Wednesday 12 February 2014 09:18, UK
Since the turn of the century I've visited the home of the Huddersfield Giants on many occasions.
If any of you saw the game last Friday between St Helens and Warrington you may have noticed an incident when Jonny Lomax was tackled in the air after the ball had bounced high and he'd leapt to gather it. At the time I asked our expert on the rules, Stuart Cummings, if it should have been a penalty as I assumed that you can't tackle a man in the air. He corrected me by pointing out that this only applies if the ball hasn't touched the ground. As I drove home after the match I began to ponder the logic of this. I guess that the rule was initially brought in for player safety. Tackling a man in the air can be extremely dangerous and the sport has outlawed this to protect the player. If the ball bounces high after a kick, as it will on hard ground, the defender may choose to jump to re-gather this before any on-rushing attacking. Does he deserve the same level of protection? As we get to the end of the season, I think that it's a good time to ask your opinion on the current rules. Many of them are outdated, and several not enforced.