Is there a better way to play League? We’ve kicked around some ideas to reduce rules in the game to simplify the game and make it more exciting.
The game is Universal Pro League. Conceived in 1992, after identified at that time that a variety of rules needed to be amended to reduce the errors made by referees & to address the growing pains of the sport of Rugby League.
NRL coaches are charged with rule changes. They are also the same people responsible for introducing to the game a raft of “innovation” to beat the game.
Gang tackles with the slow peel off to gain time for the defence to retire to the new defencive line, sloppy play the balls, illegal tactics to slow the play the ball down, head slamming, ever increasing high tackles, voluntary tackles, the Grapple Tackle and all its cousins.
Most of these issues have forced undue & totally unnecessary added pressure on referees as well as, reducing the modern forward to nothing but battering rams or wrecking balls.
Universal Pro League aims to combat these developments with simple rules to improve the game.
The key rule changes:
The game: Ten players per side with a five metre defence line. A match duration played over 3 x 30-minute periods. An interchange bench consists of five players – two changes allowed per 30-minute period;
1. Kick-Offs: Only at the start of each period and will alternate between teams;
2. Dummy half-runners: Caught with the ball are penalised NON SIN BIN;
3. Play the ball (PTB): Whilst facing your teams’ scoring-end of the field, place the ball on the ground immediately in front of the tackle, step over the ball with both feet. The second foot is to be grounded before the dummy half can pick the ball up. The second foot grounding will also allow the defence to move;
4. No Markers are required at the PTB; tacklers are offside until they have retreated to the advancing defensive line;
5. Drop ball rule: TURNOVER;
6. Repeat Set (RS): If a team completes all six tackles of the first set in their defensive half of the field without dropping the ball they can receive one (1) “bonus” set of six tackles.
7. 50/20 not 40/20: Successful 50/20s receive a three Tackle Bonus (3TB) which begins with a tap restart from the middle of the defending side’s 20m line; tries scored during 3TB worth five points;
8. The Conversion Try: Following tries scored from General Play (try worth four points), a team may kick for goal; actual try scorer to attempt the kick, successful kick worth two points; OR attempt a Conversion Try (CT) worth three points. The (CT) option provides three “fresh” tackles starting at the 20m line, (no kicking during the allowed 3 tackles);
9. No kicking during Three Tackle Bonus and Conversion Try;
10. No kicking into the in goal at any time: If a kick rolls in goal it’s a tap restart on the defending side’s 20m;
11. Held up in goal: Possession goes to the defending team; tap restart on the 20m line with six tackles;
12. Following tries and conversions, the team scored against receives the ball and restarts with a tap from the middle of their 20m;
13. Sin Bin (SB): All aspects of the safe play code will be in effect; penalties will attract a (SB) and once an individual player has been sent twice to the (SB) he will be dismissed from the game. A sin bin is for 5min, the offending player will be replaced by a bench player after the 5min suspension from the field has been completed this in effect will also count as one of the allotted changes within that period;
14. Penalties: No Shot for goal & No Quick Tap; can only kick for touch to gain field territory;
15. Scrums: Only come into play if there have been two knock ons, two dropped balls. Otherwise possession exchange is done via turnover. Five men will form the Scrum with the ref to feed.
Would Roarers like to see this game played at the highest level?
Steve T
Guest
Not a fan of any of the rule changes or format bar the rule 10 but in the format of the Rugby Union (lord please forgive me for mentioning them). Where the attacking team kicks the ball dead then the play restarts with a scrum or handover to the defending team at the time of the kick. Play restarts where the kick occured. This will stop general slowing of the play down with long range kicks. Possibly to define that this applied to kicks outside of the defending teams 20 m zone.
John Bignell
Guest
Rugby League is a game devised some 200 years ago for those who chose not to play other forms of football and stood the test of time till now and will into the future. Most changes to the rules in the past have been made due to requests for a more attacking and less boring "barge" type of game, others to prevent teams continually holding possession, some due to promoting a better game for TV viewing (although I do not support any move to four quarters for our game, leave that for the Australian Rules game as it suits) - none have been as radical as some of the suggestions put forward here. To me this would be an entirely different game and perhaps it should be promoted as such and let people decide for themselves if they wish to play it. Leave all games as they are with minor changes to cope with injury, blowout scores and to be more attractive to those who enjoy and follow the sport - all sports could do with more live attendance and less lounge lizards. Leave Rugby League as Rugby League and develop Pro League for what it is - Pro League.
Geoff
Guest
There is some interesting info there - age groups for new rules what are they surely not mature age? 40/20 -50/30 no need to change the 40/20- 10m rule - this should be reduced back to 5 metres combine with limited interchange 17 players 6 interchangesfor all ages up to 16 yrs; place ball back in middle of scrum take the predicability out of that area; the ruck area is a bit sloppy more enfoercement on the PTB rule particularly player playing ball, foot must touch it he must be square on; Another question do we need to tinker with the modern game to reduce the number of players from 13 to 10 as run on - or do we have 17 on card and 6 interchanges this will brings back the small man into the game, forwards will have to work remain on paddock longer.
tom
Guest
look at the games played in 1998. The state of origin games are classics. Most tackles one on one without the gang tackle. The game played in great spirit. Leagues finest hour. Coaches introduced the gang tackle about 2001 to slow the play and we have been stuck with it ever since. With the increase in the size of players serious injuries are a weekly event. If this was anything else but sport Work Health and Safety would have shut down the show years ago.
upl10
Roar Rookie
Nice comment John. Absolutely correct and have you ever asked the question WHY? The answer is that the coaches are responsible for their own rule changes & they are not held accountable for the damage they cause ie; pathetic scrums, excessive dummy half runs, monotenus hit syndrome, exploiting the ingoal with grubs, Sloppy play the balls, Illegal tactics to slow the play the ball down, Head slamming, Ever increasing high tackles, The problem of lifting knees, Voluntary tackles, Steroid abuse, The Grapple Tackle & all its cousins, as well as, reducing the modern forward to nothing but battering rams or wrecking balls. This game was designed & presented to them before they went down that road. The day of reckoning is coming. All this is designed to confuse the refrees so they can gain an advantage. The referees have been told since the 70's to reduce the amount of penalties (don't want to be like Union) & the coaches know it so they push it to the nth dgree.
John
Guest
Aren't players and fans confused enough? How about leaving the rules alone for a few years so everybody can catch up?
upl10
Roar Rookie
NO i don't advocate touch on steroids that is the N.R.L that is what you are watching now, seems that people make comments without actually digesting the info & understanding what would be achieved by this concept. My game is designed to reverse the damage that they have done to the way the game is played on the field. Actual fact they knew about this since 1992 & deliberately destroyed the fabrics of the real game, to run at the gap between defenders draw & pass to promote the ball & not the wrecking ball. My rules can’t be as physical as the 13 man/10m game because a defence won’t be able to afford more than 2 in a tackle (however, this is not legislated) because with the reduced numbers (10 players & 5m defence line) an off load whilst having 2 or more players attempting to complete a tackle & the defencive line can be very quickly put under a lot of pressure. Basic numbers to space equation. So 1 on 1 & effective tackling technique will be required to use the least amount of defenders in each tackle & not the gang tackle with the slow 1 by 1 peel off to slow the ruck down to enable the defencive line to reset. With no markers & a dummy half (caught with the ball turnover) the players effecting the last tackle are off side (out of play) until they have been run on side by them retiring to the forward moving defencive line, when the both meet the tacklers from the previous tackle are then on side. I know it is hard for people to understand because they haven't yet seen it played & they have had to endure the crap that the N.R.L have dished up. They haven't had anything to compare with, the N.R.L have made sure of that because this wasn't their idea. Please do me a favour before any of you post a comment talk to someone who played the game in the 80's run these rules by them get their opinion engage them in the debate. These rules aren't just for the sake of someone having a whinge these rules have been submitted to the highest levels of the game. They have been around since 1992. The N.R.L are threatened by them because they are at this present time experimenting their own version of what has been posted on this site (F.Y.I). For the past 2 seasons they have played their version of my rules in the South Sydney 1st division. Lets keep it real, it is coming. T.V executives love this concept 3x30min periods 60 sec play clocks plus plenty of viewer & spectator interaction. It is coming.
Scott minto
Guest
No, just leave the game as is -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
game of 13
Guest
To be honest, I disagree with most of the rule changes listed there. To me, the most exciting team to watch (and I'm not even a fan) are the Tigers, simply because of the amount of ball movement they create. Any rules introduced should have one of two aims: introducing a contest and creating attacking opportunities. With that in mind I suggest: 1. Shifting the ten metre rule so that the defence only falls back metres and the offense falls back five from the play the ball (so a 5+5 effectively). This will help eliminate those repetitive short runs. 2. Going from 6 tackles to 5 tackles in conjunction with the 5+5 will force teams to throw the ball around more, improving the spectacle (i.e. you won't march up the field unless you create width of the field attacking opportunities - no more cheap/easy metres). This will increase the overall number of runs for players per game in the long term but with more attacking exuberance. 3. Scrums should be altered. Going directly down the union path is nightmarish. We don't want that. The simplest option is for the ball to be placed on the ground by ref and the two packs (either a 3-2-1 or 2-3-2) to form at arms length from the ref who is in line with the ball (and keep them apart). Once the two packs are formed about a metre apart, the ref pulls back, they engage and push for the ball. Only the back line player (or players) of the scrum can pick up the ball. If the team that has lost possession hasn't formed and the other side has, then ref can blow time off (to eliminate time wasting and if it's bad/deliberate, allow the other side a straight tap - no resets whatsoever!).
karlos
Guest
The 5 metre rule had turned the game into a defensive bore fest, with players just bashing one another senseless. You advocate (as others have said) touch footy with tackles. Go watch the 1998 SOO series and you will see the best RL. No dives, no submitting and frantic. The game is going pretty well and does not need such dramatic changes.
sambaker
Roar Rookie
I really only think a couple of rule changes are needed to make Rugby League much more skillful and enjoyable. 1) Bring back real scrums. 2) Agree with reverting back to the 5m rule. This encourages a deeper style of passing and forces teams to make more offloads and create 2nd phase play (which is what Parramatta did in 09, and we all know how exciting that was to watch). 3) Introduce a short and long arm penalty (similar to union). A short arm penalty would be for minor offences such as offside and deliberately slowing down the play the ball, and would result in a restart of the tackle count or turnover (depending on which way the penalty went). A long arm penalty would be for the more serious offences like dangerous play. This would be like current penalties (ie. kick for touch). 4) Introduce a bit more common sense with regard to things like the grounding of the ball and tackling in mid air (if both players are going for the ball and one gets knocked over, then its fair play. Only if the are put in a dangerous position do they get a penalty).
ptovey01
Guest
Sorry this sounds like a game which I could not watch. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
upl10
Roar Rookie
Have any of you guys that are referring this format to touch actually played touch or played under the 5m rule (the game b4 they stuffed it up). The object in touch; quick play the ball with 1 out sorties mostly running from dummy half up the guts to get the defence on the back foot whilst the ref tells players to stay out of it in the ruck because the are off side because of the voluntary tackle to get the roll. Then when they have had enough quick up the guts sorties to draw more defenders in from the edges then they will spread it wide. Sounds like the N.R.L format to me.
Boydy
Guest
Personal abuse!!!??? Come on Tristan, this is a blog about footy and "give yourself an uppercut" is a footy term. Besides, it can hardly be taken as a serious insult, it's light hearted and humorous.
Boydy
Guest
It hardly even resembles rugby league. CraigB is right, it's touch with tackling. Touch is NOT footy, they just use one. It's like squash & tennis, they're both played with a ball and a racquet but they're hardly the same game! You're coming at this from the angle of making the game simpler but you want to introduce things like 'Three Tackles Bonuses' and 'Conversion Tries'. Old saying: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" Boydy - Personal abuse removed. Play the ball, not the man. Cheers, Tristan (Ed).
TammyS
Guest
I like rule no.8 (the conversion try) and the no.2 rule where dummy half runners are penalised if caught with the ball
upl10
Roar Rookie
Thanks Jake, you are correct it is quite a difficult task to turn around the damage that administrators & coaches have done to the game since this format was first presented to them in 1992. However, i am very confident that once played & once spectated that the tide can be turned. Spoke with Perry Haddock last week inventor of OZ TAG who played 1st grade for Saints early mid 80's has a 12 & 14 year boys starting to consider giving up on the game because they don't wont to get physically bashed. All i am asking for is the chance to turn theory into practice. Did you know that the A.R.L development panel have been playing most of these ideas with their own modifications (so it was their idea) in the South Sydney 1st division because 2 years ago they had waning participation. When the introduced the concept locally they had a 300% increase
upl10
Roar Rookie
The 10metre rule, ironically designed to open the game up, is the most recent of monumental blunders. The 10metre rule was never tested or trailed & when implemented created the low risk, high gain attitude, naturally adopted by coaches. Natural human instinct would prevail, offering the gift of gaining easy go forward by having the defence in the impossible situation of not being able to get on side unless they, SLOW DOWN, THE PLAY the BALL, with ILLEGAL TACTICS; the adverse effects of this rule have been devastating. Without question or argument the 10m rule has been the worst rule change in the history of RUGBY LEAGUE. The I0metre rule saw the introduction of the HIT UP SYNDROME with the spectator subjected to an overwhelming percentage of possession used with 1 OUT HIT UPS & excessive dummy half runs. (TOUCH ON STEROIDS). Since the introduction of the 10metre rule RUGBY LEAGUE has been portrayed as nothing but a physical, less skilful contest with an extremely high degree of repetition. Players continuously run into each other, (HIT UPS & GANG TACKLES). With minimum regard for the protection of the head, (NO SAFE PLAY CODE), & cheap head shots common practice. With Referees setting BAD PRECEDENT, preferring to place illegalities on report, rather than acting on a breach with true on field, on the spot justice. Placing a player on report and awarding a penalty has very little impact on the offending team. This is why players are contemptuous towards referees & the actual framework of the rules. These are just a few areas of DECAY that are resulting in REDUCED PARTICIPATION LEVELS, with parents of future possible candidates of the sport refusing to allow their kids to participate.
Jake
Guest
You're not going to get any agreement from the generation raised on Crash Ball League. You should get Men of League involved.
upl10
Roar Rookie
Thanks anyway Jay, the 10m rule changed the fundamentals of the game turning forwards into wrecking balls & being coached not to pass the ball. Interesting comments i wonder sometimes the age of the people placing comments because they either haven't played the game pre 10m rule or have not seen footage of games pre 10m rule.