‘I don’t think the sin bin is the answer’: Hudson Young weighs in on high tackle debate as players forced to pay nearly $20,000 in fines

The stunning toll of the NRL’s harder stance on high contact has been laid bare, with players forced to pay $16,600 in fines for a range of offences committed in round 5. There were 13 players across the round who were forced to pay financial penalties, while a further four were suspended for grade 2 careless high tackle charges. Eight of the 13 players to pay fines were charged with grade 1 careless high tackle charges, while there were two crusher tackles, two trips and one dangerous contact charge. Clubs were put on notice after four clear sin bins were missed by the officials in round 4, with players warned that direct contact to the head would be punished more severely on the field. It resulted in six people being sent to the sin bin for high contact across the weekend, although Corey Waddell somehow managed to stay on the field despite copping a two-match ban for a high shot on Melbourne’s Tyran Wishart. Raiders back-rower Hudson Young was the first player sent to the sin in round 5 for a high tackle on Cameron McInnes that resulted in an $1800 fine, but he doesn’t think that spending 10 minutes off the field is a fair penalty. “The high tackle has been around for 100 years, so I guess we just need to get better at lowering our contact zone,” he said on SEN on Tuesday morning. “We’ve got to try and get better there, but I don’t think the sin bin is the answer. “That’s hard to do (and) we get taught to tackle higher. There is no benefit of tackling around the legs because you risk a six-again call or a hip-drop tackle. “When you tackle up top, it’s too slow and it’s another six-again call, so there’s a fine line at the moment.”