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Opinion
Lopsided scores have always existed in the NRL but now their frequency has seemed to have reached a whole new level.
What is the problem down to?
Do we need a think tank?
Do we need a summit?
Do we need another committee?
Maybe we can do without all of the above by focusing on a part of the game that seems to rarely get talked about which is surprising because we see hundreds of them every week.
I am talking about the play the ball – and more specifically the differing speeds they are played at by different teams.
Take the current two best teams in the league – Penrith and Melbourne.
In contrast to most of their rivals, both teams have perfected the tempo of the play the ball in both attack and defence.
In defence, both teams have perfected the art of turning their opponents on their backs when making a tackle.
They hold their opponents before a player turns the top of the tackled player before delivering him to the ground on his back.
Tyrone May of the Panthers celebrates after scoring a try. (Photo by Matt Blyth/Getty Images)
This technique means they are consistently defending against relatively slower play the balls.
You could say both teams have mastered this to the extent that do this at least four tackles per set, often more.
However, while in possession, these same teams have perfected their players submitting in tackles so they land on their front resulting in quick play the balls.
Their mastering of these techniques is rewarded by the way the game is refereed.
Varying degrees of leeway are afforded to release a tackled player that all depend on whether the held player lands on his front or back.
Defenders who have tackled a player on their chest or knees are ordered to release immediately.
If they do release immediately, the attacking teams enjoys the head start of a quick play the ball against the retreating and less organised defence.
If they don’t release immediately, the defence is penalised with a ruck infringement which further concentrates possession and field territory with the attacking side.
When this cycle occurs over the course of 80 minutes it starts to take a toll.
American football is often criticised for the stop start nature of the game.
One good thing about the stop starts is that it ensures the way a player is tackled to the ground does not influence how quick the next play ensues.
Each new play commences at a standardised pace.
This is not a call to turn rugby league into American football.
However, we need to look at balancing or standardising the speed of play the balls so we don’t continue having games with teams playing consistently against each other at completely different speeds.
Teams shouldn’t be granted lightening fast play the balls just because they land on their knees or their chest instead of their back.
Defenders should be allowed to make a legs tackle on their own without the fear of being sent to the sin bin because they didn’t release within a tenth of a second.
Players who make low tackles or bring someone down on their front need to be given the same sort of leeway to release afforded to those who make high tackles, wrestle and put players on their backs.
It’s also about time we changed who kicks off after a team scores points.
The team that scored previously should kick off.
How many times have we seen games where one team can almost exclusively touch the ball for 10 -15 minutes.
You have seen the routine.
A team scores a try. They get the ball back from the kick off. They then receive a penalty or set restart and proceed to score another try or at the very least force a goal-line dropout. Then just repeat this sequence over and over.
Changing the kick off rule would enhance shared possession.
Giving defenders a helping hand with play the ball speeds would address the balance between attack and defence.
These measures would go some way to addressing score blow outs.
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