Peter V'landys - New NRL/ARLC Chairman

[Colk]

Another point I’d add to those defending these current rules: why did we move away or amend them if they were so great in the first place?

 

[Trifili13]

I am old school and hate the 6 again BS. If a team infringes penalise them. But the NRL would then be caught out with their favoured sides getting lopsided penalty counts while 6 agains helps to mask that as there are no stoppages to ask WTF was that for and refs are able to manipulate momentum.

While ratings and crowds are up, the NRL must be very careful as don't want the gap between the haves and the have nots to be too wide as you will get fans of the lower teams losing interest early in the season. Must have as many teams as possible being competitive or in with some sort of chance to at least make semis. Otherwise you will kill the goose that laid the golden egg.

 

[T-Boon]

Nope but you can’t stop tries off kicks or make them worth less

Attacks had become dependent on bombs to score points, so it was just take no risks and get to the bomb. Now we are seeing a lot of very sweet tries and line breaks.

Games just too fast they’ve got the balance wrong and teams have struggled to adapt it will sort out In a few weeks

That is just the opinion of some people who love dour defensive games. Really hard core league fans.

Ideally no more than 40 points a game (my pretence is 30) and no more than 10 to 15 or less total penalties or set restarts

Hard disagree. NFL did a study years ago that definitely would apply to RL which showed that more touch downs equals more bums on seats and eyes on TV screens. They sacrifice the feelings of hardcore old NFL fans (who want 2 yards and a cloud dust type football/attack) for the multitude of new fans that come with passing football.
I don't really care so much about the number of tries as I care about the number of exciting plays and they are way up this year. I think we are seeing way more intercepts which are the most exciting play in the game. We are seeing way less tries from bombs.

 

[T-Boon]

What ball movement are you referring to? The game throughout the six again s*** has been about fitness and power through the middle. Most tries you are seeing are not through great backline plays but a bloke running over the top or through missed tackles because the weight of possession has rendered those forwards completely gassed.

I just finished watching the 5 minute highlight package from the games so far this round and they are definitely from more passing/ball movement.
I think tries from bombs must have halved so far this season.
There has been bad tackling but they will get fitter and learn to tackle better and stop committing the 3rd and 4th defender to a ruck when they arent needed and are only there to spoil the ruck area.

There is less ball movement not more

There is a lot more and it is leading to an increase in interceptions as well.

 

[T-Boon]

Another point I’d add to those defending these current rules: why did we move away or amend them if they were so great in the first place?

I think because in the end the coaches tend to get their way over the best interests of the game that the NRL is trying to be concerned with.
Similar to when we tried to stamp out those rolled ball play the balls. Coaches don't like to be outside their little coaching comfort zone of focusing on wrestling at training. I honestly don't think the coaches have a clue what they are doing right now. They would be very uncomfortable.

 

[Gobsmacked]

It wasn’t even that strong of a criticism. I prefaced my criticism by saying that he has done some good things but going back to more set restarts/6 agains after we had evidence from 2020-2021 of what a litany of set restarts/6 agains had done to the game is insane.

We already know what will happen and to do the same thing twice and expect a different result is the definition of insanity. There will be another call to reduce the number of set restarts and we will go to the back to the rules we had last year or similar.

Some teams are fit enough and strong enough to keep defending though adversity. Some clubs are up to scratch..
So everyone jumps up and down saying the game is too fast..too fast for who? Shit clubs?
So we should alter the rules back to cater to shit clubs?
In round 2. ??

Some clubs will continue to be shit but after 10 rounds teams will be fitter and adjust, some clubs will still be shit.

After 10 rounds, I'm happy to hear criticism
but after round 2.. ? Apparently not jumping to criticism makes me a cultist..ok..

 

[Gobsmacked]

I am old school and hate the 6 again BS. If a team infringes penalise them. But the NRL would then be caught out with their favoured sides getting lopsided penalty counts while 6 agains helps to mask that as there are no stoppages to ask WTF was that for and refs are able to manipulate momentum.

While ratings and crowds are up, the NRL must be very careful as don't want the gap between the haves and the have nots to be too wide as you will get fans of the lower teams losing interest early in the season. Must have as many teams as possible being competitive or in with some sort of chance to at least make semis. Otherwise you will kill the goose that laid the golden egg.

The whole point is teams try to slow the game down in the ruck to cater to themselves, penalties slow the game down which also caters to them.
You're reward teams that illegally slow the game down by slowing the game down.

6 agains:
Trying to slow to game down illegally is penalized by the game getting faster.

It's simple:
A. Use legal force and strength to control the ruck speed.
B. Be fit enough to be able to keep up to the pace of the game.

Clubs that are fit, strong, fast and disciplined (ie Penrith) are rewarded. Clubs that aren't up to speed will get blown away.

After 10 rounds most teams will come up to speed but there's clubs that will be sacking coaches that haven't taken it up to the new standard.

 

[T-Boon]

It is about fitness. These blow outs are coming in the 4th quarter of the game - they are close at half time. Teams should work on tackling with 2 defenders rather than gang wrestles.
I also don't like the 6 again rule because it seems like the refs have too much control/influence but it is producing better attacking spectacles. I'd bring in a rule rewarding 1 on 1 tackles more.

 

[beave]

The 6 again rule isnt the problem.

It's players not up to the task of defending properly becuase their technique is absolute shit and they're not fit enough and resorting to getting busy with bullshit in the ruck to slow the play the ball down.

Look at my clowns yesterday afternoon, couldn't dominate a tackle early in the first half because they're dragging their asses around the field then have to resort to rubbish in the ruck, ref duly waves it 6 again and it just snowballs for them. We got what we deserved.

The era of players laying all over the ruck was a blight on the game, everyone wanted it sorted, refs came out and blew the pea out of the whistle and everyone (especially clowns in the media) sooked deluxe that it was slowing and ruining the game.

I wouldn't have shifted the 6 again zone back to the 20m, that is one aspect i would have liked to have seen left alone, i think the 40m was honeslty the sweet spot.

 

[Wb1234]

Attacks had become dependent on bombs to score points, so it was just take no risks and get to the bomb. Now we are seeing a lot of very sweet tries and line breaks.

That is just the opinion of some people who love dour defensive games. Really hard core league fans.

Hard disagree. NFL did a study years ago that definitely would apply to RL which showed that more touch downs equals more bums on seats and eyes on TV screens. They sacrifice the feelings of hardcore old NFL fans (who want 2 yards and a cloud dust type football/attack) for the multitude of new fans that come with passing football.
I don't really care so much about the number of tries as I care about the number of exciting plays and they are way up this year. I think we are seeing way more intercepts which are the most exciting play in the game. We are seeing way less tries from bombs.

That’s an interesting argument about a more open game being more attractive to new fans

Happy to be lumped with the old core brigade lol

18 14 is a way better game than 40 to 34 imo

 

[Colk]

I think because in the end the coaches tend to get their way over the best interests of the game that the NRL is trying to be concerned with.
Similar to when we tried to stamp out those rolled ball play the balls. Coaches don't like to be outside their little coaching comfort zone of focusing on wrestling at training. I honestly don't think the coaches have a clue what they are doing right now. They would be very uncomfortable.

You seem to have a different memory than I. I distanctly remember media pundits and fans going off about the quality of games. I also distinctly recall one weekend where three teams won by a cumulative score of 150 points to 6 which was an embodiment of that criticism. If you want that, go f****** watch AFL - which ironically is probably the reason why their support has somewhat stagnated since GWS and Gold Coast came in.

 

[T-Boon]

That’s an interesting argument about a more open game being more attractive to new fans

Not just new fans, also neutral fans. That is why crowds are up and TV is up. Nobody want to watch neutral games to see how good some other team wrestles.

Happy to be lumped with the old core brigade lol

18 14 is a way better game than 40 to 34 imo

Lets just let the attack be on top for a while and see how the coaches respond.
They should spend time at training practicing cover tackles and two-man tackles or maybe even start defending with a sweeper.

We are seeing a lot of tries from scrums and scrum moves and less bomb tries which is a sign they are spending time on attack at training which is good.

At the end of the day we should see an end to big gang tackles.

 

[Colk]

The 6 again rule isnt the problem.

It's players not up to the task of defending properly becuase their technique is absolute shit and they're not fit enough and resorting to getting busy with bullshit in the ruck to slow the play the ball down.

Look at my clowns yesterday afternoon, couldn't dominate a tackle early in the first half because they're dragging their asses around the field then have to resort to rubbish in the ruck, ref duly waves it 6 again and it just snowballs for them. We got what we deserved.

The era of players laying all over the ruck was a blight on the game, everyone wanted it sorted, refs came out and blew the pea out of the whistle and everyone (especially clowns in the media) sooked deluxe that it was slowing and ruining the game.

I wouldn't have shifted the 6 again zone back to the 20m, that is one aspect i would have liked to have seen left alone, i think the 40m was honeslty the sweet spot.

6 agains are a problem in so far as there is no accountability on these decisions. Considering how entirely subjective ruck infringements are (and they are the majority of these six agains) why is it ok to not have any subjectivity on them. Furthermore, why is there such a marked increase in both six agains and penalties. Are we really suggesting that teams should be 30-40% more penalised than last year and was last year a problem? Did anybody remark that the game needed to be faster?

 

[Trifili13]

An issue with league (and other sports) as I see it is you have more athletes than footballers playing the game. While skill obviously plays a part, it's now about fitness, endurance and structures and who is better at that which then allows them to get control of the game. Skill to a degree has taken a back seat. To me it's not right that wingers and centres are bigger than forwards.

 

[Yosemite Sam]

The rules were perfect last year and as a result we had one of the most entertaining and successful seasons ever. There were 5 to 6 games every week that were thrilling and competitive to watch as a neutral.

We've almost completed 2 rounds this season and there'd be 3 or 4 games total that were entertaining. The rest have been terrible.

The infuriating part is there was ZERO reason to change the rules. Nobody was calling for it. If you've just come off your most successful season ever you don't f**k around with things.

 

[Colk]

Some teams are fit enough and strong enough to keep defending though adversity. Some clubs are up to scratch..
So everyone jumps up and down saying the game is too fast..too fast for who? Shit clubs?
So we should alter the rules back to cater to shit clubs?
In round 2. ??

Some clubs will continue to be shit but after 10 rounds teams will be fitter and adjust, some clubs will still be shit.

After 10 rounds, I'm happy to hear criticism
but after round 2.. ? Apparently not jumping to criticism makes me a cultist..ok..

I’ll bookmark it then. The greatest predictor of the future is the past if there are no mitigating factors. I see no reason that this year will be any different to that of 2020 and 2021 because relatively there are no mitigating factors. Heck it was introduced the same manner it was originally introduced.

 

[Trifili13]

I'd bring in a rule rewarding 1 on 1 tackles more.

Don't know how you do that but you certainly shouldn't be punishing it. A player makes a classic legs tackle but has to release immediately as it's obvious they are hanging on otherwise they get 6 again or penalised. However 4 plodders are able to fall asleep in a gang tackle and peel off 1 by 1 and all good, play on. That not right.

 

[T-Boon]

6 agains are a problem in so far as there is no accountability on these decisions. Considering how entirely subjective ruck infringements are (and they are the majority of these six agains) why is it ok to not have any subjectivity on them. Furthermore, why is there such a marked increase in both six agains and penalties. Are we really suggesting that teams should be 30-40% more penalised than last year and was last year a problem? Did anybody remark that the game needed to be faster?

I agree with this. I don't like the 6 again rule for that reason. But I love the fatigue and the offense being on top.
I would have looked at other ways / rule changes to achieve that than the 6 again.

 

[Colk]

An issue with league (and other sports) as I see it is you have more athletes than footballers playing the game. While skill obviously plays a part, it's now about fitness, endurance and structures and who is better at that which then allows them to get control of the game. Skill to a degree has taken a back seat. To me it's not right that wingers and centres are bigger than forwards.

Great post.

 

[T-Boon]

Don't know how you do that but you certainly shouldn't be punishing it. A player makes a classic legs tackle but has to release immediately as it's obvious they are hanging on otherwise they get 6 again or penalised. However 4 plodders are able to fall asleep in a gang tackle and peel off 1 by 1 and all good, play on. That not right.

I've got some radical ideas but the least radical one would be just call one on one tackles "dominant" and let them hang on to the tackled player for longer.