Roosters coach Trent Robinson has reignited the debate over the safety of kick-offs, warning they could become a thing of the past unless the NRL takes action.
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Both Robinson and Dragons coach Shane Flanagan conceded something may need to be done last year after Moses Suli was knocked out in a brutal collision with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
Robinson said at the time that the NRL was “getting to the point where it needs to shift” and after losing Siua Wong to a head clash last Saturday, the Roosters coach issued an even stronger warning.
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“We have reached a point where if we don’t do something about the kick-off we will lose this part of the game,” Robinson told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“There should be no reason you are hitting a player in the head when you can see the target approaching from 50 metres away. That runway should mean a player can avoid the head contact. That means from any part of the body, shoulder, head, whatever.
“If we can’t get that right, it will begin the discussion to ban the kick-off altogether. Let’s start by protecting the player on the biggest collision we have in the game. We all love the collision, but three versus one – we must protect the head from any direct impact.”
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Former NRL players and Fox League experts Braith Anasta and James Graham were both against calls to ban the kick-off last year in the wake of the Suli incident.
“The kick-off is such an integral part of our game,” Anasta said at the time.
“It’s what brings the fans through the gates.
“It’s what we sell subscriptions on TV. It’s why a lot of people watch the game. Yes, it’s the collision, but it’s the build-up. It’s the hype. It’s something that is so unique to our game that other games do not have.
“Why are we just going, oh, listen, let’s just get rid of the kick-off? It’s an easy thing to say.”
