If Mr Mandurah has appeared before the Judiciary, regardless of the charge, in the last 2 years then he is looking at a 20% addition to his base point score. This would take Drexler’s high tackle up to Grade 3
(350 Base Points + 20% of charge 75 = 425 Grade 3 Reckless tackle). - Was Drexler sent off?
If after committing the charge the referee sent Drexler off for 10 minutes in the Sin Bin then 1 point is deducted from his base points for every minute he was not on the field. If he was sent off for 10 minutes then his base points go down to 340. If he was sent off for the remainder of the game (very rare) then depending on how much time is left over he could possibly lose a total of 79 points from his base score.
In the end
After everything this is what could happen:
- The Judiciary decide that it was an accident and downgrade his charge to Grade 1 and Drexler misses one game.
- The Judiciary decide that he is guilty and make a decision on how many weeks he may miss
- The Judiciary think the whole thing is nonsense (i.e. Johnathon Thurston case a few weeks ago) and throw the case out. It’s rare that a case gets this far only have the panel throw it out.
Other factors
I don’t want to confuse you but there are other factors that come into play so try and stay with me.
- Seven Years Clean
In the case that a player has a great record (say a player like Nathan Hindmarsh) and they haven’t fronted the Judiciary in 7 years, this will play a part in the decision. They will automatically subtract 25% from the base charge. - Carry Over Points
It’s get tricky here so I’ll show you in an example of how carry over points work.
Round 1
Drexler Mandurah – Grade 1 trip is reported
Takes early plea so base points are reduced to 50 points (25% off 75)
Doesn’t lose game time – keeps 50 points on record
Round 2
Drexler Mandurah – Grade 1 Striking is reported
Takes early plea so base points becomes 95 points (25% off 125)
Carry over points are added (50+95) and misses 1-2 weeks
See how carry over points work? Also note that they deduct 5 points for every infringement free match you play. I’ll show you what I mean:
Round 1
Drexler Mandurah – Grade 1 trip is reported
Takes early plea so base points are reduced to 50 points (25% off 75)
Doesn’t lose game time – keeps 50 points on record
Round 11
Drexler Mandurah – Grade 1 Striking is reported
Takes early plea so base points become 95 (25% off 125)
Carry over points total = 10
Might miss one week with base + carry over = 105
So Drexler lost 40 points because he played 9 games where no incidents occurred.
So let’s step away from the imaginary world of Drexler Mandurah and I’ll help Shane Richardson out:
Player – Dave Taylor
Club – South Sydney
Time in Match – 30 minutes into the match
Charge/Incident – Dangerous throw
Charge Grade – 2
Base Points – 325
7 Year incident free – No
Prior Similar Offences in last 2 years (50% loading) - 1 (160 Points)
Prior Non-similar Offences in last 2 years (20% loading) – 1 (65 Points)
Carry over points to be added – 10
Total Points = 560 = Grade 5 Dangerous Throw
Even if they did downgrade it to Grade 1 then your still talking about him missing 3-4 weeks because of the extra points her earned from previous issues.
That Mr Richardson is why Dave Taylor isn’t playing for 5 weeks.
If you have any questions don’t be afraid to comment or pop something on our brand new Facebook page (we are so modern). I’d like to thank Drexler for all his help in explaining how the legal system in the NRL works. His final words of encouragement are “Drexler is always On The Try Line!”
