Mistakes in league? It must be the ball's fault

i like what you guys put up

Ben - I was at the game in question and must say it was - without doubt - the best Rugby game I have ever been too or even seen. To be there was a privilege. However - you are being unfair on our League cousins if you pick that game as representative of Rugby Union in general.

True Tah saw the Reds live . I standby my statement.

Michael B, you talk about forwards offloading in "todays game" - forwards offloading isnt anything new in rugby league - Big Artie was the king of offloading, indeed, how many of todays forwards today would have had his offloading skills? Sure he might not have been able to bench as much as Mason and co. Westy re: a decent game of rugby north of Newcastle, you might want to keep going south to Canberra - the Tahs two best games this season were in Wellington and Auckland, and the Wellington game had some pretty slick handling despite awful conditions.

"Michael B, I see where you are coming from with your presentation of the ball assertion, but wouldn’t you say that League players has no such worries, regarding the contact situation. All they have to do is hold onto the ball in contact, whereas Union players have to also present the ball well after contact, which gives them an extra dimension to think about." Rugby league players have to take the ball into contact, keep hold of the ball in the tackle (usually while trying to stay on their feet as long as they can to look for the offload), extricate themselves from the tackle area and the tacklers then get to their feet and play the ball - which gives them several extra dimensions to think about.

I do not like inaccuracy and this article is full of it. I rewatched the segment in question and they were specifically targeting the games in the tropics especially at Townsville . This is exacerbated The last time there was a decent game of rugby north of Newcastle has been along time. I had the misfortune of watching the last reds game . if you want to see inept handling have alook at it. For anyone who has played rugby and rugby league up north the humidity and sweat do have an impact on handling. Due to temperature you are forced to play in the evening . You are much safer playing a very conservative game . It is both the air and moisture. I have also asked some of the Townsville football community who also tell me it affects kicking I do not like smug ignorance . I personally have no problem with any sport trying to find the best type of ball to suit conditions.

I will give you a example, have a look at how many players are 19, 20 years of age and look at what skills they have when they play NRL. The coaching staff and trainers at junior level are doing a wonderful job of teaching kids how to play and hang on to the ball. If a ball gets dropped i dont lose any sleep. Totally happy with ball control in the NRL and the Queensland cup.

Nothing wrong with the ball, just the commentators place more emphasis on ball handling , as do the players. If you drop the ball in league everyone wants to know why? Took his eyes off the ball, had it forced loose in a tackle, or he just dropped it cold. No harm done except its becoming more important in league because it means loss of possesion which in the game now means it could cost you the game. The skills are second to none .

Benjamin, There's more passing in league compared to union. I mean some of the rugby union centres and backs would be lucky to see the ball in some games so of course there'd be more dropped ball in league. Im actually a fan of matt johns idea and the idea of using a water polo sort of ball. Sure, It doesn't guarantee that all the games will be mistake free but it means that the weather has less of an impact.

the steeden is very prone to slipping when moist just from dew it doesnt even need full blown rain for it to be bad. i think they serioulsy have the compound wrong in the makeup of the football material but only time will tell if improvements will be made to this which they should. even when u pick up a new ball it seems very 'oily' and has some weird residue on it from the factory. the amount of night games they play adds to the error rate especially with the current ball. bloody foxtel and nine with all their night football....we want more sunday arvo games and saturday afternoon games back! it has always baffled me why teams train most of the time during the day even when they have night games a lot of the time. i think the team should be doing most if not all of their field work in the week leading up to the next game to the playing condition for that game. ie. the team is playing saturday night, any midweek training done on footy field done under lights for every session up until game day.

I must add that the Super League this year has become a bit monotonous and forward orientated with the lack of risk taking. I try and watch the NRL when I can and find the rugby on offer far more exciting, added to obvious higher skill level on offer.

Michael B, They are encouraged to off-load, but they don't tend to take unnecessary risks when doing it. Also, I very rarely see them off-loading in their own 40. If they do and screw it up, they are roundly criticised by the commentators and pundits (and probably players).

Colin N You'll find in today's game, league players are encouraged to off load the ball after impact or before they are completely held in the tackle. So I don't necessarily agree with you in regards to league players only need to hold on to the ball. Brett - You'll find that most league fans know that this issue has been raised a number of times over recent years.

I would be amazed if there are more mistakes in League than Union as I would say there is more time in League than Union and territory is more crucial than in Union. Michael B, I see where you are coming from with your presentation of the ball assertion, but wouldn't you say that League players has no such worries, regarding the contact situation. All they have to do is hold onto the ball in contact, whereas Union players have to also present the ball well after contact, which gives them an extra dimension to think about. Of course, this ability should become innate (so to speak), but when you are hit hard, or you see a big guy coming fast, it may therefore cause a Union player to knock-on, as they have more to do when they are hit.

fair point Michael B, but with regard to the upright position of League players at impact, has the ball been popping out any more frequently this year that suddenly the ball is the problem?? As I said above, the same ball's been in use for years - why is it only a problem now??

It depends on what one considers "handling" too though Brian. Passing = Yes Recieving a pass without the intention of passing it and knowing that all you have to do is run = Not so much

Lets not forget that League forwards run to the defensive line in a upright position, giving the defender the opportunity hit the player / ball hard on impact. This, in many cases, can cause the "slippery" ball to pop out. Also, there are quick play the balls which can cause players drop it. Compare this to a union forward, who holds the ball, head down, hits the defensive line in a hunch back position, while covering and protecting the ball, gets tackled, turns faces his own players, plants the ball to be rucked out again - This process offers less opportunity for the ball to be lost. Plus when the ruck forms, its difficult as a spectator to see what is happening or whether the ball has been knocked on or not.

but Brian, even when the ball's kicked in Rugby, it still has to be caught. And they play at night almost exclusively, so it's not that unrealistic a point to compare the ball handling. And I say that without wanting to turn this topic into another code war...

For whatever the perculiarities of the ball might bring into it - it makes me think of 4 sports : A. baseball, and it's condition is not an issue. They get smacked around and into the crowd and happily it's replaced over and over again. B. Tennis - new balls ever how often? Fluffy balls aren't desirable. C. Cricket, the changing condition and nature of the ball, the pitch, the weather etc all come into play, that dictate the value of blasting early balls to the concrete/metal fences/stands D. AFL - used to at best change balls at half time or every quarter if weather and ground conditions really bad. Fair enough. But, now we have a bucket of balls at each goal.....and, a brand new Sherrin is glossy and hard - - and in AFL people ask why goal kicking doesn't seem to have improved over the years. . . well, in perfect conditions, a Sherrin is about perfect to kick and handle about half way into the game. The balls these days don't get to that stage. Now - before this was the case in the AFL, I remember attending my first NRL matches back in '98 and '99 - - and I kept getting caught out as the ball sailed into the crowd, I was watching for it's return, when, suddenly the game kicked off again with another ball. I much prefer it when the game and the ball progress together. Apart from anything else, it makes the 'match ball' all the more worthy a post match 'prize'.

Please don't compare Union and Leagues handling. The ball is in play in a game of union for about 30 mins out of 80. Of course there will be less mistakes - especially when all that happens is kicking.