Hannay’s call to stop tinkering with rules
COWBOYS coach Josh Hannay has called for changes to the game to stop as the competition competes with a growing injury ward that has derailed many clubs’ seasons — and potentially the future of some players.
The interim North Queensland mentor has been forced to make further adjustments to his line-up ahead of the Cowboys’ clash with Cronulla, after star lock Jason Taumalolo succumbed to a calf injury and Reece Robson was ruled out for the rest of the campaign.
New rules in the NRL — in particular the six-again calls at the ruck designed to enhance the speed of the game — have been designed to create a better show for fans. However Hannay said it was not up to the rules to do this, it was up to the coaches and warned that continued rule changes could have disastrous implications.
“Professional athletes all have a threshold, if you like. If we’re making these guys go beyond that threshold you start to break people,” Hannay said.
“There has to be an onus on clubs and coaches. If we want a better product then coach a better product, you can’t constantly change rules that put the players’ health in jeopardy just to create a better spectacle.
“I think we need to be really careful going down that path, because there no doubt there’s a huge toll on clubs and players individually. There’s a correlation there between the speed of the game and the number of injuries occurring.”
While the Cowboys may be well and truly out of finals contention, Hannay said questions about how he motivates a team with nothing to play for baffled him. He said he and the players had a job to do and had to turn up for work in a frame of mind to perform at their best.