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I have a few bones to pick with our NRL coaches and administrators and there can be no better place to air my grievances than right here on The Roar.
There are a number of things in today’s game that drive the Wiz crazy and I’d love to know if you share the same opinion.
Firstly, what the heck is going on when attacking teams get awarded a penalty a metre or so out from the opponent’s goal-line?
The captain instructs the kicker to kick backwards over the sideline, presumably to give the team some extra room to attack and perhaps curb traces of white line fever.
The rule does state that you can walk as far back as possible to take the tap as long as you stay on the line where the penalty was given.
And the benefit is the defending team cannot move off the goal-line. You can go back to your own goal-line if you want – they can’t move.
OK, I understand the theory, but what do we see week-in, week-out? The attacking team takes the tap and the ball carrier gets tackled on the exact spot where the penalty was given!
That’s a ridiculous waste of a tackle and obviously reduces the chances of scoring a four pointer.
Here’s number two – I cannot handle players tactically kicking over the fullback’s head to make the ball run dead.
This ploy is meant to reduce the effectiveness of the Billy Slater, Brett Stewart and Greg Inglis-types, who can be lethal with the ball in hand and room to move.
It’s a brain-dead part of the modern game. Surely coaches can come up with better last tackle options, knowing the collective skills of their kickers and chasers.
What is wrong with an old-fashioned cross kick for an eager winger with the defence back-tracking?
I hate seeing the ball kicked dead and want to throw something at the telly whenever this annoying practice raises its ugly head.
The way to stop it would be to give the defending team a 30 metre restart instead of the current 20. Use your heads rule-makers! This is not a major change but I feel it would prevent a lot of predictability and boredom from so-called ‘attacking’ teams.
My third bone to pick concerns the interchange rule. There are way too many interchanges being made and I’d like to see the number of interchanges limited to six.
We don’t want a game of touch football. The fans love seeing the big guys tough it out and not being rested at the drop of a hat.
The doctors say the game needs the current number of interchanges for player safety reasons.
What a load of crap. Can someone tell me about the ‘safety’ of the players who are constantly left out there in the heat of battle?
I’m talking about the halfbacks, five-eighths and fullbacks. These guys do a hell of a lot of running and tackling throughout the 80 minutes. No break for these tough guys. It’s nonsense.
OK, time for the Wiz to calm down a little and mention tonight’s Roosters-Bulldogs biggie.
I am counting down the minutes to kick-off and it’s going to be fascinating watching Sonny Bill Williams line-up against his former club.
He has been an exceptional signing for the Roosters – the media coverage they have received on the back SBW has been awesome. The club’s major sponsors must be in seventh heaven.
The hype has been anything but false. SBW has been making gradual improvements to his game every week and it wouldn’t surprise me if he starts regularly winning man of the match awards, from tonight.
There’s no doubt he is a very special athlete. And worth every cent the Roosters shelled out.
If you’re out at this game and you see the Wiz, come and say hello.
And have a great weekend.
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