Mercy rule: What are your thoughts on calling off senior games early?

For the uninitiated, in the NSWRL Community Rugby League policies and procedures manual the 'mercy rule' reads as:

"All matches in the Under 18s to Open Age competitions will stop immediately when there is a points differential of 60 points. Officials at official tables will sound the siren at the appropriate time."

And, after a couple of rounds of the 2023 season in Western Division, we've seen this rule in play already.

Twice this year (at least) games of senior men's footy have been pulled up short of the 80 minutes because one side has given the other a bath.

Dubbo CYMS shocked the Peter McDonald Premiership in round one with a 60-0 mauling of Bathurst Panthers. That game ended in the 79^th minute.

Not sure too many saw that one coming.

While in Cargo on Sunday, in round two of the Woobridge Cup, the Rhinos raced in six tries in just over 15 minutes to begin the second half and demolish the Blue Heelers 66-4. That game ended in the 59^th minute.

Given the strength of the Rhinos in 2023, we could see more of the same this winter.

But should we?

Why are we letting first grade rugby league teams off the hook after 60 minutes with the margin at 60 points?

This isn't having crack at Cargo. Or Panthers for that matter. They're not the only ones this will happen to in 2023.

But why aren't first grade fixtures, in any form of community football, not going the distance?

Seriously?

It's not easy playing footy at a first grade level, anywhere. And certainly injuries and player availability, or strength, makes it difficult for some clubs on any given day.

That's not what this is about.

It's about stripping the game of some of the intangibles that make sport, and being part of a team, so good. So rewarding.

Hard work. Resilience. Toughness. Character. Some of the qualities fans of rugby league, of any sport, endear. Qualities that are valued in team sport.

They're qualities you call on when you're out in the middle and you're out on your feet. When one team has all of the momentum and you've got to do something, anything, to turn the tide. Regardless of the score.

You get the sense a mercy rule goes against all of that.

On face value, it looks like a rule to avoid 100-point score lines.

Plenty of players would have been on the end of a good old fashioned hiding at one point or another in their careers. It happens.

Those same players will tell you there's plenty of lessons to be learned from those results too.

What lessons are there to be learned out of a game called off 20 minutes early?

The mercy rule has a place in junior sport. Even then, you could probably make a fair argument to just stop the scoring but continue play.

But what are we making senior sport if we're employing such a rule where teams are given the option of giving up early if things get hard?

We're stripping back the very fabric of the game that makes people want to show up on a Sunday and cheer for their home town.

If that's the case, and that's what senior sport is becoming, have mercy!

Reading this on mobile web? Download our news app. It's faster, easier to read and we'll send you alerts for breaking news as it happens. Download in the Apple Store or Google Play.