Cherry-Evans urges players not exploit NRL’s new rules

BRISBANE: Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans has called for a gentleman’s agreement to stop players from exploiting the NRL’s high-contact crackdown in tomorrow night’s State of Origin opener.An ugly side-effect of the referees’ strict punishment of high tackles since last month’s Magic Round has been a rise in players staying down or overreacting while appealing for penalties when any high contact is made in a tackle.New South Wales captain James Tedesco set the tone on Sunday by imploring both camps “play in the spirit of the game”.Cherry-Evans agrees, saying a player’s values will be exposed by how they respond tomorrow night.“I think it’s going to be a bit of a gentleman’s agreement to be honest,” he said.“As players we all know what Origin is about, what it means to each other, to the fans.“We aren’t gladiators, but we’re playing a very heavy contact sport.“Everyone’s going to put everything out there and I don’t think there will be too much of that stuff going on. That’s sportsmanship at the end of the day … Origin is a different beast and everyone is looking forward to playing their hardest and toughest.” – Yahoo Sports Australia