Latest news with #ManlySeaEagles
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘It will result in death': But Run It Straight contestants say they're ‘blessed' to compete
Andrew Alauni has played rugby league in western Sydney for as long as he can remember. But he has never experienced anything quite like a Run it Straight tournament. 'What hypes me up is the crowd,' Alauni, 24, says. 'When I've got the crowd behind me, when they scream out my name ... honestly, I'm blessed being part of the event.' Run it Straight is a rapidly growing social media trend that has racked up millions of views across Instagram and TikTok. The object is simple: two players run at each other from opposite ends of a 10-metre strip and collide as hard as they can in a rugby league-style hit-up, aiming to knock the other over and win the collision. The risks are obvious, and the craze has already ended in tragedy. A week ago, 19-year-old Ryan Satterthwaite had his life support turned off after sustaining an ultimately fatal head injury playing the game in an Auckland backyard. His family said he had been influenced by social media. On Saturday, the Manly Sea Eagles vowed to step up game-day security after footage of fans skolling beer and running at each other behind the main hill at 4 Pines Park was watched more than 200,000 times online. Concussion expert Alan Pearce, a professor at Melbourne's Swinburne University, says the game is supercharging the most dangerous aspects of rugby league tackles and is gaining popularity among those who perceive safety rules in sport as 'woke'. 'What do you have is two large men running at each other at almost 25 to 30 kilometres an hour, but not stopping,' Pearce said. 'This is just pure collision with the idea of knocking out the opponent, which is the main concern that we have here from a brain injury perspective. 'You do not need a direct impact to the head in order for a brain injury to occur and only requires what we call an impulse force travelling to the brain.'
The Age
a day ago
- Sport
- The Age
‘It will result in death': But Run It Straight contestants say they're ‘blessed' to compete
Andrew Alauni has played rugby league in western Sydney for as long as he can remember. But he has never experienced anything quite like a Run it Straight tournament. 'What hypes me up is the crowd,' Alauni, 24, says. 'When I've got the crowd behind me, when they scream out my name ... honestly, I'm blessed being part of the event.' Run it Straight is a rapidly growing social media trend that has racked up millions of views across Instagram and TikTok. The object is simple: two players run at each other from opposite ends of a 10-metre strip and collide as hard as they can in a rugby league-style hit-up, aiming to knock the other over and win the collision. The risks are obvious, and the craze has already ended in tragedy. A week ago, 19-year-old Ryan Satterthwaite had his life support turned off after sustaining an ultimately fatal head injury playing the game in an Auckland backyard. His family said he had been influenced by social media. On Saturday, the Manly Sea Eagles vowed to step up game-day security after footage of fans skolling beer and running at each other behind the main hill at 4 Pines Park was watched more than 200,000 times online. Concussion expert Alan Pearce, a professor at Melbourne's Swinburne University, says the game is supercharging the most dangerous aspects of rugby league tackles and is gaining popularity among those who perceive safety rules in sport as 'woke'. 'What do you have is two large men running at each other at almost 25 to 30 kilometres an hour, but not stopping,' Pearce said. 'This is just pure collision with the idea of knocking out the opponent, which is the main concern that we have here from a brain injury perspective. 'You do not need a direct impact to the head in order for a brain injury to occur and only requires what we call an impulse force travelling to the brain.'
7NEWS
2 days ago
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Fans urged to end Run It Straight trend after ‘appalling' scenes at NRL game
A leading concussion expert has urged NRL fans to bring an end to the 'Run It Straight' trend after vision surfaced from the crowd at a Manly Sea Eagles game over the weekend. The death of a New Zealand teenager last week shone a spotlight on the dangerous activity. But the viral craze has shown no signs of slowing down, with security reportedly stepping in when fans ran at each other on the hill at Brookvale Oval late in Manly's win over Brisbane on Saturday. Sea Eagles chief executive Tony Mestrov has already revealed anyone found to have been involved will be banned. Dr Alan Pearce, who has worked with NRL players on concussions, said he is 'still speechless'. 'I'm pretty appalled by what we're seeing and I'm really concerned about the health of the people undertaking this activity,' he told Sunrise. 'There's no medical attention nearby if something happened.' Pearce said it was made worse by the apparent levels of intoxication. 'Beer and head injuries do not mix,' he said. 'This is what we're seeing now and this is something we've been concerned about surrounding the Run It events. 'Things like this will be happening everywhere now and they're not checked properly. That's the concern.' While some of those filmed participating at the NRL game appeared to be grown men, Pearce said he fears for kids and even young adults involved in the trend. 'The damage to a young brain is potentially profound and catastrophic,' he said. 'With young people, kids up to the age of 20, there's a risk of what we call 'second impact syndrome'. 'Even though you might get a hit to the head and not necessarily think that there's anything going on, having a second hit to the head in a rapid time period after — it might be a few minutes, it could be 15 minutes — could be potentially life-threatening. 'This is something we are really worried about.'
Mercury
2 days ago
- Sport
- Mercury
Fans doing Run It Straight after Manly game, club condemn behaviour
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News. The Manly Sea Eagles have condemned fan behaviour that was posted to social media on Monday. The footage, posted to the creaturesofmanly Instagram account, shows fans on the hill at 4 Pines park partaking in the controversial 'Run It Straight' challenge. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. The activity sees opponents charging at each other with the objective to either successfully tackle the opponent or run them over in a hard-hitting collision. On Saturday night after the Sea Eagles had defeated the Brisbane Broncos, fans decided to turn the steep hill into their arena. Fans slowly trotted down the hill as others waited at the bottom to tackle them with countless people watching on and cheering. One man slammed down his drink before taking off down the hill where he was flattened by another individual. Another was hit just as hard while a third carried so much speed he bowled into the crowd at the bottom who all had their phones recording the chaos. The Sea Eagles have vowed to step up security with club CEO Tony Mestrov thankfully nobody was seriously injured. 'It's crazy that people will do this type of thing when they know how dangerous and potentially life-threatening it is,' Mestrov said to The Sydney Morning Herald. 'We will ensure our security is more vigilant in patrolling this outside zone after full-time, at all future home games. 'Any spectators who breach our rules by engaging in this type of behaviour will be banned. Full stop. As a club, we will continue to make the match day experience at 4 Pines Park one that is safe and enjoyable for all.' The footage of Manly fans doing the controversial activity comes after teenager Ryan Satterthwaite died last week while playing the game with friends in Palmerston North, New Zealand. The 19-year-old was taken to hospital by friends but passed away a day later. Leading sports neuroscientist Dr Alan Pearce told that it was sadly 'only a matter of time' until the viral sport took a life and says if it continues this won't be the last time it does. 'This was a matter of time really as sad as that is to say,' Dr Pearce told 'The concern is that this can happen at any level. Even in the sanctioned 'run it' events someone will probably die in that at some point as well. 'It can't be done safely and when there's kids and teens that see it they like to copy what they see online, and this is something that absolutely not should be copied. 'It is the biggest please do not try this at home disclaimer if I've ever seen one'. 'RUNIT' has become an online viral sensation over the past few months, and has attracted tens of millions of views on various social media platforms. Videos of the heavy collisions started doing the rounds on social media in January, with 'Run it Straight Official' and 'RUNIT Championship League' turning the trend into a business. As the sport took off spoke to Dr Pearce who was baffled at why people would be willing to take the risks. 'I just cannot understand how they could take the most violent aspect of sport (contact) and just turn it into a spectacle where the objective is just to try and knock out or hurt your opponent,' Dr Pearce told earlier this year. 'In a lot of these other sports (such as NRL, AFL and rugby union) you're trying to avoid direct contact whereas this is purely running at each other, it's insanity.' Originally published as Manly Sea Eagles vow to crack down after horror fan footage
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Health
- News.com.au
Manly Sea Eagles vow to crack down after horror fan footage
The Manly Sea Eagles have condemned fan behaviour that was posted to social media on Monday. The footage, posted to the creaturesofmanly Instagram account, shows fans on the hill at 4 Pines park partaking in the controversial 'Run It Straight' challenge. The activity sees opponents charging at each other with the objective to either successfully tackle the opponent or run them over in a hard-hitting collision. On Saturday night after the Sea Eagles had defeated the Brisbane Broncos, fans decided to turn the steep hill into their arena. Fans slowly trotted down the hill as others waited at the bottom to tackle them with countless people watching on and cheering. One man slammed down his drink before taking off down the hill where he was flattened by another individual. Another was hit just as hard while a third carried so much speed he bowled into the crowd at the bottom who all had their phones recording the chaos. The Sea Eagles have vowed to step up security with club CEO Tony Mestrov thankfully nobody was seriously injured. 'It's crazy that people will do this type of thing when they know how dangerous and potentially life-threatening it is,' Mestrov said to The Sydney Morning Herald. 'We will ensure our security is more vigilant in patrolling this outside zone after full-time, at all future home games. 'Any spectators who breach our rules by engaging in this type of behaviour will be banned. Full stop. As a club, we will continue to make the match day experience at 4 Pines Park one that is safe and enjoyable for all.' The footage of Manly fans doing the controversial activity comes after teenager Ryan Satterthwaite died last week while playing the game with friends in Palmerston North, New Zealand. The 19-year-old was taken to hospital by friends but passed away a day later. Leading sports neuroscientist Dr Alan Pearce told that it was sadly 'only a matter of time' until the viral sport took a life and says if it continues this won't be the last time it does. 'This was a matter of time really as sad as that is to say,' Dr Pearce told 'The concern is that this can happen at any level. Even in the sanctioned 'run it' events someone will probably die in that at some point as well. 'It can't be done safely and when there's kids and teens that see it they like to copy what they see online, and this is something that absolutely not should be copied. 'It is the biggest please do not try this at home disclaimer if I've ever seen one'. 'RUNIT' has become an online viral sensation over the past few months, and has attracted tens of millions of views on various social media platforms. Videos of the heavy collisions started doing the rounds on social media in January, with 'Run it Straight Official' and 'RUNIT Championship League' turning the trend into a business. 'I just cannot understand how they could take the most violent aspect of sport (contact) and just turn it into a spectacle where the objective is just to try and knock out or hurt your opponent,' Dr Pearce told earlier this year.
