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Every time a game is decided by a field goal in golden point the question is asked: is it time to consider golden try to decide games that are drawn after 80 minutes?
On Monday night an extremely brave Sharks side went toe-to-toe with competition heavyweights the Cowboys for 82 minutes, before a Johnathan Thurston field goal iced the game for the home side.
I don’t mind the game being left as a draw after 80 minutes, but I certainly don’t ever want to see a grand final decided in the NRL’s equivalent of a penalty shootout.
It sits uneasy with me that 80 minutes of effort is forgotten for a five minute field goal-a thon, followed by a break, and five more minutes of pot shots from up to 60 metres out.
Judging by social media last night, the majority of fans support at least looking at golden try, where a game would be decided by a try in extra time. Field goals and penalty goals would still apply, but a try would act in a way that golden goal does in football.
If a try is not scored after ten minutes, the score would finish, well however it finished. If team was to kick three penalty goals, but concede a try, they still lose.
Rugby league is built on try scoring, and as exciting as last-minute snaps can be, kids don’t run around the schoolyard reenacting the Braith Anasta field goal from a few years back.
I enjoy the spectacle of golden point. It’s exciting, and I love watching a 50-metre field goal sail through, but I loathe when golden point degenerates into a five hit-up set, followed by a shot at field goal.
The golden try idea is not perfect, and it’s not possible to please everyone, but I would be very surprised if the majority of league fans favoured a field-goal shootout over sides working toward scoring that winning try.
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