(05-01-2022, 03:53 AM)Mav link Wrote:Yep, I think those who don't like the prior opportunity component are happy to ignore it when they compare different examples. But once you've had prior you have to get rid of it immediately upon being tackled. When the player with the ball is tackled by someone grabbing the bottom of the jumper from behind, that's still a tackle if it retards the player. It doesn't have to stop the player in his tracks, it just has to knock a few km/h off his progress. I'm sure the ball carrier on that occasion knew he was being tackled and he had his hands free so he should have just squirted a handball out ahead of himself. Instead, he started looking around for options as if he were a QB with 5 seconds to target a receiver.
The problem is not so much with the rules but the inconsistency of interpretation by the umpires.
Some players were penalised right away last night. Others were given until this morning to dispose of it.
If you apply a strict interpretation a player like Cripps would be free kicked out of the game.