The ugly trend that threatens to ruin NRL finals

3 years ago 281

Rugby league legends Brad Fittler and Andrew Johns fearfulness players milking penalties could extremity up souring the NRL finals series.

There were farcical scenes connected Saturday erstwhile Parramatta seasoned Blake Ferguson was tackled by Penrith players, and past helium stayed lying connected the crushed grabbing the backmost of his neck.

Ferguson was awarded a punishment but past instantly leapt to his feet to face the Panthers, proving helium was ne'er earnestly injured and was successful information playing for the whistle.

Milking has been an contented successful the NRL each twelvemonth and up of the State of Origin series, Queensland skipper Daly Cherry-Evans called for a "gentlemen's agreement" that would halt the disfigured signifier creeping into the interstate blockbuster.

But Ferguson's Academy Award-worthy enactment successful the semi finals has thrust the taxable close backmost successful the rugby league spotlight.

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"(The Ferguson incidental is) the straw that broke the camel's back. Surely the bunker pulls retired of that portion of the crippled now," Fittler told Freddy And The Eighth (watch above).

"It was conscionable ridiculous.

"They volition beryllium doing it (in the preliminary finals) for sure. If the strategy hasn't changed, truthful they haven't fixed clubs direction. If you're not utilizing each imaginable maneuver past idiosyncratic is going to usage it against you.

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"It's a spot of a shame and they volition alteration it for adjacent year.

"I retrieve Daly Cherry-Evans going into Origin saying 'there's a gentlemen's agreement'… and nary 1 did, determination was not a subordinate that took a dive for the full series. I conscionable don't deliberation that happens astatine nine level.

"I'm not instructing, but the players know. If they get deed successful the look they conscionable prevarication down, and the bunker can't assistance itself but travel in.

"It volition beryllium happening without a doubt."

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Johns agrees milking is simply a blight connected the crippled and helium believes the blasted should prevarication squarely with the coaches, not the players.

"I conscionable find it humorous aft a crippled erstwhile the coaches complain, erstwhile they're the ones that invent and initiate these things. It makes maine laugh," Johns said.

"Can we conscionable get retired determination and play footy?"

Fittler agreed the coaches are to blasted but helium says they won't halt manipulating the rules.

"It's the strategy though. The coaches volition maltreatment thing they can, it's what they do, it's their job," Fittler said.

"If you let a strategy to oversee each collision, seriously. The strategy tin beryllium better."

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