Rugby league in Australia has gone a little stale and needs some new ideas from some new coaches.
Yeah, yeah, call it a hot take. Sure, bemoan it as another negative article about the NRL. Or, you could open your eyes and admit that once you take away some breathtaking feats of pure athleticism and individual play, the 2017 NRL season has been a little boring.
In fact, if we’re being honest, it has been for a number of seasons now.
That doesn’t mean there haven’t been numerous great games and some sensational action and drama, but from a purely tactical point of view, it’s been quite a while since we’ve seen anything truly revolutionary or game-changing.
That’s not exactly surprising when you look at the head coaches of the NRL teams in 2017 and how long they’ve been around.
Wayne Bennett was ordering players around and playing mind games with the media when I was still in nappies, while Craig Bellamy, Des Hasler and Ricky Stuart have all been coaching in the NRL for well over a decade.
Ivan Cleary has now coached three clubs in 11 years, and Shane Flanagan has been at the helm of the Sharks since 2010.
Stephen Kearney and Anthony Griffin have been in and around the traps for a while, with both getting their first head coaching gigs in 2011.
Nathan Brown returned to the NRL last year after honing his coaching skills in the UK – with some great success in the Super League – however, he actually made his NRL coaching debut way back in 2003.
Then there are the relative newcomers. Trent Robinson and Michael Maguire have been with their clubs for five and six years respectively, while Paul Green, Paul McGregor and Brad Arthur all debuted in 2014.
Trent Barrett is the new kid on the block, taking the reins at Manly last season, though like many coaches, he had served his apprenticeship as an assistant for quite a lengthy period of time, starting with Penrith late in 2012.
(AAP Image/Paul Miller)
As you can see, there isn’t exactly a large volume of new blood in the coaching ranks, which could be a reason why there isn’t a great deal of fresh thinking in the NRL.
I should stress that you don’t need to be a new face to have new ideas. The best coaches in any sport around the world are the ones that adapt, evolve and innovate, rather than stubbornly holding on to one set of tactics or beliefs.
However, nothing forces you to think differently quicker than someone new doing it, and I think coaching across the board in the NRL could benefit from some fresh talent shaking things up.
Kevin Sheedy in the AFL, Rod Macqueen in rugby, and John Buchanan in cricket are just a few examples of coaches who didn’t settle for the status quo, and who had had great success by doing so.
Rugby league is overdue for someone to break the paradigm.
There is currently a coaching vacancy in the NRL, with the Gold Coast Titans firing Neil Henry a few weeks ago – himself a veteran of ten years of head coaching jobs.
Kevin Walters, Geoff Toovey, Laurie Daley and Jason Taylor have been some of the names mentioned as a possible replacement, yet they probably represent “more of the same”, so I’m sincerely hoping the Titans think outside the box, and consider the Walker brothers.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Ex-NRL players Ben and Shane Walker are the co-coaches of the Ipswich Jets in the Queensland Cup, and since taking control of the team in 2011, they’ve implemented a funky style of play that they call “contract football”. The entertaining brand of footy essentially means that if a teammate is in a better position than you, you have a responsibility – or ‘contract’ – to pass it, irrespective of anything else going on in the game.
However, the innovative thinking extends way past that simple mantra, with the Jets known for using such tactics as short kickoffs, attacking players passing from sideline to sideline in the same play, and no wrestling in defence.
The brothers preach maintaining possession for as long as possible – even including running sideways and backwards – in order to stretch the defence to its’ limits, waiting for an overlap or hole in the defensive line.
It’s unstructured, it’s unusual and it’s effective, with the Jets having been to the finals in five out of six seasons under the brothers, and winning the 2015 Intrust Super Cup and NRL State Championship. It’s also appealing, with crowds loving the freewheeling style of play.
Though no one can guarantee that the Walker brothers’ brand of football would succeed at the next level, their chances of getting the role at the Titans is gaining momentum, with a belief that the club needs to do something different to reinvigorate rugby league on the Gold Coast.
Yet I’d go a step further and suggest the whole NRL needs a little reinvigorating.
The Walker Brothers and other fresh-thinking coaches could be just the tonic to give the NRL some much-needed innovation – not to mention crowd-friendly tactics – to ensure the game is being progressive.
woodart
Guest
thats the problem, nrl has trouble looking outside sydney, so PNG gets ignored.
Yoda
Guest
Didn't think league had rucks
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
Hey Peter, it was not my intent to erase history, and I once again apologise. I was simply focussing on the Walker brothers and their hopes of an NRL job.
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
As a Bulldogs fan, I will always watch that clip.
Paulus
Guest
Yep that is certainly the dream Nat. A few things needed to keep the talent sustainable though. Stuff like junior development programs and coaching clinics need to be rolled out. The semi-pro comp can also really shake things up by harnessing the country's love of the game by selling local talent to 8 million people to come out and watch games. They just need to stamp out the on-field violence that's crippling its growth.
Peter
Guest
Ryan, just saw this. Thank you. Pity you edited Duncan out. I' m probably just getting older, but I do think the NRL has caused a lot of the game's history to be forgotten if not lost. Duncan Thompson, the toowoomba Clydesdales beating Great Britain, Foley Shield, when Ipswich provided the Australian front row...
woodart
Guest
the game of league has gone very stale with hardly any competition for the ball nowdays, no tricky scrum moves, no rucking the ball back, ben elias style. most games are the same old with no real differences between different teams. 30 years ago ,there were real differences in playing styles and game plans .as long as league treats club games as more important than international football this wont change.
Perry Bridge
Guest
It's interesting re PNG. I've just seen the 2017 AFL Int'l Cup which PNG won over NZ by 1 point. BOG was the kid amongst men - 15 yr old Hewago "Ace" Paul Oea. Point of all this is - because PNG send teams to play in QLD state championships - he's been playing for QLD in the national u16s - and had a 4 and a 5 goal game. He's now included in the AFL Academy Scholarship group of 22 Level 1 players. That's almost a guarantee of being drafted. And if he is - hopefully what this does is helps push PNG as a talent source - and if the AFL get's more interested then just watch the NRL stop sitting on their collective hands and ramp up the interest. Winner = PNG.
Nat
Roar Guru
PNG - Minor Premiers this year and voted Best Player, Ase Boas, yet no player named in the QRL team of the year. Just garbage. Marum has done a phenomenal job harnessing the skill of the PNG boys and his greatest achievement is seeing one of those boys playing NRL. Hopefully, eventually an NRL team.
Perry Bridge
Guest
It's a relic. It exists in name only.
AJ
Guest
That happens right now, watch any game and teams will slow the play down esp. on their line to set their defence. Ref blows a penalty them and the attacking them gets 6 again
Rellum
Roar Guru
Yeah, I completely disagree with you, I will leave it at that,
Paulus
Guest
Wouldn't mind seeing PNG Hunters Coach Michael Marum as an assistant coach in the NRL one day, he's won QLD Cup coach of the year twice in 4 seasons and 1 minor premiership hopefully a premiership this season. He's also won 2 international test matches for PNG as head coach that's two more than previous coaches Mal Meninga and Adrian Lam.
RM
Guest
True - it's why I think Berrigan is one of the most deserving Clive Churchill winners of the NRL era. In that game, he was up against Cameron Smith in attack playing at hooker, and in defence he was up against Greg Inglis, defending at centre. Two great players and he got the points on both of them. It also speaks to the great coaching ability of Wayne Bennett, to think out of the box and use Berrigan in two different but equally crucial positions. He also had Stagg playing on the wing in attack and defending in the centre, as well as the switch a few games earlier by moving Hodges to fullback to capitalize on his red-hot form while Karmichael Hunt was out of touch/dealing with an injury. I still don't think the Broncos are much of a chance of winning this year, but there are few parallels to 2006. Storm the runaway favourites after a dominant year. Broncos finishing third without ever really looking like a team that might win the Premiership. A number of key position players getting injured or losing form at the pointy end of the season, which had even more people writing the Broncos off as a threat. Bennett having to get creative to come up with solutions to these problems... ...I live in hope that 2017 will be another 2006...
Joey Johns
Roar Guru
Why do you need more than 20 seconds to pack a scrum? The bloomin' thing is uncontested anyway!
Joey Johns
Roar Guru
Correction Don, Berrigan marked Inglis and wrapped him up around the legs every time. This is why he won MOM. Stagg defended in the middle.
Bill Blazejowski
Roar Rookie
I think you can mark much of the decline in he game down to the wrestling and slowing of the rucks, which Bellamy perfected and continues to base much of his game on, giving his defensive line more time to reset. The NRL could have easily dealt with this years ago but did little to curb the ugly three man tackles and all the variations on shooter/chicken wings/crushers etc. Unfortunately, Greenberg and Grant are more concerned with keeping games close for Channel Nine, Fox and the millions of television viewers, hence the reason the sin binned is rarely used now for ruck indiscretions no matter how many times players get pinged for it. With little being done to stop the wrestling, I believe many coaches have taken the stance of if you can't beat em join em approach. It beggars belief that the word wrestle is now often part of most post match press conferences. Until the NRL is ready to crack down on the garbage in the play the balls, the game will continue to suffer. Coaches happy to give us overly structured and dull four hit ups, an obstruction play followed by a cross field kick or bomb. It also does my head in watching defenders all go high in tackles whilst the attacking player makes another five metres plus dragging them along because nobody goes around the legs. What happened to the rugged and effective tackling styles of feared hitmen like Trevor Gilmeister, Dan Stains, David Gillespie etc? Would love to see more ad lib, expansive footy with second phase and players not afraid to chance their hand. I suggest younger league fans wanting to see what the game was like before the wrestling watch this brilliant Qualifying Final between the Bulldogs and Eels from 98. The last great era for the game in my opinion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqZXk3H968s
William Dalton Davis
Roar Rookie
Bottle and sell it at 200 a pop. Don't worry that the storm were already cheating the cap then as well.
thomas c
Guest
A while back i proposed a rule change of having a cage that gets lowered onto the stadium in the event of a foul. The offending player goes in with 5 opposition forwards. Football interesting again.
Agent11
Guest
I dunno, i don't like them but the Broncos played some great off the cuff football at times. Manly have been good to watch and not at all predictable, granted it is Manly. I think many fans are sick of the Storm being so consistent and they have utterly dominated the competition this year which has been predictable considering they have been up the top for 10 years straight now. Then you got big clubs like the Bulldogs and Rabbitohs who have been park footy standard.