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Five ways to improve rugby league

3rd December, 2013
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Manly winger David 'Wolfman' Williams will be praying for a better game against the Roosters than his last one. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
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3rd December, 2013
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Now that the Rugby League World Cup has come to an end, many Australian and New Zealand fans of the game will start to look toward the incoming NRL season.

Each year, we all hope that the season before us will be better than the season behind us.

These hopes are usually focussed on whatever team we follow, but in recent years, our hopes are also focussed on the actual game itself.

How the game is now played, how the referee’s perform and answer the usual questions of “What constitutes a try this year? What constitutes obstruction this year? Why can’t the video ref make a call there?” and where the game might be headed are all important issues that the average man on the street now thinks about.

It’s fair to say that the game has a few issues both on and off the field that need addressing, but it would be impossible to go into all of them here.

However, here is a sample of what might (or might not, depending on your point of view) help the game that we love.

1. Continually penalise the wrestling manoeuvres utilised by clubs to slow down the play the ball
The game’s administrators have seen other unsavoury acts outlawed from the game in the past through continually penalising them.

Why can’t the same method be used to get rid of this blight on the game?

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Many people involved with the game hate what a “tackle” has become, so let’s get rid of it.

Lifting between the legs, spear tackles, blatant high shots and general dirty play has been rubbed out of the game through constant penalising.

I think the same can be done here. Banning the number of tacklers in a tackle is ridiculous (but thanks for suggestion Mr Price) and impossible to police.

Wrestling penalties can be enforced, provided the referees are given the right tools.

2. Knock on called for any loss of possession
This change can work if my first point is taken into account. If the defenders have to make cleaner tackles, there should be even more emphasis on the ball carrier protecting the ball.

There should be a great emphasis to begin with, but in this age of gang tackles, wrestling and the want to continually force an offload, the “loose carry” has become a favoured weapon of the attacking side.

And it has become a lottery to see which way the referee sees a dropped ball during a tackle.

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Take the lottery out of it by forcing the ball carrier to respect possession of the ball.

The opportunity to offload would still be present, but you pay the penalty if you lose control of the pill. With cleaner tackles, more offloads would actually hit the mark and create even more exciting football.

3. Clean up the rules regarding how a try is scored, use of video evidence, obstruction and wrestling
Basically, get rid of the grey areas when it comes to some of the most important facets of the game.

Defining what constitutes as “downward pressure” and “control” should not be rocket science and it should be very clear.

A slight touch from a little finger while the ball is on the ground is more akin to missing the ball than controlling it and forcing the ball onto the ground, therefore it shouldn’t be a try.

Why can’t decisions be reversed if the video evidence says the initial decision was incorrect? If the video tells the true story of what happened, why can’t that video evidence be used to get things right?

If the video comes from a camera that is rolling with the play, why can’t the video call forward passes?

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Clearly define what constitutes as wrestling.

The NRL will need the assistance of the various wrestling coaches to show the referees what they coach the teams.

Otherwise, they will be in the dark. The NRL need to give the referees the right tools to police wrestling in the game, otherwise they will second guess themselves all over again.

Obstruction is simple: if the ball carrier gains an unfair advantage by running behind another player, then it is obstruction.

If the defender makes an error in judgement and decides to try to tackle the wrong man, then it is not obstruction but a well worked play. Play on. Keep it simple people.

4. Reduce number of interchanges to six per game: rugby league used to be a game of attrition
And even though there have been improvements in this area in the recent past, the game could go a bit further.

The likes of George Burgess, Fui Fui Moi Moi, George Rose and several Warriors props enjoy being able to be part of a rotation where they only need to play 15-20 minutes per half.

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This means that the smaller players and workaholics of a team are continually up against fresh big men.

Why not even the scale a bit? If you use the big fellas you will get a good amount of impact from them, but the payback is later in the game when they could get a bit tired and need to fight it out on the field instead of having a blow on the sideline.

The halves and backs may have a bit more time to play some creative football instead of going through the motions.

We all love seeing players playing what they see. This may enable more halves to look at a possible opportunity, instead of running with the game plan despite what may be on offer.

5. Bring back the shoulder charge: If you’re going to ban something, actually ban it
The NRL did a hopeless job of this last year. Some shoulder charges were let go and some “body checks” were deemed to be shoulder charges even though they didn’t look anything like one.

Bring it back and concentrate on the impact area of a tackle instead of how the tackle was made.

The shoulder charge was banned because of the number of head injuries that were apparently caused through shoulder charges.

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Yes, the shoulder charge can be a bad thing. But so is a lazy, reckless or intentional high shot. Penalise players on where the contact with the opponent is made. That’s the important part.

6. Referees to have own press conference after games
You can bet your house that during that game the referees would have come under the spotlight for something during the 80 minutes.

The coaches and captains are always asked for their opinion on what happened. Sometimes the journos strike gold with a line or tirade from the coach (Ricky Stuart and Geoff Toovey come to mind), but most of the time they hold their tongue for fear of NRL retribution.

Why can’t the men in the middle hold some accountability for the decisions that they make?

The coaches don’t blow the whistle, the ref’s do. If they are being asked by a journalist why they came up with a certain decision at a certain time then we all would know what was going through their head at the time.

Whether the decision was right or wrong, we would all know where they were coming from and hopefully give us all a chance to come to terms with the decision or the referee could gain invaluable feedback to hopefully help in the future.

We don’t want a witch-hunt, but we want explanations.

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You may have noticed that I have highlighted six points. I apologise to any referees who lost count.

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