Paul Kent has backed the NRL’s crackdown on the hip drop tackle and blasted resistance of the push to stamp the practice out of the game for good amid a growing injury epidemic.
Graham Annesley said the NRL will continue its tough stance on hip drop tackles to protect the players from a growing number of injuries stemming from it.
“Confusion surrounds the hip drop tackle at times,” Braith Anasta said on NRL 360.
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However, Kent commended the NRL for having a zero tolerance of the new tackling style and slammed critics who believe the hip drop has a place in the game.
“Well done Graham Annesley, I’m a fan of getting rid of this tackle,” Kent said.
“And all these people, I will tell you some of the dumbest things I have heard over the weekend. What else is he supposed to do?
“If your options are to make an illegal tackle or miss the tackle then you have already missed your assignment.
“You shouldn’t be sitting there going, I will do an illegal tackle because I have got no other option.
“There is no doubt this is a new tackling style. Let’s not talk about jiu jitsu because that upsets everybody.
“They all say we don’t train to hurt people, but you are trained to tackle like this now. It is a different technique than it used to be.”
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However, Anasta believes the hip drop is born out of the evolution of the game and its players and not specific tackling styles that are taught by coaches.
“I don’t think it is a style,” Anasta said.
“I think the game has got faster. They have got fitter. They weigh more. They are quicker. They have got better footwork.”
“So is the person tackling, so they cancel each other out in that instance,” Kent interjected.
“I know that, but I am trying to explain where I think it is at, at the moment,” Anasta said.
“Payne Haas goes over the top. He just doesn’t get a clean shot at him and his body lands on the back. There is no intent whatsoever.
“I don’t know what he is supposed to do in that moment.”
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Kent admitted Payne Haas’ shot on Reagan Campbell-Gillard was an “unusual one” but can’t understand the confusion around what constitutes a hip drop tackle and what players must avoid or run the risk of getting suspended.
“I tend to agree the Payne Haas one was a very different looking one,” Kent said.
“But let me just say in the day when you used to tackle and you would wrap your arms around and slide down the body and you would pin the legs as you slide.
“But because your arms weren’t together you ran the risk of getting broken in the tackle.
“What they do now is they wrap around and grab onto their own wrist and they squeeze, but to then get the player down, 18 months ago they were swinging the legs around behind and peeling you back over.
“You are not allowed to do that anymore, but they are still dropping their hips and taking their feet off the ground.
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“As soon as your feet come off the ground you are done. It is not that hard to understand.”
Brent Read believes the inconsistency in punishments is what is driving people’s frustrations with the crackdown.
“Some are obvious, but some are line ball and blokes are going to the sin bin for it,” Read said.
“That’s what frustrates people.”
However, Kent doubled down on his tirade that the hip drop must be eradicated by the game by any means necessary.
“The fact is for the life of me I cannot understand these people that say this tackle should be allowed to stay in the game,” Kent said.
“That the NRL should not be cracking down on it when there is a 20 times more chance of injury form that tackle than any other tackle.
“Why do you want to keep it in the game? Can someone tell me why we want to keep that tackle in the game when every time I hear a player come out and say, we don’t want to hurt anyone.
“Then what are you doing then?”
