barham red wrote:I think its crept in over the last decade or so, McGuire at Hudds was very into controlling the wrestle and this has led to more and cheap PTB penalties. The latest set of holding the ball in the scrum and throwing the ball into a player has taken it to a new level. More and more teams are going down the route of taking the 2 now as well, we'll be singing swing low soon.
Unless you have a vested interest in a game, ie its your team or you have a favourite most games are pretty dull and lacking in any great skill
g
Holding the ball in the scrum has always been a legitimate tactic. It did not happen often after uncontested scrums arrived. However I can see it becoming more prevalent with the new 10 metre rule to put doubt in the defenders' minds and preventing them rushing up to try and effect the first tackle.
There is a difference between using the rules to your advantage and clearly unsporting behaviour. Most fans can see this difference, it's just a pity the officials either are not able to or are not prepared to punish such tactics. The most glaring example was when last week a player was given a penalty for deliberately passing the ball to an opponent on the ground. What made it worse was that it was actually a forward pass. The RFL quickly stepped in but that would not have been necessary if the officials were prepared to think for themselves. Do the RFL have to step in for every type of unsporting behaviour. A penalty against the offender will soon cut out these unsavoury aspects of our game if applied consistently.