How will the touch football partnership affect NRL's style?

Now I know why the ball playing attack that Des Hasler has with the dogs forwards is effective, because it takes 1 or two defenders out of a tackle and allows more of a 1 on 1 in the play the ball area so barba and the likes can play off the back of a quicker play the ball as the attacker has now more of a chance to do this as opposed to gang like tackles Aha! - and we all thought they were just trying to be creative with space

I unfortunately have to agree with this, although i hope this is rectified with some common sense.

I think the merger is the best thing that the administration has done between the two codes. Ill give you the benefits of a touch- league merger and playing styles and what it can do to the Sport. In soccer the support game is futsal the basketball sized indoor court five a side version of the game. It is well known that some of the greatest players in the world out of soccer refined their skills on the futsal court before becoming great in the world game, including former brazillian striker ronaldo and of course the great Pele. In fact in brazil i think kids play futsal until they are 12 or 14 or so and then they move into the 11 a side game. Can you imagine the quality in play (and less frustrations as a supporter from dropped balls etc) if every player props through to fullback were required to develop the skills and spacial awareness that is required in touch football in order to make it into the top grade? Remember in touch no matter what the situation if the ball hits the ground (whether backwards or forwards) then it is a turnover in possession, and because of the speed of the game, particularly at the top level, the reaction time of changing quickly from sliding defence to up and in to shut down an overlap created will highlight some of the excitement of desperate tackles being made after some great attack, so more anticipation and excitement is potential in each play. All in all touch will refine the skills and talents of the players in league to make the finesse and quality of play a lot higher. From a perspective of tough defences and gritty styles of play the slow play the ball already rectify's that issue somewhat so the attacking team really has to work hard in the ruck to get the advantage to be able to play a more flamboyant benji marshall style of game. Now as i said once a team gains that attacking advantage, defences will have conditioned themselves to react more quickly from slide to up and in so the competitive focus will shift from the play the ball to the desperation of attack vs defence. Although as i write this I have probably concluded that maybe 1 on 1 tackles the referee should give the defender more time to be dominant in the tackle so that a desperate defence is rewarded by allowing the defending team more time to recover before the next phase of play to bring the balance back into the game (unlike touch where every play is set up from a quick play the ball which is ok as defenders are not sprawled all over the paddock - they make a touch and quickly get back onside) So maybe it will put more focus on the attacking team to find methods to win the play the ball to get the advantage. so rather than disliking chicken tackles and wot not, we will start to appreciate attacking teams that "flap their wings" to get play the ball advantage and it will open up a more balanced area of competition that the crowd can learn to appreciate as well.

Nothing on the field - yep mostly agree because the relationship already exists. Plenty of players in the NRL played touch as kids, plenty of adult fans of RL play touch because we don't want the injuries of the full-contact game for some after-work sport. Off the field though, it should result in some great progress. Access to the administration and resources of the ARLC should be hugely beneficial to the touch organisation, the cross-promotional activities should be similarly beneficial to proper RL.

I know he is a Mnaly fan. And he is only giving Manly pittance, poker money to fix some potholes. The real issue is the amount of waste this country has produced, spent on garbage projects that are ill thought out and not warrented, as for another round field in Brisbane. Like i said, anyone with any common sense would kill this project and start building up rectangle fields for Brisbanes future growth. Having two round afl grounds for one teams is madness, jekel/hyde stuff. We need a new Mega Rectangle stadium, put all the money into this and watch the country start to grow again, not go backwards with debt like we have now for 5 years. Mate this is just common sense 101. He can spend what he likes at Manly, wont make a once of difference, but the real growth is in front of him. Brisbane. Melbourne Perth and NZ. Sydney is saturated.

LOL nothing on and the field and little off it.Smell the fear! The code has become all inclusive now . For a start ,a reduction in insurance costs due to the large participation coming under one umbrella giving the ARLC a great deal of power ,to get a decent deal.Economies of scale perhaps. A wider pathway for potential rl players currently playing touch,being observed visually by D/Os and access to a huge participation data base. More muscle in securing Govt funding and council field allocations ,with full 12 months of the year utilisation. The bigger the numbers involved in a code Oz wide,the bigger the scope for being able to secure national sponsorship. Deals can be made for ticketing for touch participants, in attending NRL games. .Access to schools that currently do not have NRL activities in the sporting curriculum. Seeing negotiations started two years ago,before the shoulder charge was banned late last year,that point is weak.Touch was born out of rugby league in 1963 and souths formalised it a few years later.Union has banned the shoulder charge. The RFU has touch as part of its stats,maybe they should exclude that from their figures. The one thing you got correct rugby league is indeed trying to broaden its appeal(scoop headlines..........),and as explained participation figures and Oztag no doubt will be next,underpins the code from so many directions. Rugby league has included wheelchair rugby league ,you call that ironic.That is a real contact sport.

This relationship will achieve nothing on the field and little of it. Obviously rugby league (can everyone stop calling it NRL please) is trying to broaden the appeal and increase participation figures. With all the controversy around shoulder charges and punching, it is ironic that the current administration is joining hands with a non contact sport. Sign of things to come?

Oikee, I hate to tell you this mate, but your man Abbott is a (wait for it Oikee, this is gonna hurt) MANLY supporter. He has promised funds for BROOKVALE oval. He is the member for WARRINGAH. Mr Rudd is an avowed League and Queensland tragic.

I think it's a good idea and it will raise even more support for touch rugby, a sport that has struggled to attract attention on a professional level.

I dont see why touch players who wish to try contact cant move towards the nines tournaments and then from their moybe move to the NRL if they think they can handle the contact. This open's up a world of opportunities for the NRL. I see that the Labor government have opromised the Lions another round AFL field in Brisbane. Look, to be perfectly honest, it is time all AFL projects was shut down and this country got serious about building grounds for the growth of Rugby league, Union and Soccer, all three which have been neglected since this government came in. It is time your local government releasied we are wasting money on round fields, all which will have to be recogfigured over the next 20 years to accommondate the rise and rise of the world codes. Now is the perfect time for Brisbane to build a world class 100 thousand stadium for future world cups and touch , sevens and soccer tournaments which are growing bigger eaxch year. America has 110 thousand rectangle stadiums and we have a 52 thousand rectangle ground for 3 codes. Time the penny dropped and Abbott stopped the rot, it is now beyond belief if the Brisbane AFL get another stadium before rugby league Rugby Union and Soccer football. If and when Brisbane rugby league moves towards 3 teams in Brisbane, we will have 5 teams all trying to play out of one ground. Mate even blind freddy can see that the growth is in the other 3 codes, not AFL.

this is win win for everyone involved. probably one of the smartest things that the (hopelessly incompetent) NRL have done in years.

Great that the partnership has been established, Union (grrrr) has been trying to claim touch as their own all over the world so good that it has been established. It is my understanding that touch was first developed by Souths as a training/off-season game in the 60s. I agree that Oztag should be brought into the fold, it is a better version. Don't know about the contention that players with a touch background are more creative but are defensively weaker. Most players (nearly all?) have a touch background as well as full league, i think there are just some players who don't like defence! Maybe we can have touch games at half-time; better than the so-called entertainment we get now (except of course the under 7s games). I wonder how many 'official' participants League will now have compared to AFL, might ruffle a few feathers. I am surprised the AFL isn't claiming they invented touch!

Given this relationship with touch was 2 years in the making, it will probably be a similar amount of time before you see further grass roots changes start appearing. Things that look like quick wins could possibly be trojan horses so you need to be careful about what you implement, as it needs to align with the games vision for the future.

Yeah i hear they was a fallout in negotation with Oztag, but i reckon there will be a formation with that soon too.

I m just concern that there s funding going to touch football when the grass roots have seen nothing change since the new broadcast deal has been done.

Yeah i agree, but i really hope the NRL don't miss out an opportunity to truly integrate the sport, and allow players from both codes to experience both.

Quite a few teams, at the 2011 Touch World Cup, 26 teams played. Australia, Austria, Belgium, Catalonia, Cook Islands, England, Fiji, France, Germany, Guernsey, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niue, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, United States and Wales.

Might lead to more sideways running.

I think the tie-up is a great idea. I hope the ARLC also ties up a deal with Oztag which is even closer to rugby league and a much better sport. I hate how touch footy is so mechanical in that the ballcarrier can lightly brush the defenders clothes deliberately then play the ball. Oztag is so much more fun with the kicking and the ability to drop the ball backwards and play-on.

Does Australia play anybody at touch, how many nations play the touch version ?.