COMMENT: No club is innocent regarding latest controversy with harsh Willie Peters reaction following defeat
Hull KR head coach Willie Peters believes the act of players staying down to draw further punishments for foul play is creeping into the game - but most, if not all clubs have benefited from this, rightly or wrongly.
A major talking point from Friday’s top-of-the-table clash saw Jai Whitbread sin-binned for high contact on Tyler Dupree following a big collision at the Brick Community Stadium, with the England international prop staying down to receive treatment.
The incident was subsequently looked at by the video referee, with a decision to send Australian back-rower Whitbread for 10 in the second half of the thriller. Wigan went on to win the Round 25 clash to claim top spot on the Super League table.
Peters insisted that he’s not a fan of players seemingly staying down to potentially win penalties, while he had no complaints over Joe Burgess’ yellow card following a break from Jai Field.
To suggest some may be coaching their players to stay down seems harsh. In reality, there’s a somewhat loophole that players are exploiting to gain an advantage. It’s sport.
Hull KR aren’t innocent themselves. Most notably, Joe Shorrocks was sent off during the 2023 Challenge Cup semi-final encounter between the two clubs, with Mikey Lewis taken high by the utility forward.
With no immediate penalty, the star playmaker stayed down long enough for Liam Moore to call time on the field - with the official showing Shorrocks a red, much to the disbelief of the likes of Sam Tomkins, Stephen Wild and Mikey Higham at the time.
Following Friday’s Super League clash, Peters said: "If he (Dupree) is injured that's fair enough, but if he had not stayed down in the tackle, it would have been play on, because it doesn't look like an illegal tackle."
But Dupree shouldn’t be painted as the villain for being tackled high. Ultimately, it was a decision that we’ve seen all year. And the correct one at that. How to avoid a potential incident? Don’t take your opponent high.
The punditry team on Sky Sports also discussed the incident post-match, with Wigan legend Tomkins believing the situation needs tightening up across the game, although admitted he couldn’t blame Dupree.
Tomkins said: “The problem is how it’s coming about. If a player feels contact in the head, you stay down. I don’t think Whitbread has done a terrible amount wrong.
“The fact Dupree can stay down for a minute, he (Whitbread) gets ten minutes yet Dupree stays on the field. I’m not being critical of Dupree because that’s the rules.
“It’s a problem with the ruling on it. I can’t say to Dupree, ‘Don’t stay down,’ because the fact that he did stay down had a massive impact on Wigan going to lift the League Leaders’ Shield in a few weeks.”
England captain Jodie Cunningham also suggested that players, if hit in the head and subsequently staying down, should be sent for a HIA.
Whatever you think, players certainly shouldn’t be the villains if they’re having their heads taken off in the tackle. And how can we, as viewers, ultimately judge just how painful some of the collisions are?