OUTSTANDING EDUCATION AND PROMOTION OF SAFE SPORT PRACTICES (CLUB)
SILVER
NSW Rugby League
Tough Love in League
 
Be fair, beware and be warned. That was the message from NSW Rugby League when it rolled out its Tough Love in League initiative that was introduced across junior leagues clubs in the 2011 season.
Tough Love in League is designed to make rugby league safer and more enjoyable for all participants and spectators. It aims to reduce the amount of violence in the grass roots game and take pressure off young and inexperienced referees and match officials to make the junior league experience fairer and safer, while also encouraging more children to participate.
The program was developed following increasing concerns from clubs and parents regarding brawls and an increase in the number of abandoned games due to on field violence.
Tough love involves:
- Automatic send offs for punching
- Zero tolerance for fighting
- Abandoning games for Melee's
- Minimum suspensions for violence
- Stamping out abuse of match officials
Players will be automatically sent from the field for punching and teams that are involved in repeated brawling will be sent from the field and spectators who abuse referees will be banned from attending matches.
The new rules have received positive feedback from everyone involved and have resulted in a reduction in send-offs and verbal abuse, less violence on the field and a reduction in abandoned matches.
The program was introduced in all matches from under 13s to under 17s across most parts of NSW and has now been adopted by South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia and Canberra as well as the schoolboys competition.
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