Rugby League in ‘serious trouble’ if ‘big changes’ aren’t made claims Super League man

One current Super League player has claimed that rugby league will be in “serious trouble” if “big changes” aren’t made soon.

Those comments have come from recent Wakefield Trinity signing Jake Trueman with the former Hull FC and Castleford Tigers half-back taking to social media to vent his fear and frustrations.

Trueman’s comments came midway through the game between Warrington Wolves and St Helens, a match that saw two yellow cards shown early on after intervention from the video referee.

They were the latest two sin bins to come due to video referee intervention after the attacking player stayed down for an extended period. It’s been suggested by Hull KR coach Willie Peters that players are being ‘coached’ to stay down.

It’s a trend that is a scourge on rugby league at the moment and one that is very difficult to solve because of the impossible nature of judging if a player is truly hurt or not. It’s also incredibly tough for officials to see every single incident live and at full speed, which prompts some players to stay down and ‘milk’ a penalty or a sin bin.

Such a difficult dilemma is creating tension among fans, pundits and now players seemingly with Jake Trueman taking to X to air his thoughts.

‘Super League needs big changes’ – Jake Trueman hits out over state of the sport

Taking to social media, Trueman posted the following damning statement: “Super league is becoming hard to watch, too many penalties and cards, video ref too involved, whoever is in charge needs to make some big changes otherwise the game is in serious trouble.”

It’s hard to argue with the comment from Trueman, who was recently announced to have signed for Wakefield Trinity. For many, rugby league is becoming unidentifiable from the sport they grew up watching.

Super league is becoming hard to watch, too many penalties and cards, video ref too involved, whoever is in charge needs to make some big changes otherwise the game is in serious trouble.

— Jake Trueman (@JT6Trueman) September 7, 2024

That was a complaint when new tackling laws came into place, however, fans have generally come around to those changes but this recent trend that’s seen more and more cards due to players staying down, deliberately or not, could be a bridge too far for many rugby league fans.

It’s certainly become a huge talking point this past weekend with incidents in the games between Wigan Warriors and Hull KR as well as Warrington’s clash with St Helens.

Is Rugby League in “serious trouble”?

Tyler Dupree stayed down after a tackle from Jai Whitbread which led the the KR prop sent to the sin bin, something that was a correct decision, but it was how the decision came about that has upset fans.

Sam Tomkins was on punditry duty for that game and explained: “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 League of Shield in two weeks.”

Therein lies the problem. It is beneficial for players and ultimately all sport, including rugby league, is about gaining an edge on the opposition. Moreover, when it’s impossible to prove that a player is ‘play-acting’, it becomes difficult to eradicate particularly when brain health has to be considered.

How rugby league solves this current crisis is unclear but when voices in Super League start publicly airing concerns, it becomes a problem that cannot be escaped.