The Auckland Nines have shown rugby league’s cynical attitude to have consumed otherwise sound minds, because absolutely nothing has to give in the tournament.
Rugby league is a cynical game at best. Grand ambitions are met with grumbling and shouting from those who are still carrying scars from events which took place ages ago and should have been been long healed by now.
Ambition is a dirty word, to extend the game into far flung outposts and strange new ground is met by the same tribal battles.
Something has to give, and nobody wants it to be their slice of the pie.
The concept the Nines may strain players already near breaking point is far from the mark. If the players are so close to snapping, maybe the brutal pre-seasons should be dialled back a notch.
For any referees out there struggling with their sevens and sixes, I suppose a lesson in arithmetic is in order.
Two nine minute halves adds up to one 18 minute game. Three of these 18 minute games add up to only 54 minutes of physical exertion.
An NRL trial match is an eighty minute encounter. If an NRL star played one full trial game, it would be far, far more of an exertion than if they played every second of the six nine minute bursts they’ll experience in the Nines (minus finals).
Craig Bellamy took on his aptly named alter ego ‘Bellyache’ when asked about the Nines late last year.
He said the money was of no concern to him, rather, “What concerns me is what happens after February next year and that’s another tough NRL season with tough games every week.”
In our earlier maths lesson, the surprising-to-some fact about how little game time each team will be involved in, not including finals, in the Nines was brought up. That’s assuming a player will play every minute of every game, which is of course highly unlikely.
Billy Slater’s body wouldn’t struggle with a workload of 40 minutes broke up into five minute bursts. It would be as much of a breeze as a game against the Eels when compared to the Storm pre-season.
To be paralysed by injurious fear is nothing new in rugby league. Most invovled in rugby league check under the beds every night for torn ACLs and ruptured pecs, the boogeymen of rugby league. This is true of coaches especially.
Steve Price is no exception (to call him a coach is a bit of a stretch, but he does hang around a rugby league team).
In November 2013, he called for the NRL to look at banning the gang tackle. Price believed doing so would, “eliminate a lot of twisting and injuries”.
More numbers to crunch here. A rugby league team features 13 players on the field. At the Auckland Nines, there will be four less players, coming out at the eponymous nine.
To commit four players in a tackle will be almost one half of the defensive line, over half if a side is playing with a fullback.
To commit three players in the tackle will be one third of the defensive line, even moreso if a fullback is involved.
It’s a tactic which is doomed to fail in the format. As well as a dramatic decrease in actual playing time, the players will not be involved in the kind of events which coaches feel is the greatest cause of injury, gang tackles.
One player from each top five, 12 from the top 25 and one from the retirement village in the Roosters case is the mandate from the NRL on the players each club must commit.
The Nines this year will be rugby league’s typically tentative early steps but come 2015, the stakes will no doubt rise once somebody sets the bar in 2014.
Any holding back due to the injury boogeyman will leave very embarrassed after being overrun by a committed side.
I for one hope at least one club views these as just the minimum, because anybody who turns up with an extra star and some extra drive will come out on top.
There is a slice of history on offer in Auckland and the clubs who are still being strangled by pain in their own ancient history will miss out on it.
The Auckland Nines will be played on the 15th and 16th of February and will be televised live on Fox Sports. Find out all the details here.
Click here for the full list of squads from the Auckland Nines.
Glenn Innes
Guest
Marldon - I agree within recent memory elite players played State of Origin three game Test series and a midweek cup competition on top of the regular home and away season and they all seemed to cope even though many also had full time day jobs. Go back futher and in QLD we used have a comp called the Bulimba cup a triangular series between Brisbane Ipswich and Toowoomba - elite players would play Bulimba Cup on Saturday and club Football on Sunday. Elite players would also play a three game series for QLD and in some cases a three game series for Australia on top of that as well as working a full time day job. If burnout is an issue it probably comes down to two issues overtraining off the field (if playeers had a workload like mentioned above simply playing is enough physical conditionimg. Secondly (and I suspect the real cause of burnout) is mental fatigue.In the pre fulltime pro era players were engaging in what was a recreational pursuit for which they were fortunate enough to receive some financial reward - the vast majority had day jobs and football was like a part time job that was also a hobby. These days football is their entire life. For most it is their main source of income and only form of employment - they mix almost entirely with team mates and have little contact outside of football so you can understand that some players simply become mentally fatigued or in plain English bored with football and in need of a break.
Memphis
Guest
Harry T- live from Rugby league Central
Marldon
Guest
So......
Hossey
Roar Guru
Don't underestimate pride, the cash and the desire for silverware. I'm thinking a few clubs might try the bluff, and send over a strong side as to surprise those who went with the bare minimum. The ante is going to be continually upped if this becomes regular.
HarryT
Guest
Harvey Norman will stay heavily involved in rugby league through the pre-season All Stars games and the Women in League round, and also as official retailer at NRL and Origin level. And yes, there is no All Stars game this year.
Memphis
Guest
How is this a top side for any club...The NZ organisers will be burnt...
Storm Boy
Guest
What in 2014 league does Harvey Norman sponsor? A: nothing.
Boomshanka
Guest
Harvey Norman spend advertising money with Nine. The Auckland Nines are on Pay TV, live and in HD There's a message there. Stay with Harvey Norman for the negative delivery of the status quo. Delayed games, in SD and full off cross promotions.Or get a new halo effect out of Dick Smith who can associate with something positive for the game.
Arnold Kerwanty
Guest
An argument of NRL player burnout could be made. They have f/t training, high levels of physical exertion players need to make each week. In saying that, many NSWRL & BRL past players played in pre season/mid-season cups, trained regularly and played in pretty tough physical games, all the while going to their full time labour type jobs. IMO if players can play in the WC, surely a Panasonic cup or Qantas cup could be tossed in the mix.
HarryT
Guest
Has the NRL blundered in signing Dick Smith as the principal sponsor for the Auckland Nines? Harvey Norman won't be impressed if it turns out to be a raging success. Who can forget the NRL sevens tournament that was heavily sponsored and financed by Coke, only to have the winners, Manly, walk onto the winner's dais on National T.V. all holding and drinking from cans of Pepsi. I think Coke rather impolitely told the NRL to stick their 'sevens comp' up their proverbial coke holes.
Epiquin
Guest
Wasn't it only recently that players were arguing for the right to play Japanese Rugby in the off-season? So much for player burn-out. "There's too many games in a season!" "Want to earn a cool million bucks in Japan?" "Sure!" It all comes down to money. Nothing more, Nothing less.
Ken
Guest
Hard to say what the clubs will do with that requirement, as you say it doesn't guarantee any big guns. I suspect some teams will send close to their best squad (in relation to nines) while others will practice risk avoidance. As was pointed out in the post though, there's less game time here than a single trial game and there's certainly a better reward if you do well.
Marldon
Guest
However you define it, it is still the responsibility of the coach to manage it not the NRL and if there are too many games then clubs should be demanding additions to their roster not baulking at the introduction of a new competition. This is issue is of the clubs own making and the solution is within their hands.
eagleJack
Guest
When did they guarantee that the top players would play? All that has been stated is the below: "Under tournament regulations each side is required to field one of their top five paid players and 12 of their top 25 players". Which means that, potentially, 13 of the usual matchday 17 for each club won't being flying to Auckland. I think most clubs will field competitive sides as the cash on offer is very tempting (regardless of the weakening AUD).
Scrubbit
Guest
Broncos best nine: Barba Glenn Hoffman Gillette Kahu Oates Hunt Thaiday And maybe McGuire if I needed to add a prop Obviously hodges misses out due to injury (surprise surprise) Parker I think could keep up but his skill set of offloading and drawing defenders may not be as pivotal when most tackles will probably 1-2 on 1. Eels: Hayne Hopoate 3 4 5 6 7 8 Norman Let's face it. How do you pick a good team for the eels? Maybe paulo as well? Storm Slater* Smith* Cronk* Hoffman Chambers (I think he's still there?) Waqa Bromwich And two other no names who'll play very well cos they're the storm. (* means they probably won't end up playing at all since Bellamy refuses to comprehend his players being burnt out by 3-6 18 minute games) Raiders: Don't care Warriors(my favourites to win) Tomkins Vatuvei Locke Mateo And a host of other ridiculously big, agile, and well coordinate island boys.
Memphis
Guest
What happened about guarantees that the top players would play - just rubbish for a trumped up trial - I hope the tournament organisers had factored in the strengthening NZ dollar...
Memphis
Guest
Boomshanka, There are only so many RL teams a man can follow. Maybe Shelford was an exception and the English League is way below NRL- ask the players 20 years after they retire and see how they are moving
Dave
Guest
It will be interesting to see who the clubs trot out for the nines. The main game is the Premiership, and it's an extremely long season. If I were a coach, I certainly wouldn't let my marquee players play. Although the money is good, the cost to the side could be insurmountable if say Billy Slater gets a long term injury. Even a short term one could see precious premierships points go out the window and see the team stuck outside the eight. That impacts of sponsorships/membershiops and obvious financial benefits from actually playing in the post season games. We have seen many pull out of the the Indigenous v all star game for that very reason. To play Freddie is taking the competition as a mickey mouse one anyway. The news that the Roosters will not let their stars play was not unexpected. The issue now is what are the other cubs going to do.
The eye
Guest
Burnout isn't about the amount of time you spend on the field,you can't qualify it with a 9x5 math equation..it's more about the tolerance to weekly,heavy impact the body can sustain at the back end of the season and how it's managed,Simply put burnout isn't about getting fit,it's about getting hammered.Players like Adam Blair could play 100 games in a season and not be worried by it..On the other hand,using just one example,last game of their season Storm were absolutely out on their feet against Newcastle,key player Ryan Hoffman,played on whilst heavily concussed twice thru the season was again hammered hard in that game,that was a burned out shell of a body screaming for recuperation time
Marldon
Guest
One Step at a time. They get one chance to be successful or get written off, better to get your main act in order first then you can look at other options later when you have become established..