Shoulder charges have been outlawed in the NRL since 2013.
While the rules around shoulder charges haven’t changed, they have certainly been back in the news once again in the past 10 days thanks largely to the actions of Newcastle Knights skipper Kalyn Ponga.
A quick skim of social media shows plenty of fans are passionate in their support of Ponga’s body-on-the-line cover defence, with others just as passionate against it.
It raises the issue of what actually is a ‘shoulder charge’ in the eyes of the NRL?
MORE: Ponga in ANOTHER shoulder charge drama – ‘He’s got some challenges’
This is the official wording from the NRL:
“A shoulder charge is where the tackling player uses his shoulder and/or upper arm without, at the same time, using both of his arms to tackle or otherwise take hold of the opposing player. Arms obviously includes hands. The contact and force must be generated by the shoulder of the tackling player. Unless both arms are used or attempted to be used, then in any case where the shoulder and/or upper are used to make forceful contact, it will be a shoulder charge.”
According to the NRL, the key question is whether the defender ‘attempted to use both arms in attempting to wrap in the tackle’.
Critically there is no mention of the point of impact.
In other words, whether the defender’s shoulder contacts an opponent’s head, neck or any other part of their body, it is still deemed a shoulder charge if it meets the above criteria – and if it does that, then it should at a bare minimum incur a penalty.
Like it or loathe it, this has been the rule in the NRL for more than a decade.
Which makes the events at AAMI Park on Friday night all the more curious.