Rugby league would never have a problem in the world if we saw games like Friday's qualifying final every week. The Broncos and the Roosters turned on a cracker and the fans loved it. When league is played like that, it is easily the best football code in the world.
The brutal early exchanges in the forwards shook the grandstands. The defences were desperate and many half-chances were closed down by both teams.
Every player ran the ball with power and passion - and, when the opportunities presented themselves, we were entertained with some wonderful skill and flair.
It makes me wonder what we are looking for in our game when we constantly have coaches trying to interfere with the rules and the interpretations.
All I saw was two teams at each other for the full 80 minutes. No wrestle. It was hit or be hit. I loved it and so, too, did the players involved.
The match was a credit to the two coaches, Wayne Bennett and Brad Fittler, who coached this game in the old-fashioned spirit it was intended.
It was also a massive credit to the 34 tough young men who went at it so passionately. They gave it to each other but they did so face to face. No wrestle. No cheap shots. No complaints. No sooks.
To me, that's football.
I watched the 11-a-side experiment in the Toyota Cup. The match on Friday night showed yet again we don't need to make such a drastic change to our game to make it enjoyable. The Toyota Cup is a great place for the NRL to trial new ideas before introducing them to the big boys. However, we really need to identify the important areas of our game that require review.
I believe the three main areas that need to be addressed are:
1. Overuse of the video referee;
2. The bloody wrestle;
3. The ridiculous interpretation of the stripping rule.
Everything else pales into insignificance when compared to the negative impact these three issues have on the flow of our game.
We have trialled two referees. I'm not a fan but I will cop it if it means getting rid of the video referee interference.
Too many games this year have been spoilt by constant video referee reviews during the general course of play.
I understand the importance of getting it right when it comes to the grounding of the ball for a try but it is absolute overkill to be constantly waiting around for replays for things such as stripping, obstruction, knock-ons, restarts, etc, etc.
Some games have ground to a halt with each stoppage in play. Scrums now take an age to pack as both teams stall for time hoping they can get a decision reversed. It's as boring as watching paint dry and drives fans insane.
I also hate the idea of players staying down injured hoping for a penalty from the video referee because they know they've copped a slap in the face. Trust me when I say this will raise its ugly head again during the finals series at a vital stage of a big game.
The wrestle is over-coaching to the maximum. If coaches and players spent more time working on better skills and technique in attack, rather than spending countless hours practising the wrestle to smother their opponent's attacking capabilities, the game would be infinitely better off.
The wrestle is killing rugby league.
Champion halfback Andrew Johns tells me his short stint playing in the English Super League highlighted to him just how far our game has strayed from what people really like about rugby league.
He feels in England there is less focus on the wrestle and slowing the play-the-ball and greater importance on playing attacking football.
He has suggested we should ban any more than two men in a tackle as a means of trying to curb the wrestle-mania influence on our sport.
That idea has merit but could be a little too hard to enforce.
I don't mind the three-man tackle provided all three men attack the ball carrier at the same time.
I hate the way a two-man tackle soon becomes a three-, four- and even five-man tackle because defenders are allowed to join in after the initial collision has been effected.
Gang tackling in this manner is no different in principle from the "flop", which has thankfully been penalised out of our vocabulary.
If one man makes the tackle, a second man should be allowed to join in and assist. If two men make initial contact, that should be it.
No other defender can join the action until a defender drops off or the ball has been promoted. If three men make initial contact, a fourth player joining in is illegal.
I have had a gutful of the constant cries from the referee of "Dominant, Movement, Surrender". This is where the coaches have had too much influence on the rulebook.
At times it looks like choreographed dancing as attacker and defender react to the music being conducted by the referee.
Referees are making adjudications on every tackle, every minute, for the full 80 minutes. They must go home hoarse at the end of a game.
Players should hit, secure the ball and then put the man to the ground. All the referee needs to call out is "held" when the tackle has been completed. When he calls "held", get off him! I like to see defenders given time to regain their feet and work to marker before the ball is played, provided it is within reason.
I think we are too harsh on some of the incidental contact that occurs in the push-and-shove of physical confrontation. Fans and players love a bit of competition.
As for the stripping rule - well, where do I start? This interpretation has got way out of hand. Ball security is no longer a prerequisite for attacking teams.
To me, the word "stripping" implies a raking or grabbing motion by a defender to wrestle the ball away from the secure grasp of an opponent.
Stripping should not include every contact between a defender's hand and the ball. Knocking, punching or pushing the ball from an attacker's grasp simply means the man in possession didn't have enough control of the ball and should not be entitled to the protection of a penalty if the ball is shaken from his grasp.
Raking, grabbing, or stealing the ball from a player being held by other defenders is an entirely different motion.
Turnovers are good for the game. You can't challenge for the ball in scrums or the play-the-ball any more, so turnovers from strong defence are the only avenue left for teams to take possession from their opponent. Turnovers make for exciting action.
Anyway, I don't know how I got on to talking about rules.
All I wanted to do was congratulate the Broncos and the Roosters for a cracking game of football on Friday night, and hope the game's administrators can learn something from the experience.
