Four Quarter Football

[deluded pom?]

I see on the AMNRL site report of the Bulls v Fight game that the match was played in four quarters . I know that the NRL has done something similar with water breaks around the twenty minute mark after a natural stoppage in the game because of possible heat exhaustion to the players . I don't understand why the Americans are doing this at this time of the year . I can't see the temperatures being so high as to be life threatening . Is this just another example of the Yanks "Americanising" a game to meet their own ends . I personally don't like the idea as it creates a stoppage to the game that is un needed and is just another chance for the coaches to stamp their mark on the match thus removing a little of the spontanaiety of the game .I prefer to see players making decisions rather than coaches .

 

[spinnerhowland]

DP, This move is taken on a day to day basis according to the weather.
Yes, I does get very hot here and ALL Axemen games will be played in "Quarters" due to heat. The Quarter will be a 2 minute break to get water into the players. The heat in Florida will be in the 80's or 90's even at 6pmwhen we play, so I respect for player safety we have asked for this change.
The Axemen played the Slayers on May 20th and the temp was OK so we played 2 halves. Youshould encourage other nations to play this game and not be so fast to "catagorize" the changes we are making to move the sport forward.

 

[deluded pom?]

I do want to encourage other nations to play RL but I also don't want changes to the game that aren't needed . I realise that these breaks were needed and respect the decision . I've seen in the past especially with soccer where certain rule changes were brought in to appeal to an American audience . These rules weren't used by any other soccer playing nation to my knowledge . I don't see the point in playing RL if it ends up as just a watered down version of American Football .

 

[spinnerhowland]

There is no chance of that. I for one am old scholl and a bit of biff, etc is what makes this game what it is.
With the Legal liability in teh USA all sports teams are constantly making sure that they never put themselves in a situtation that could result in "attention"
By having quaters in hot weather we are allowing our players time to not suffer from heat related problems and it also allows the "intensity" of the gmae to be maintained. People pay to see big guys flying around hitting each other not bent over cause the heat is unbearable. It is a fine line but we are trying to walk it.

 

[deluded pom?]

I now know where you are coming from Spinner especially with the compensation culture that exists today .The players' welfare is paramount . Best of luck for the rest of the season .