That's what scrums once did, got the forwards out the way. Plus the 10 metre rule has given cheap easy metres. Back in the 80's one out hit ups was described as dumb boring football now it's the staple of the game.
I cringe seeing a big prop playing at five eighth off the scrum, we've evolved from the velvet skill of Brett Kenny to the bash of Fifita at 5/8. even the English once had skilfull forwards and halves, Schofield, Gregory, Ward and Crooks who all were stars in Australia and England.
I agree with much of this - there's been a long trend now with rule changes, not just in Rugby League, other games too, to simplify the game, get rids of rucks, speed up play etc. at the expense of variety of play and player shapes. Where's the ball players, where's the massive units and little guys? Most are similar build now. Go back to the 5m, the run around and all the rest.
I suggest 4 basic things that would improve crowds related to the product. I'm taking this from when I was younger, but I think some things have been lost with the media bombardment these days. In short, the game needs to be easier to follow for the average sports punter.
- average sports enthusiasts should know the games of the round, so advertise who's playing who
- publish the ladder, promote games as 5th vs 8th etc.
- Simplify the team strips, they have changed too much, say blue and yellow, not blue, yellow, black and white, build some tradition so people can associate more strongly colours with teams
- when promoting games, make it clear who the star players are for each team
If they're doing these things now, they're not enough of it or making them clear enough
