The refereeing in the Cats game was bordering on negligent at times; but it could and should have been done better within the existing rules of the game.
Agree re, shoulder charge - I miss them. It isn’t the notion that’s the problem, it’s when the shoulder is applied to the head which is foul play anyway. That one is a case of baby and bath water for me.
The Leeds - Canterbury WCC game comes to mind. SBW was immense and that’s what you want to see.
There is a bubbling issue over head injury, and it could likely get worse. Rugby of either code is a contact sport and head injury happens - the majority of the time concussions are unintentional and you can’t just legislate them out of the game. Sometimes it’s poor technique by the ball carrier actually (e.g. turning back to opposition line and pressing on, putting the defender behind the head).
It’s just a balance isn’t it of making the game as safe as we responsibly can, whilst still having a contact sport at all.