Misty Bee
First Grade
- Messages
- 7,082
I am wondering if our great code is suffereing because of the prevalence of tries from kicks, generating a long and tedious legal forum courtesy of the video referee.
To me, we are in a mode that sees big, rampaging forwards dominating play, egged on by a half/pivot with a decent kicking game. I find it odd that, in an era of the greatest metres gained per set of 6, we hardly see any long range tries set up by nippy halves or pivots feeding quick three quarters in space. The Inglis try of Locky's brilliant pass in the last TN game v NZ evoked memories of old, like seing Grothe feed off Kenny, Chicka Ferguson and Mal off Stuart, Eadie and rogers off Fulton.
As much as I like great forward work (cue mental footage of Hindy/BK/Webcke), I reckon we are reduced to marketing the game off the big hit. Spectacular as they are courtesy of blokes like Kidwell, Morley etc, I feel that it reinforces the toughness of our code. Yet seeing the magic of Johns or Langer working in close, or the spectacle of Minichiello, ET or Big Mal eating up the metres out wide is the real thing that draws crowds.
As much as the 60's produced brilliant forwards like Raper, Beetson, O'Neill, Provan etc, I bet it was Irvine and Gasnier that brought the crowds to their feet.
Thre are 2 things that irritate me when watching league. Firstly, a ruck, from the 'held' call to the play-the-ball, taking more than 2 seconds. Currently, they regularly clock in at 4. Secondly, the amount of time the video ref is needed to see if a forwad with 6 blokes on his back had grounded the ball, or if so-and-so is onside from the kick. With a run in try from long range (aka Hodgeson's classic scrumbase try in Origin), this diversion into tedium is not required.
The video ref, for all it's necessity, takes the adrenalin out of a try.
To me, the most exciting team to watch in the last decade was the Warriors in their semi final days. Their ball skills were breathtaking, and their running was eye catching. They oozed skill, because they were allowed the speed to nullify the presence of the brawn up the middle.
Recently, after a semi final, C9 replayed the classic 1997 GF. I was amazed how much faster, and more frantic the game was back then. The tough forward play was not compromised - Carroll and Harrigan put on each other the most brutal hits you'd see anywhere that day.
Yet I have heard that somepeople lambaste that game because of the mistake rate. I have a good mate who played AFL as a kid and trialled for the Western Bulldogs from memory (Footscray at the time). Now living in NSW and with his son a capable front rower for his junior team, he gets annoyed by the lack of errors. Knock ons mean change of posession, unpredictability, and a chance at thrilling broken play movements. Those raised on AFL and Union relate to that, so in that format our game is more marketable to them.
We all see Union as inferior. We do so because it is dominated by fat forwards clogging up the ball in huddles, and as soon as it gets into the open the fly half kicks. League, in it's own way, is going down this same path. Hit up for 5, then kick. The biggest metres gained stats are won by fullbacks fielding kicks. It should be wingers burning up the sideline.
I would love to go back to the pre - interchange days, when the middle wasn't simply a rotation of 10 minute maniacs running at the halfback, and the winger wasn't the most crucial defender in the team under a high ball.
We have had 3 major rule changes because of this: 1) the 10 metre exclusion zone around a fullback fielding the kick, 2) The banning of the mid air tackle, and 3) the 20m tap for fielding a kick on the full in goal. Allof these are necessary under the current circumstances, but all go against the spirit of the game, which is the battle for ball control.
One could argue that the stripping rule, and the banning of the rakeback in a ruck (Benny Elias was brilliant to watch in that role), was caused by this as well.
Also, Scrums, a relic as useful as a human appendix, exist on the flimsy excuse that it takes the forwards out of play, allowing the backs more space to weave their magig. So now we see little Lockyer in scroms with Mason or Cioniceva at pivot! The result, it's still a hit up from a forward running at a halfback!!!
I believe the problem could be solved by 4 significant rule changes.
1) Limiting the interchange. It's there only as a precaution against head injuries (see Ron Gibbs in the '87 decider). I'd go radical. A 2 man bench with a max of 6 interchanges.
2) Bring back 5m sin bins for professional fouls and high tackles - to prevent players being taken out and thus winning greater advantage.
3) A mandatory penalty if the play the ball isn't completed after 3 seconds (to either side, wheather it is caused by defenders being too slow or the attacker trying to milk a penalty). If the ref can't decide fault, pack a scrum.
4) After a scrum, call the first tackle 'zero' if the attacking team has gained more than 20 meters from the scrum win.
Tired forwards create holes. These holes are exploited by clever halves/pivots who can then ignite the backs. Think of the glut of brilliant backs we have (blokes like Patton, Grothe, Mini, Hodgeson, Cooper, Tahu, Benji, Bowen, Steve Bell, Greenshields, Amos and Preston etc) left over from the 2 test baclined that teh NRL has provided.
Unleash 'em and you'll pack every ground to the rafters.
To me, we are in a mode that sees big, rampaging forwards dominating play, egged on by a half/pivot with a decent kicking game. I find it odd that, in an era of the greatest metres gained per set of 6, we hardly see any long range tries set up by nippy halves or pivots feeding quick three quarters in space. The Inglis try of Locky's brilliant pass in the last TN game v NZ evoked memories of old, like seing Grothe feed off Kenny, Chicka Ferguson and Mal off Stuart, Eadie and rogers off Fulton.
As much as I like great forward work (cue mental footage of Hindy/BK/Webcke), I reckon we are reduced to marketing the game off the big hit. Spectacular as they are courtesy of blokes like Kidwell, Morley etc, I feel that it reinforces the toughness of our code. Yet seeing the magic of Johns or Langer working in close, or the spectacle of Minichiello, ET or Big Mal eating up the metres out wide is the real thing that draws crowds.
As much as the 60's produced brilliant forwards like Raper, Beetson, O'Neill, Provan etc, I bet it was Irvine and Gasnier that brought the crowds to their feet.
Thre are 2 things that irritate me when watching league. Firstly, a ruck, from the 'held' call to the play-the-ball, taking more than 2 seconds. Currently, they regularly clock in at 4. Secondly, the amount of time the video ref is needed to see if a forwad with 6 blokes on his back had grounded the ball, or if so-and-so is onside from the kick. With a run in try from long range (aka Hodgeson's classic scrumbase try in Origin), this diversion into tedium is not required.
The video ref, for all it's necessity, takes the adrenalin out of a try.
To me, the most exciting team to watch in the last decade was the Warriors in their semi final days. Their ball skills were breathtaking, and their running was eye catching. They oozed skill, because they were allowed the speed to nullify the presence of the brawn up the middle.
Recently, after a semi final, C9 replayed the classic 1997 GF. I was amazed how much faster, and more frantic the game was back then. The tough forward play was not compromised - Carroll and Harrigan put on each other the most brutal hits you'd see anywhere that day.
Yet I have heard that somepeople lambaste that game because of the mistake rate. I have a good mate who played AFL as a kid and trialled for the Western Bulldogs from memory (Footscray at the time). Now living in NSW and with his son a capable front rower for his junior team, he gets annoyed by the lack of errors. Knock ons mean change of posession, unpredictability, and a chance at thrilling broken play movements. Those raised on AFL and Union relate to that, so in that format our game is more marketable to them.
We all see Union as inferior. We do so because it is dominated by fat forwards clogging up the ball in huddles, and as soon as it gets into the open the fly half kicks. League, in it's own way, is going down this same path. Hit up for 5, then kick. The biggest metres gained stats are won by fullbacks fielding kicks. It should be wingers burning up the sideline.
I would love to go back to the pre - interchange days, when the middle wasn't simply a rotation of 10 minute maniacs running at the halfback, and the winger wasn't the most crucial defender in the team under a high ball.
We have had 3 major rule changes because of this: 1) the 10 metre exclusion zone around a fullback fielding the kick, 2) The banning of the mid air tackle, and 3) the 20m tap for fielding a kick on the full in goal. Allof these are necessary under the current circumstances, but all go against the spirit of the game, which is the battle for ball control.
One could argue that the stripping rule, and the banning of the rakeback in a ruck (Benny Elias was brilliant to watch in that role), was caused by this as well.
Also, Scrums, a relic as useful as a human appendix, exist on the flimsy excuse that it takes the forwards out of play, allowing the backs more space to weave their magig. So now we see little Lockyer in scroms with Mason or Cioniceva at pivot! The result, it's still a hit up from a forward running at a halfback!!!
I believe the problem could be solved by 4 significant rule changes.
1) Limiting the interchange. It's there only as a precaution against head injuries (see Ron Gibbs in the '87 decider). I'd go radical. A 2 man bench with a max of 6 interchanges.
2) Bring back 5m sin bins for professional fouls and high tackles - to prevent players being taken out and thus winning greater advantage.
3) A mandatory penalty if the play the ball isn't completed after 3 seconds (to either side, wheather it is caused by defenders being too slow or the attacker trying to milk a penalty). If the ref can't decide fault, pack a scrum.
4) After a scrum, call the first tackle 'zero' if the attacking team has gained more than 20 meters from the scrum win.
Tired forwards create holes. These holes are exploited by clever halves/pivots who can then ignite the backs. Think of the glut of brilliant backs we have (blokes like Patton, Grothe, Mini, Hodgeson, Cooper, Tahu, Benji, Bowen, Steve Bell, Greenshields, Amos and Preston etc) left over from the 2 test baclined that teh NRL has provided.
Unleash 'em and you'll pack every ground to the rafters.
