Ever since I was a kid, playing hooker for the mighty Woy Woy Roosters, I was told one thing and one thing alone; defence wins games.
No matter how many points we scored against our opposition, if there wasn’t a big zero on the scoreboard, the coach would always let us have it.
The rationale was simple; as long as you score more than your opponent does, you’ll win every time. The same goes for almost any sport there is, at any level.
It doesn’t matter if you only score once, as long as the opposition doesn’t score at all.
However, as players get older and progress through the young grades towards the higher levels of the NRL, the simplicity of the defensive focus they had during their childhood becomes increasingly overawed by the prominence and complexity of the attacking game.
To be fair, the defensive strategy only works when you’re able to get across the line yourself, but winning a game eight tries to seven paints a very different picture to the rest of the competition than a 6-0 defensive struggle.
The defensive brilliance shown by Manly to start the year illustrates my point perfectly.
Considering Manly have started the year holding teams scoreless in 70 per cent of the halves of football they have played, they are currently on par for arguably the greatest defensive effort the NRL has ever seen.
As such, there has been a dramatic turnaround among players, fans and the media in terms of Manly’s premiership potential.
At the start of the season, Manly were condemned as ‘too old’ to win the comp, but following their defensive prowess to open the season, the club’s detractors have well and truly eaten their words.
Premiership credentials are measured purely on defence. To start the season, the Roosters were seen as ‘potential premiership challengers’, but it wasn’t until they shut out the Broncos and Eels in consecutive weeks they were finally able to drop the ‘potential’ tag and make the rugby league world truly take notice.
I can guarantee, much the same as every year, whoever holds aloft the Telstra Premiership at the end of 2013 will be the best defensive side.
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