Cokey wrote:
Hang on
If he doesn't jump, he gets tackled around the waist. He jumps, and gets tackled on the thigh......Checkmate.
No, he doesn't. You're just refusing to see it for what it is because it's a Leigh player. He's very low, Mata'utia deliberately doesn't put his foot down, because he knows what Asiata is doing and takes his other foot off the floor and is falling by the time he makes contact. If he planted his leg in his normal stride he'd have had his leg badly damaged, likely broken.
You're obsessing over the height of the challenge. Whether it's an inch above the knee or an inch below the knee isn't going to change a thing. His head might hit the thigh, but his shoulder is right into the knee joint and there's no attempt to wrap the arms. The RFL even state it's not a genuine attempt at a tackle and is likely to cause injury. If he hits that with the studs in contact with the ground (As they would have been if he'd put his foot down), the knee is being destroyed. This isn't just me, look at Twitter, there are tons of genuine neutrals who agree it's incredibly dangerous. Paul Cooke, the former Hull favourite, is one, he isn't bitter about Saints losing to Leigh in the cup, he probably loved that. He needs to change his technique before he does something catestrophic. He's incredibly lucky Mata'utia isn't seriously injured.
