Finals week 1, 2025 discussion

[Odessa]

Head butting shouldn’t be considered any better than a punch. It’s still intent.

I think it's worst you have less time to defend yourself

I was in gymea one night after having a few drinks and I saw a couple of girls getting harassed I went to help them and I received a headbutt off one of the young men who was harrassing them right as my grandson was pulling up with his gym friends my grandson at the time was preparing for his first MMA fight

My grandson loves his pops and took care of them but I still remember the headbutt it's dirty and weak and I hurt so much

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Carrigan looking at one with week with an early plea. 2 if he fights and loses. I’d say they will look to fight the grading. Idk how that affects a two game ban if he loses. Big risk when it’s a GF.

 

[twentyforty]

What?
That is arse about.
How many times do you see players do what Young did?
People like Mulitalo or Liam Martin do it half a dozen times every game. I don’t like it, but it’s not rare. Walsh on the other hand got baited and reacted poorly. He tried to headbutt him then forcefully shoved him to the ground. He admitted as much post game.
Almost 100% of the time that is a penalty against Walsh.

Prior to the “head butt” young wrapped his arms around Walsh. OK, the ball was dead att, but surely the aggressor needs to be brought to account for what unfolded?

 

[Halbrowne61]

Very good question. I don't bash referees on this forum but I have real doubts about Ashley Klein. He knew he had to bin Walsh and the best way to even it up was to bin Hudson for what was basically gamesmanship. You'd bin 10 players, at least, if you applied that rule to every game.

And , on top of that, he gave the penalty to Broncos, which shifted blame from Walsh to Young. So Walsh gets 2 fines ($4800), head butt ok, Young not even mentioned and Carrigan rightly charged for shoulder to the head ( one game).
Thank you linesmen, thank you ballboys.

 

[twentyforty]

Don't want to verbal you here but, are you saying the correct decision would have been to bin Hudson and leave Walsh on the field?

Yes that’s what I’m saying. If you want to get rid of the goading from the game, then punish the aggressor. Walsh didn’t have the ball, there was no need for Young to wrap his arms around Walsh and beg him to head butt his way out. I would have been happy with both staying on the park with a penalty awarded to Broncos. Or if someone had to go off then it should have been Young.

 

[innsaneink]

Carrigan looking at one with week with an early plea. 2 if he fights and loses. I’d say they will look to fight the grading. Idk how that affects a two game ban if he loses. Big risk when it’s a GF.

He clearly got Smithies in the gob...either a split lip or loose tooth they mentioned on fox at the time smithies doesnt wear a mouthguard...we really only saw one angle that was clear.
Theyll have the top brass going over the replays as we speak trying to decide which way to go with it

 

[Telltails]

Yes that’s what I’m saying. If you want to get rid of the goading from the game, then punish the aggressor. Walsh didn’t have the ball, there was no need for Young to wrap his arms around Walsh and beg him to head butt his way out. I would have been happy with both staying on the park with a penalty awarded to Broncos. Or if someone had to go off then it should have been Young.

Agree they all go after Walsh - for obvious reasons he can a turn game individually more than most. Young had no business being there.

 

[Flippedy]

The NRL and match officials have only themselves to blame for the Walsh / Hudson incident yesterday. For the past few years they have done nothing about the taunting that has become an increasing part of the game. Players patting opposition players on the back derisively after they knock on or miss a tackle. It happens half a dozen times a game in most games and is its just unsporting. It's part of the increasing Americanisation of our game which includes things like taunting and ridiculous try celebrations.
Taunting should be eliminated from the game by penalising it into oblivion.
Having said that and based on the way the game has been refereed in relation to taunting, Hudson's binning should not have happened.

Let’s face it they do all that posturing crap because they’re not allowed to punch anymore.

 

[colinbh]

Yes that’s what I’m saying. If you want to get rid of the goading from the game, then punish the aggressor. Walsh didn’t have the ball, there was no need for Young to wrap his arms around Walsh and beg him to head butt his way out. I would have been happy with both staying on the park with a penalty awarded to Broncos. Or if someone had to go off then it should have been Young.

Obviously you have never been head-hunted. How about a kick to the nuts?

 

[coivtny]

Yes that’s what I’m saying. If you want to get rid of the goading from the game, then punish the aggressor. Walsh didn’t have the ball, there was no need for Young to wrap his arms around Walsh and beg him to head butt his way out. I would have been happy with both staying on the park with a penalty awarded to Broncos. Or if someone had to go off then it should have been Young.

I totally agree with you about goading but Klein refereed that incident different to how it’s been refereed ever. I hate goading but you can’t do a 180 degree turn in officiating without any warning. It was typical Klein partisanship.
I respect your opinion but can you point out any previous incident in our game where the goader was the one penalised and binned. I can’t.

 

[coivtny]

Let’s face it they do all that posturing crap because they’re not allowed to punch anymore.

Probably. But I can promise you if I’d been game to do that in my junior games our coach would have frog-marched me off and played a man short.
Shame that discipline has gone from the game. Mind you, playing a man short with me off might have improved our game.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Let’s face it they do all that posturing crap because they’re not allowed to punch anymore.

I don’t think Hudson Young would have feared being punched by Reece Walsh. But that mentality definitely exists. Read Mahoney is a prime example.

 

[Enmore_Tiger]

I totally agree with you about goading but Klein refereed that incident different to how it’s been refereed ever. I hate goading but you can’t do a 180 degree turn in officiating without any warning. It was typical Klein partisanship.
I respect your opinion but can you point out any previous incident in our game where the goader was the one penalised and binned. I can’t.

100% Walsh bin, HY a strong warning, penalty Raiders.

 

[coivtny]

100% Walsh bin, HY a strong warning, penalty Raiders.

Yep, agree.

 

[bptiger 0]

they will probably rub 1 out to push the point their in charge , The Judiciary is very fluid of late , drawing a line in the ever shifting sands doesn't stand up to the pub test. Right call or not .Nicho was not a hip drop the other week ,and the juggernaut progresses onward Ed 3-4 weeks

Well I was just wrong , how the hell did Walsh get off , I bet if that was a no name player he would have been sent off and copped a 3-4 weeks , this is getting so wrong , certain teams are getting kit glove treatment

 

[Tiger-ferret]

Well I was just wrong , how the hell did Walsh get off , I bet if that was a no name player he would have been sent off and copped a 3-4 weeks , this is getting so wrong , certain teams are getting kit glove treatment

The NRL just can’t have their superstars miss big games. Same with slater getting off years ago or critter last week or so with the facial grab

 

[TheEnz]

Well I was just wrong , how the hell did Walsh get off , I bet if that was a no name player he would have been sent off and copped a 3-4 weeks , this is getting so wrong , certain teams are getting kit glove treatment

It's a business, Walsh draws eyeballs, clicks, ticket sales. I don't agree with it as it looked an obvious attempt at a headbutt (don't think he actually connected) so maybe 10 in the bin and a fine was punishment enough.

 

[jirskyr]

Probs the only one but happy for madge

Madge certainly loved the W, don't think I've ever seen a coach more fired up with the victory vibes.

 

[jirskyr]

It’s a concern for the Raiders that they don’t have someone who can ice games like that. Any time they have gotten out of jail this year, it’s been through try’s and penalty goals. Fogarty hasn’t stood up, and for as good as Strange is, he isn’t the guy in that situation.

It's a classic Tigers-style loss.

Simple answer is Raiders should never have been mown down with the lead they had. At home with all the running, you eliminate the errors, make your tackles and go on and win. Every chance Broncos get desperate, they throw a loose pass and you win by 20.

Instead they gave Broncos the sniff. Tigers do it all the time, they don't know how to close out a match when the opponent starts to chance their hand. Raiders themselves additionally had a few chances to take or set up for a field goal and they were mostly butchered. They shouldn't have given Broncos the number of sniffs they got.

Personally however I'm not a fan of the charge-down leg contact penalty. It's one thing when the guy is putting up a bomb and you have all the capacity to judge your run, but when it's a FG there's a different level of desperation. It's also less fair because you aren't simply putting pressure on the kicker, you are always trying to charge down a FG and that usually gets very close to legs contact.

Isn't it the ultimate irony though, didn't we lose a match to Raiders a year or two ago when IP made legs contact when Fogarty attempted a FG?

 

[jirskyr]

Young ran more than 10mts to shirt front a player who was off the play. Walsh was entitled to stand his ground and should never have been sent off. OTOH, the decision to send Young to the bin was correct imo.

Hudson Young generally deserves the bin for being an all-round pillock. I don't personally think he deserved the bin for getting in Walsh's face, but I'm not entirely against it.

Personally I think this is justification again for the 5-minute sin bin, where those medium offences can get a medium penalty. You send Young for 5 for being a pillock and Walsh for 10 for the head-butt. Nobody gets off scot-free.