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Opinion
The restart to the NRL season has come with some exciting attacking football being played and the scorelines have reflected this.
Winning teams have generally scored heavily, with the first game in Round 4 being a perfect example of this.
In the seven games played since the resumption, only one game, the Penrith/Newcastle draw, could be classed as a close affair – “close” being the teams were separated by a try or less at full time.
There have been some serious blowouts in more than half the games, with teams struggling to score any points at all. In six out of the nine games, the losing team has scored six points or less – two-thirds of the time.
If we go back and examine each game, there are going to be reasons why sides have lost so badly. Perhaps it’s due to injuries, perhaps it’s down to youth, maybe the team is lacking real quality or maybe they’ve got a dud coach and have no confidence.
The one common factor though is the new six-again rule change. There’s no doubt these other issues may have played a part in the outcome, but coaches are quickly realizing that once a team gains momentum, it’s very hard to do anything to stop it, hence the scoreline disparity.
The Roosters coach Trent Robinson made some interesting comments on this issue:
“There will be less close scorelines. That’s a given.”
“The most resilient teams will be in the game for the full 80 minutes. The less resilient will be gone by the 70-minute mark.”
“Teams have to be very good at momentum changes, defending them as well as attacking them”.
He has no issues with the six-again rule change, but sees big scores and large differentials as a by-product.
The question is, are blowouts something the NRL wants or needs?
It’s safe to say Australian rugby league had become defence-oriented in recent seasons and coaches were trying a variety of tactics, both legal and otherwise to slow the game down. This meant the scorelines were closer and there were even upsets (some of the efforts from the Bulldogs and Tigers last year spring to mind).
The net result though was a game that was becoming increasingly difficult to watch.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
The new rule has resulted in far more attack, but it seems that attack has largely been one-sided. Teams that have the momentum after the first ten or 15 minutes have gone on to win most games since the resumption and generally by quite a distance.
There’s no doubt coaching staff will be working overtime in the coming weeks, devising ways of managing momentum shifts in light of the new rule. The tactics they’ve previously used will cost them dearly if used now, so they’ll need to come up with different solutions.
In the meantime, it’s likely there’ll be more big scores, perhaps highlighting the difference between the really good teams in the competition and those which are a class below.
Will this change be a good thing for the game? Time will tell the tale of course, but regular huge scorelines are just as much a blight on the game as overly defensive games are.
Hopefully the game will reach a happy medium, so we can enjoy some great attacking rugby league while still having close games and a close competition.
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