As a 72-year-old ex-rugby league player who has watched the game evolve into what it is today, I find myself thinking how sterile and predictable the game is becoming.
Teams simply ruck it out for three or four tackles, pass it out to the backs and kick. It happens over and over again.
Ever since they took the old fair dinkum scrums out of the game and introduced the new ‘fake’ scrums, the game has lost something. The old scrums had their problems but there was always that bit of anticipation and uncertainty, waiting to see who would win the scrum and what might eventuate.
With the new scrums the result is a no-brainer, frustrating and a waste of good playing time. Add to this the time-wasting goal-line dropouts, and it amounts to a lot of downtime in the game.
A team should be encouraged and rewarded for taking a risk to run the ball on the fifth tackle. Hopefully this would bring back that element of anticipation and uncertainty that the game seems to be lacking, as well as reducing some of the unnecessary downtime.
To encourage a team to run the ball on the fifth tackle, I would like to suggest we award a six-point ‘golden try’. It would be awarded if a team takes the risk to run the ball on the fifth and scores a try.
This golden try should also be used to determine the result of a game should it end in a draw. In the event of a draw the team that scores the most golden tries would then be deemed to win the game. If there were no golden tries scored or an equal number of scored, then the game would go into extra-time.
This could encourage teams to go for a golden try more often throughout the whole game, knowing not only that it is worth six points but also that it could be the deciding factor in determining the final result in case of a draw.
Hopefully we would then see more teams attempt to run the ball on the fifth, adding that much needed anticipation and uncertainty. There would also be less kicking, fewer time-wasting scrums and goal-line dropouts, making the game faster due to less stoppages.
The fatigue factor would also become more important as a result of a faster games involving fewer scrums and goal-line dropouts. And we would finally see less drawn results.
These are the positives that would hopefully arise from introducing a six-point golden try. I’m sure there are some negatives, but what do you Roarers think?
Boz
Guest
Yes.
BrainsTrust
Guest
You mean one side got the head and the other the feed so it was an even contest.
Charlie Lawry
Roar Guru
The main problem with the death of contestable scrums is how it nullifies the space that would otherwise be afforded to the backline. With no one pushing or even bound properly you're often left with the absurd scenario of a front rower making the first tackle off a scrum.
Johnno
Guest
Rule changes I want: 1)5-point tries 2)2-point field goals 3)Contested scrums 4)No drop out if tackled in-goal, just 1st tackle as it rewards mediocrity for poor attack you kick in goal and get the ball back. 5)Drop-kick offs like 9's and rugby union, as kick offs are not a contest for possession right now 6) No-Zero tackle, just tackle 1 7) Bring back draws scarp golden-point and I hate golden-try by the way as it makes attack to predictable for the defence and the field-goal will be a skill-set removed from rugby league. 8) Bring back the shoulder-charge
Boz
Guest
Bring back the old scrums, and the old rules, whereby a scrum feed was determined by the half of the field it was set in. A team in their own half could knock on, get tackled on the sixth, or go into touch, and would still get the head and feed, with a good - but not guaranteed - chance of getting the ball back. Often you won't see players taking risks in the modern game unless they are losing and need points in the last few minutes of the match, which often creates the more exciting play due to its unpredictability.
McNaulty
Guest
Agreed, go back to 5metres and reduce the game to 11 men. More space laterally less free metres up the middle. Passing skills and line breaks are what people want to see.
McNaulty
Guest
Under the 5 metre rule every tackle was a contest for as many metres as the ball runner could get. They hit the line hard trying to break tackles and gain metres. Now it is about the speed of the play the ball you can get. You are better to get tackled quickly/meekly. They take a lot less risks than they use to. I don't think I have seen a chip kick inside own half in years.
Warwick
Guest
Well said, would love to see this in action. I think you're onto something. I detest golden point. Anything to reduce this shitty rule. Go the Dragons
McNaulty
Guest
Hell yes. 13 is too many now. Go to 11.
woodart
Guest
no,your not living in the past. league has become very predictable with hardly any contest for the ball , proper scrums and allowing stripouts in tackles would make a huge difference to the game,
Mushi
Guest
Yep I think back to that era and I am awash with nostalgia... Then you watch the old games and they look slow, passes float and the lines being run are terrible
Mushi
Guest
Sweet, as long as the every fan to complain about a guy missing a knock on or hand in the ruck from 20 metres away is thrown from a bridge....
Mushi
Guest
I find this comment could be applied to almost all pro sports now. The rules were designed for a hobby amongst guys who could now win a race in the high school sports carnival. It feels like every game could do with 10-20% fewer players
spruce moose
Guest
Hence why the ball should be passed around. It's a middle ground between the ridiculousness of 10m battering rams, and the completely unworkable rugby union 0m. And the other way to ensure players won't be there in an instant is for referee's to be militant on the inside the 5.
rossco
Guest
Agree. Agree Agree
rossco
Guest
Linesman. Before, that was part of their role.
Arnold Krewanty
Guest
Why not get rid of extra time? Why not have in-goal touch judges instead of the bunker? Why not bring in 2 trade windows instead of the current contract circus?
Kaks
Roar Guru
"To encourage a team to run the ball on the fifth tackle, I would like to suggest we award a six-point ‘golden try’" Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasnt the 7 tackle set to the opposing team, if you kick the ball dead, encouraged more teams to run the ball on the 5th tackle? Dont think I have seen so many fifth tackle run's as I have this season now that teams have come to terms with the rule.
Ron Norton
Guest
Great idea Don but it will never get past the NRL decision makers. It would give us back some of the fast open footy we used to see when scrums were scrums, but way too clever for the NRL "brains" to grasp. Would just go straight to their too-hard basket I'm afraid.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I started watching footy in the late 70s/80s. Those criticisms of four hit ups, out the backs and then kick were well and truly alive in the 80s and 90s. Didn't they change to the limited tackle rule for that reason (minus the kick) in the 60s? At its essence rugby league is and always has been a war of attrition. The great sides can do that and add some flair. 1980s Parra and 1990s Canberra and Brisbane had great attacking players but it's a myth that they just continually spread the ball from one side of the field to the other Globetrotters style. As well as great attacking players they also had fearsome packs and won the battle in the middle before letting the backs cut loose. There are teams with different styles today despite all the naysaying. Penrith play a very different style to Melbourne to the Broncos to the Cowboys to the Bulldogs to the Raiders as obvious examples. 80s and 90s league to me were the halcyon days as well but we need to make sure we're not looking through rose coloured glasses...