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Opinion
Players have reported they could barely breathe during NRL trials with blame being laid at new rule changes introduced for season 2021.
Those complaining about the new rules need to take a few deep breaths (when the chance arises) and consider their benefits.
The rule changes aim to produce more ball-in-play time and reduce stoppages such as penalties, scrums and video reviews.
The rule changes reducing stoppages are:
• six-again to be called for ten-metre infringements
• a play-the-ball restart if the ball or player with the ball goes over the sideline
• the Bunker will now review replays after an on-field referee awards a try but a conversion attempt will not be allowed until it gets the green light
• injured players will be interchanged if a trainer asks for play to be stopped
• a handover will be ordered when a player does not make a genuine attempt to play the ball correctly with their foot
The result in the Panthers-Eels trial meant the ball was in play for 32 minutes in the first half, up almost five minutes from the average half during last year’s NRL season.
Critics claim the resulting attrition will lead to a drop in the quality.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Reports from the trials described weariness creeping into not only defences but also those in possession resulting in more dropped ball.
Sapping the energy of those with the ball, it has been said, will lead to a loss of shape, or attacking structure.
One columnist says the danger is more games will be decided by missed tackles and errant passes, rather than acts of brilliance.
The real problem is that rugby league as an entertainment option has suffered too long from the predictability with overusing shapes and structures.
Missed tackles and errant passes are ingredients that make games less predictable and more exciting. This is why these rule changes are long overdue.
Let’s consider what happens in a typical game of league.
Both teams trade barbs, running one-outs in their own half before kicking to the opponent’s corner or putting up a bomb.
These back-and-forth, monotonous sequences are only broken when the referee awards a penalty, carrying the team in possession deep into their opponent’s territory. Only then do teams unveil their trick shots in attack.
Frequent stoppages allow defences to be fresher, leading to never-ending swarms of gang tacklers who wrestle, chicken-wing and do whatever else to the ball carrier.
Fresher defences usually snuff out any possibility of offloads.
A lack of offloads means less second-phase play and opportunities for teams to work their way into try-scoring opportunities without the assistance of the referee providing a piggyback.
(Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
The increase in stoppages has contributed to the shrinking ranks of smaller and leaner players, making the game less inclusive for a wider variety of body types.
Increased stoppages have allowed big boppers enough chance to catch their breath and wind up again to trample over the dwindling numbers of smaller and leaner players that have become increasingly perceived as a liability.
The sport has become increasingly dominated by brawn and unimaginative power-based tactics with less emphasis on skill and nous like the overuse of one-out running or darting out from acting half.
At youth levels many kids leave the game because there is no place for their smaller frames. Their speed, skill and swerve have no place to thrive in a game increasingly catered for those with much greater size.
Team lists are increasingly dominated by athletes rather than footballers.
The one valid concern about the rule changes comes regarding six-again being called for ten-metre infringements.
At one point does an attacking side get rewarded with the chance to accumulate points through what would have been a penalty goal?
What if, for instance, in the dying stages of a game a team leading by one point deliberately commits repeated ten-metre infringements safe in the knowledge their opponents will be denied a penalty goal kick?
When a ten-metre infringement occurs the captain of the team in possession should be given a few seconds leeway to elect to take a penalty goal.
The referee could play advantage until the next tackle at which point the captain can elect to take play back to the spot of the infringement and attempt the penalty goal.
Let’s give these new rules a chance to keep the game evolving and most importantly moving.
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