All the talk this week about rugby league becoming boring has raised some valid issues, but there have been some key points ignored as well.
Do you think supporters of the Storm, the Broncos, the Sharks, the Cowboys or even the Bulldogs think their teams have been playing boring football?
The Storm has reinvented the way they play their football. A few years ago there was no way that a team would be silly enough to get in an arm wrestle with the Storm, as they would suffocate the life out of you and wait for you to make the mistake before pouncing.
This was achieved through frustrating defence involving wrestling tactics aimed at slowing down the ruck.
Coaches of the other 15 clubs realised that they had to fight fire with fire so a similar approach was adopted. Manly overtook the Storm in this department. As clubs began to nullify these tactics, and with the Storm losing key players, coach Bellamy had to reinvent the way they played their football.
On the back of last year the Storm have taken their play to another level through attacking set plays involving all players (not just the big three). The execution and timing they display in games is only achieved through repetition and persistence on the training paddock.
The Broncos have one of the youngest squads in the NRL and yet their consistency and enthusiasm is only matched by the Storm. This year has seen the emergence of Corey Norman, who isn’t afraid to take the line on, and Peter Wallace, who is relishing being the head chief in a team minus a future immortal.
The Broncos are now reaping the benefits of the time and effort they put into the majority of young players who were earmarked to be key figures in their first-grade squad. Coach Griffin is playing to his side’s strengths in young, strong and skilful backrowers who aren’t afraid to try things in games in order to get results.
The Sharks have finally found the consistency required to be a force in this competition on the back of their inspirational captain Paul Gallen.
With a tough forward pack and skilful five-eight, the Sharks are no longer the team capable of causing an upset on their day, but the team expected to win the majority of their contests.
This has been achieved through coach Flanagan playing to his strengths on the edges and not mimicking a game plan expected of a team without the big names.
They have threats on either side of the field and keep sides guessing about what plays they will conjure up.
The Cowboys have attacking brilliance in the form of Thurston and Bowen, however in previous years sides knew that wherever these two were, chances were the ball would be coming as well.
This year coach Henry has devised a plan to take pressure off Thurston by allocating more responsibility to Ray Thompson. Thurston still is their general, but giving Thompson more responsibility has enabled the team to get some unpredictability back in their attack and keep defences honest.
The Bulldogs have been the surprise packets this year and this can largely be contributed to the signing of coach Des Hasler. A side that doesn’t boast the big names of other clubs, they rely on forwards that tip the ball on in order to get across the advantage line.
The Round 7 game against the Storm was one of the best attacking and defensive games of the season and yet the score line read 12-6. It was a tough game that had all the elements that prove why people fell in love with league and will continue to do so in future.
The Bulldogs peppered the Storm line for 40 minutes in the second half but the Storm defence held, creating numerous edge-of-the-seat moments for fans to enjoy.
The common denominator among all these sides is that they all have positive point differentials. They have all found a way to consistently score points against sides focused on defending their way to victory.
These are the sides that are playing to their strengths and keeping flexibility in their attacks so that they can adjust to the different challenges each new side they come up against throws at them.
These are the sides that understand that you need to beat your opponent, not just stop them. These are also the sides that it can be argued worked hardest in the offseason to perfect their games in order to get those positive results.
Do you think coach Bennett and former coach Fulton would have complained about the game being boring if Newcastle and Manly were sitting higher up on the ladder?
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