The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

The NRL could take a leaf out of junior league's book

Roar Guru
11th December, 2014
Advertisement
Ben Barba is almost playing like it's 2012 again. (AAP Image/Action Photographics, Robb Cox)
Roar Guru
11th December, 2014
53

Creativity in the NRL has been sterilised in recent times, with coaches increasingly fixated on ‘no mistakes’ football.

Possession has always been a major factor in winning a game of rugby league; however it has become even more important in recent times with the advent of professionalism.

Improved training and diet has made footballers bigger and defences tighter, and this has created a simplification of style.

Most games are dictated now by five hit-ups and a kick. The battle between offence and defence is around speeding up the ruck versus slowing down the ruck. No emphasis is placed on creativity, as this often leads to cheap turnovers – a massive disadvantage.

The common view among rugby league supporters is that reducing the interchange will improve the style of rugby league played and bring back the little man. While I agree that the interchange needs to be decreased in order to re-introduce the fatigue element to our game, this won’t result in more little players. It will have the opposite effect and we will more likely see an increase in the number of athletes (especially back rowers). There will likely be little change in the style of game played and a greater emphasis on ruck control.

I have two major rule changes that will improve the style of game.

The first is a readjusted points system for scoring tries. I am a huge fan of the rules in mod rugby league, where five-point tries are awarded for tries involving more than three passes, and three-point tries for those involving fewer than three passes. Bringing this into the NRL will revolutionise attacking football and increase the level of unpredictability – particularly at the back end of a game.

It will have a major effect on bringing skill back into the game as tries scored via kicks, dummy half, or through the too-often-used bash and barge approach will result in less points.

Advertisement

The other change that I want re-introduced is contesting the ball. Both the strip rule and the striking of possession at the play-the-ball ensured every play had meaning. Today the focus is more about getting to the fifth tackle and putting on a kick. This is both monotonous and unadventurous, particularly if you are coming off your own defensive line.

If opposition players could once again compete for the ball it would change both attacking and defensive structures and reduce a lot of the wrestle as the ball would no longer stay centrally around the ruck, seeing defences stretched more.

Both of these changes would not alter the fabric of the game, which is very important to me. What they would do is address the in-balance that has currently been created by professionalism and bring back skill and unpredictability.

close