For years rugby league has been compared to American football and their premier competition, the NFL. It makes sense, right?
Up and down the ground, trying to gain field position by passing, running or kicking with the end game being trying to accumulate more tries (or touchdowns) than the opposition.
There may be more in common but not worth mentioning here.
We have forever, in our sport anyway, heard desperate coaches, players and fans yearning to get ‘into the arm wrestle’ – a call for their side to compete for every inch and every blade of grass.
‘Win the arm wrestle and you’ll win the game,’ they said.
That all changed leading into season 2021 when the NRL dropped a bombshell that augmented the game completely.
The six-again rule didn’t pull at the fabric of the code, it shredded it in a blender and poured the remnants all over our sorry heads.
It was an excuse to speed up the game and make the product even more entertaining (like it really needed such an extreme makeover).
The smarter clubs – who are generally already the top teams in the premiership anyway – quickly found loopholes bigger than Sydney Heads.
And while the Penrith Panthers may still have gone on to win the 2021 competition without the six-again law, the fact is, they were the most penalised side across the 16 teams for six-agains conceded.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
The arm wrestle was that in name only last season and the NRL became less about winning field position and more like basketball and winning every single transition up and down the field, from attack to defence and so on and so on.
A definition of ‘transition basketball’ online suggests that “the purpose for a transition system is to take advantage of your opponent’s breakdowns while they are changing from offence to defence or from defence to offence. It is designed to take control of and lengthen the transition period. Openings will exist as your opponent is making the transition giving your team a great opportunity to take advantage of openings.”
A team, like the Panthers, who knew they would be going out there to purposely give away six-agains would gain a strong advantage as they reset their defensive line. In turn, the attacking side may have gained another tackle or two but were now disadvantaged.
When the ball was turned back to a team like the Panthers, it was simply too hard to keep up and stop the avalanche.
If you’re trying to win a game of transition footy, it would certainly be beneficial to your cause if you were allowed to sacrifice a tackle if it meant you were really winning position up the field every time you did it.
The other positive in 2021 for sides that were giving away six-agains was that they really weren’t being penalised in any way. It just meant less quality football for the opposing team further back in their own half.
(Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)
Thankfully, the NRL on Wednesday announced changes to the controversial ruling, which will now see no six-agains awarded to a team coming out of danger at their own end.
It means a team will rightfully have the chance to boot their way down field with a penalty kick over the sideline.
Immortal Andrew Johns was happy to see an update to the rule.
“We’ll probably have to wait a few weeks, watch half a dozen rounds to see how it hinders or helps other teams,” Johns told the Wide World of Sports website.
“It was a planned move, obviously, by Penrith.”
The best thing of all is that we will see more arm-wrestle footy in 2022 and while the transition battle will continue, at least it will be on a level playing field this time.
3 R M
Guest
For years there has always just been the two major inequities of the ten meters and the play the ball. So teams teams at the top of the league jump the gun defensively and methodically disrupt the play the ball,and the cellar dwellers get penalised . But if they can evenly enforce the 10 and keep the play the ball speed at 3 seconds for all teams, the competition will be a lot fairer, and obviously more competitive. When you see a ref look at an obviously offside player ignore the 1m discretion and the player then takes another 1.5m as he looks back to the ruck you know they aren't actually reefing the game ,I've seen this a lot . And when the whole team is off side they let it go. The reffs seriously need to grow a set and keep them back 10 you wonder are their eyes painted on..
JennyfromPenny
Guest
Curtis, I don’t think it was Panthers taking advantage of the 6-again rule. They don’t ask to be penalised or give away (effectively) 7-tackle sets. If you were not aware, they have been one of the most penalised sides for a long, long time. Until the last couple of years, they’ve not been good enough to win regardless of the penalty count. Last two years they have been. People calling them out for lying all over the tackled player need to check the rule book on a dominant tackle.
Nat
Roar Guru
No your not. Your precious little ego won’t let you leave. I’ve been giving you very straight on topic pokes for 2 days and I get a 300 word waste of time. You’ve got hours invested and none of it was needed. Now, exhausted, you can only revert to personal insults. See you soon.
Rob9
Roar Guru
You’re here arguing the place of a rule that’s completely irrelevant in a game you know nothing about… and you want to talk about ego’s. I truly pity the people that have to suffer you in the real world. I’m done playing with you, but thank you for the comic relief. Now go ponder your next ‘knee slapper’- just try not to pass out in the process.
Nat
Roar Guru
Ego driven BS rants trying to justify why a simple comment on your "The NRL wouldn’t have had 6 games all season in 2021 like the NFL has just had in the 6 games leading up to the Super Bowl" 6 games compared to 240 NRL matches - "for those playing along at home"
Rob9
Roar Guru
Yep, speaks volumes. I won’t bother unpacking that for you, but it’s not that hard to work out for those playing along at home. I’m more than capable of ‘handling’ a comment. Just don’t get you knickers in a knot when my reply is pointing out that said comments are littered with misconceptions and things that aren’t the case. That’s all my ‘essays’ have pointed out to you while you continue to argue that golden point is a thing in the NFL (something that’s not the case) in between weaving in those ‘sick burns’, Internet laughing, emojis and now (the next grown-up addition) some text abbreviations.
Nat
Roar Guru
Speaks volumes does it? Of the two of us, who is writing essays to because your ego cannot handle a comment? Ohhh, another 'sick burn'. smfh.
Rob9
Roar Guru
Priceless! Didn’t pick up the inverted commas…. speaks volumes. Just keep doing you, buddy.
Big Daddy
Roar Rookie
They make enough mistakes as it is . A few more won't make much difference ????.
Nat
Roar Guru
Sick burn? Yep, I'm the child. :thumbup:
Rob9
Roar Guru
Sure, a waste on the child that clearly doesn’t have the capacity to understand. But keep those ‘sick burns’ coming kid.
Nat
Roar Guru
Still wasting words. You continue to fill a page with BS hoping it may not stink as much. Yep, still does.
Rob9
Roar Guru
Couldn’t help yourself, could you? Keep digging pal. Again- Golden Point is a RULE, not a scenario! When a golden point NRL game finished on a try did the rule suddenly become ‘Golden Try’ for you? If there’s a very real (not to mention pretty common) scenario where OT games don’t necessarily end when a point is scored, do you think that makes the rules Golden Point? No! As for a ‘240 to 6 game comparison’- it’s beggars belief how the sentiment of the original comment is utterly lost on you which is what comments like yours above suggest. Yes, there’s some poetic license in the suggestion that there wasn’t 6 close games in the NRL last season. Of course there has been. But this is 6 back-to-back nail biters that exclusively filled 2 weekends in the NFL. It highlights the fact that this is a sport (one that’s mentioned in the article) that is flush with close contests. And just so you’re aware, there’s been more than 6 close games in the NFL this year. What your nit-picking infers is that the NRL hasn’t lost some shine with fewer close encounters and more blowouts. It’s clear as day that you have no idea what you’re talking about as far as American Football is concerned so I’ll leave the comparison as it’s totally lost on you anyway, but the real absurdity of this is that the point on fewer close contests in the NRL is one that you’ve effectively argued elsewhere (not to mention the fact that it’s supported by data).
Nat
Roar Guru
They go back to one ref and keep lumping more responsibilities on him. What could go wrong?
Nat
Roar Guru
Yes mate. :thumbup: You start with a 240 to 6 game comparison and finish with a "I didn't say all games..." and denial that 2 finished in a GP scenario. - because 'it could have went another way'. Keep up the good work.
Joey's Airport
Guest
Had worries when I clicked on this but makes plenty of sense Curtis
Rob9
Roar Guru
Again, I’m not saying there aren’t exciting games in the NRL still. The crux of my point is that there’s nowhere near as many as there used to be. A point that I’ve highlighted by making a comparison to one of the sports that’s mentioned in the article, which has just come off 6 back-to-back nail biters. A sport that isn’t suffering the criticism of blowouts that rugby league has had aimed at it in the last couple of seasons and the Divisional and Conference playoff rounds present some evidence of a game that regularly throws up exciting contests. This was a 2 week window where every one of the 6 games was an edge of the seat encounter. These elements of the spectacle were characteristics of rugby league in the not to distant past and something that the game championed.
Big Daddy
Roar Rookie
The trainer's are probably more qualified to make a decision re head or any other injuries than the referee's Nat. I think it's a decision to show everyone were still running the game . But it's a problem they need to clear up as neither are doctors or will we see medically qualified trainer s in the future . I fear for the players to be honest .
souvalis
Roar Rookie
The only line I addressed is your, The NRL wouldn’t have had 6 games all season in 2021 like the NFL has just had in the 6 games leading up to the Super Bowl. Which just isn't true. There were exciting games, as shown, in every week of the '21 Finals series.
Rob9
Roar Guru
Great spot to finish it. You floundering around in the wrong- unable to own that very clear fact. Spin it whatever way you want- golden point isn’t the NFL’s OT rule. Not by name, or definition, nor applicable in the postseason, the regular season or even the preseason. It’s been that way for over a decade. I’ll just leave this here shall I xo https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-overtime-rules-09000d5d827ee2c0 PS it really wasn’t that hard to google NFL OT rules.