Earlier this week the Penrith Panthers signed Josh Hall from the Gold Coast Suns. I’m not saying that AFL players have less athletic ability than those in the NRL, but is the change too much?
AFL players can kick and catch with great ease, however I would assume that Hall will be used as an outside back where his kicking is taken out of his game.
Halfback and Five-eighth wouldn’t be suitable as he wouldn’t have the passing skills and game-reading ability.
The tackling is also a huge change, coming from a sport where tackling below the knees and around the shoulders is illegal and pushes in the back outlawed. In the NRL contact is allowed all over the body except the head, obviously.
Hall wouldn’t be used to blokes diving at his legs, making huge contact around the shoulders and giving him a push in the back here and there.
Then there are the massive advantages. With Hall’s towering height of 197 centimetres it would be a huge task for anyone to match it with him when a cross-field attacking kick is implemented. The only other player with AFL-like jumping ability is Daniel Tupou.
For this transfer to be worth it he will need to learn to read gameplay, build his passing skills, change tackling tactics and alter the way he runs with the ball in hand.
I don’t think he will be a star NRL player but I am happy for him to prove me wrong.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Round 5 of the AFL provided plenty of action, from big scorelines to upset wins and pressure starting to build on some clubs and coaches already.
Sean Lemmens was given a four-match ban for this crunching tackle - is it a fair whack?
Geelong has been crafty and creative in its list management and has quietly assembled a very exciting young group of midfielders and half-forwards.
Brisbane co-captain Lachie Neale will be looking to lead his team to a victory against Melbourne in what will be his 250th AFL game.
It’s high stakes with five teams having lost their first three games of season 2024, and in desperate need of a win.
It could be a weekend for contenders to emerge, teams to hopefully break droughts, o and overall footy to have a party.
