Ban the biff!

Stamping out violence in the game has been identified as a top priority for Cook Islands Rugby League this season and the organisation is making its campaign all encompassing, with bad-behaving juniors, premiers, masters and spectators in their sights.

CIRL president Charles Carlson said the organisation had met early this week to discuss and amend its competition rules and to address this issue and help improve the standard and safety of the game.

CIRL will be introducing a safe play rule in the junior grades for better safety of young players on the field.

Carlson said the wide age group between the grades was a major factor in CIRLs thinking.

There are some big boys in the junior grades and they tend to dominate or sometimes bully the younger players in the other team, he said.

CIRL will not tolerate any bullies in the game and they will be sent out for early showers if they behave badly on the field.

Carlson said the old diehards could try and argue that rugby league is a mans game and not for wimps, but taking the biff out of the game will not make it boring.

Rugby league is a very entertaining game to watch and all it takes some idiot to lose their cool and takes matter into their hands to spoil a good game, he said.

CIRL wants to get rid of the old image which labels league as all brawns and no brains.

The game these days is all about the class, speed, style of play, the moves, the level of skills to producing games that are very entertaining to watch and this is what people came to watch not a bunch of idiots having a punch-up on the field.

With adrenalin pumping on both sides of the field, Carlson said the odd flare up could still occur in the game. But he said players also need to realise the consequences of their actions.

This may cost them the game, get penalised, sin-binned, sent off and, worst of all, getting banned from the game.

CIRL has even taken a step further to stop any players that have been banned in any code from playing in the league competition.

Violence happens in all codes and not just rugby league so CIRL is therefore sending a strong message across to all sports people on the island if they get banned from other sporting codes, dont think they can just waltz in and play league.

CIRL is expecting the support of other team codes like rugby union to support and include this ruling into their competition rules.