Ashworth: It’s vital that everyone is on the same page
HULL STAR DISCUSSES CONTROVERSIAL START TO SEASON
Among rugby league’s head contact controversy, the message from Hull FC forward Jack Ashworth is simple: give us clarity and consistency. The 28-year-old is fully behind the RFL protecting players and the sport, but the key is to recognise when head contact is accidental and when there’s force or intent.
The biggest example of that was at Warrington last week with Hull’s Fa’amanu Brown sent off for what the officials branded as “forceful and dangerous contact”.
In reality, it was an accidental head clash, with such incidents and inconsistencies bringing frustration to players from all clubs.
Uniting together as one, they are looking for clarity, and to an extent, there’s been some progress this week as the governing body amended its stance towards accidental head-onhead contact.
However, there is still a way to go with the players meeting on Wednesday to air their concerns, which include inconsistencies with cards for head contact and, in particular, suspensions.
Speaking at Hull FC’S pre-match press conference, Ashworth said: “It’s clarity that everyone wants, and consistency in decisions. There have been decisions all over the park where what should have been a ban wasn’t and what you feel shouldn’t have been a ban, was.
“Then there’s Nu’s red card last Friday, everyone felt hard done by and everyone felt like it shouldn’t have been a red card. There was a lot of frustration. Things like that are going to happen – it’s a contact sport with big bodies everywhere.
“Everyone is different size and at some point, it will happen. It’s understanding the difference between accidental and forceful and going in with intent.
“We just want to know what the crack is, and what’s going on, and then we can go forward from there.
“It’s just that consistency. As long as we’re not going out with intent, it’s just part of the game. It’s understanding that to move forward and remember it’s rugby league that we’re playing.
“Nobody wants to be off the field, and no one wants to miss matches. If you’re guilty of an action of a high tackle and you’ve gone in with some intent and you’ve gone to hit someone, then you rightly deserve your ban and you should take it on the chin, but if it is an accident, and you tackle someone around the head, and then you’re coming home, getting a fine and a two-match ban, it’s just a kick in the teeth.
“We’re doing what we can as players and we’re trying our best but it’s a contact sport and it’s fast out there when you’re playing – sometimes you don’t have a lot of time to think. I understand the RFL want to protect their own back and there’s all this concussion talk and safety but I play rugby league.
“I expect to take a bang in the face or the head. It’s going to happen at some point. I’m sure it will be accidental but I know what I signed up for and I know what I’m doing. I’m playing rugby. It is what it is. We need to crack on.”
As well as cards and bans, there’s also the inconsistency of decisions that frustrate players, with Ashworth pointing out the penalty try for Warrington last week after Tex Hoy’s tackle on Matty Ashton.
Similarly, Liam Sutcliffe was caught high by Josh Thewlis, but nothing was made of it.
“There was the penalty try and vice versa with ourselves,” Ashworth explained. “That’s where you want consistency. They’re the ones making the decisions and I just want to play rugby. I just don’t want those decisions to affect my ability to play rugby and play it well. It’s hard.
“We don’t want the negative things in the sport to dictate how the game has been and dictate what’s gone on.
“The Nu one blew up. It took over the rugby community. It’s just bad for the sport – no one wants that. You’ll lose fans and you might lose players if they’ve had enough.
“We’ve got all this coverage and we’re supposed to be growing the sport, and we should be improving. We shouldn’t be taking a backwards step, we should be looking forward.”
Before the season started, there was an understanding that all clubs were briefed on the new approach to head contact. However, Ashworth has stated that was not the case for Hull FC, with the forward saying not enough clarity has been given and it’s all been policed too hard without allowing a period for players to change techniques and habits.
Asked by the Mail if the players were properly consulted, he said: “Not really, no. We understood that there were rule changes and we understand that you can’t tackle around the head, which we’ve always known. I just think the way it has been dealt with hasn’t been great.
“Nothing is going to be perfect the first time around and when they changed the rules, there was always going to be a lot of cards and a lot of penalties. That’s exactly what’s happened.
“You’ve got a bloke who has been doing the same thing for 10, 15 years and then all of a sudden you’re asking him to change what he does, and you’re expecting it overnight, and that doesn’t happen. It’s just important that everyone is on the same page now, and going forward, it improves the game.”