What is the toughest major team sport in the world in terms of physical punishment?

Originally posted by Niners99:
The answer is still hockey. Its essentially football on ice, played every other day for 6.5 months...

There are players who still dont wear visors. The puck is a frozen chunk of rubber that flies faster than you can react to it.

Yep
And they get gifted with a stick/club/weapon at the commencement of game
I agree its brutal man

Originally posted by Niners99:
The answer is still hockey. Its essentially football on ice, played every other day for 6.5 months...

There are players who still dont wear visors. The puck is a frozen chunk of rubber that flies faster than you can react to it.

Yep
And they get gifted with a stick/club/weapon at the commencement of game
I agree its brutal man

Originally posted by BarrySandwich:
If Hayne says NFL hits are harder than NFL hits are harder,our Lord doen't lie

They are all hard

Originally posted by 4ML:
"When I came off the full game I played in Detroit, my head was ringing," the 27-year-old said in an interview with Triple M's Grill Team in Sydney.

"That was obviously my first time being out there for that long. Literally, it was hard to sleep. Your head, your neck, your shoulders, people don't realise that just because you've got a helmet on, doesn't mean it helps your brain or anything like that."


"Everyone does that. It is scary. For me, after that full game I played, I was like, 'I don't know how a running back can do that for 10 years.' It's some heavy hits."

"Your brain is still hitting your skull. The couple of head on hits that I had, they knock you about. The NRL is pretty endurance based, so you feel exhausted, but then the NFL, them hits, the impact that they have."



/thread

Yeah, that pretty much kills the debate.

Hayne is probably the most qualified to answer this question having played both sports at the elite level.

The most notable thing about what he said is you have to factor in the fact that he only played a minimal amount of snaps/games... (Imagine what he would have to say if he was used as the bell cow RB )

His pro Rugby League (NRL, etc) career spanned something like 9-10 years & he was the go to guy on the field who got plenty of touches. (The type of guy who no doubt was targeted for special treatment) For him to say the NFL hits are harder, it's telling.

The only thing I could perhaps say in the defence of Rugby League (If there is the slightest possibility there is still an argument to be had) is the fact Hayne's NFL experience comes via Special Teams & RB... Which is where some of the NFL's biggest collisions occur.

Also RBs & LBs tend to have the worst attrition rate in the league... The position Hayne played in the Rugby League is not the position where the largest collisions occur or the position with the highest attrition rate. (Those positions reside in the Forwards)


[Rugby League Forwards]


[Skip to 0:34 past the waffle]


If there is a case still to be made, I'd say that's it^^^



In my opinion though, American Football is the toughest team sport.

definitely hockey

i mean look at this

Originally posted by jrg:
definitely hockey

i mean look at this

That dude on the Blues at a minute in punches a hell of a lot harder than that f*g CM Punk was supposed to fight.

Originally posted by TheSixthRing:

Originally posted by jrg:

definitely hockey

i mean look at this

That dude on the Blues at a minute in punches a hell of a lot harder than that f*g CM Punk was supposed to fight.

Cool story bro

Originally posted by SportOvaFilmTV:
Yeah, that pretty much kills the debate.

Hayne is probably the most qualified to answer this question having played both sports at the elite level.

The most notable thing about what he said is you have to factor in the fact that he only played a minimal amount of snaps/games... (Imagine what he would have to say if he was used as the bell cow RB )

His pro Rugby League (NRL, etc) career spanned something like 9-10 years & he was the go to guy on the field who got plenty of touches. (The type of guy who no doubt was targeted for special treatment) For him to say the NFL hits are harder, it's telling.

The only thing I could perhaps say in the defence of Rugby League (If there is the slightest possibility there is still an argument to be had) is the fact Hayne's NFL experience comes via Special Teams & RB... Which is where some of the NFL's biggest collisions occur.

Also RBs & LBs tend to have the worst attrition rate in the league... The position Hayne played in the Rugby League is not the position where the largest collisions occur or the position with the highest attrition rate. (Those positions reside in the Forwards)


[Rugby League Forwards]


[Skip to 0:34 past the waffle]


If there is a case still to be made, I'd say that's it^^^



In my opinion though, American Football is the toughest team sport.

Thing to remember is that Hayne was talking as well about the contact on the head by means of the helmet. And take into account his position in Rugby League...fullback. Not a lot of running straight into the ruck very often. And he often was looking for the ball in open space.

So now he comes to the NFL and is playing often at RB. Of course he'll experience big hits...compared to his fullback position in RL, a vastly different position. Now if Hayne had've played in the forwards, many more hitups and front on tackling putting the body on the line - without helmets and pads - with body and head getting direct hits from elbows, knees, hips, shoulders and forearms - unintentionally - you appreciate its brutal nature.....for 80 pure mins.

Its no wonder Hayne said you walk of the field exhausted. And he played in a position where theyre not often involved as much. I actually reckon Hayne was lazy in RL. But thats another story.

We've all watched a game of NFL. But when you watch a big game of RL, and something like State of Origin too where players are destroyed physically from tackling, running into a wall and doing so fro 80 mins and also mentally exhausted, it puts another slant on it.


Yes, one may have big hits (but poor tackling), but big hits dont mean didly squat compared a non-stop, physical game played for nearly an hour and a half. Thats punishment!