Robot-soulled nerds remove all magic from the game #crisis

[gUt]

Just joking, very interesting article:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03...nce-of-lateral-movement-rugby-league/12048398

Have these rugby league novices discovered the secret to winning in the NRL?

The captain's challenge. The new 20/40. Outlawing tackles for players in mid-air. Midfield scrums.

All eyes will be on 2020's rule changes when the NRL season kicks off this weekend.

But despite all the tweaks, rugby league's essential character remains.

Rugby league is about taking the ball forward.

The fierce attack meeting a breaking wave of defence, surging their 10 metres back and forth. Field position means distance from the tryline. Run metres only count if they're forward. Forwards crave hit ups, not hit downs.

But to the rugby league community, the obsession about forward progress may have hidden the importance of something else.

The side-to-side.

At least that's what a team of mostly rugby league novices told a collection of the smartest NRL minds over the offseason.

As part of the NRL DataJam competition, a group of data scientists from Sydney firm Edge Red quantified just how important side-to-side movement is in rugby league success.

And it's not just the cut out pass, the crossfield kick or Benji Marshall's (early career) step … it's across all facets of play in attack and defence.

"Teams that run more laterally also happen to be the teams with better win records," explains Edge Red co-founder Howard Gu.

"Especially in the situations where the attacking team has a great opportunity to score a try … where the offensive team moved more side-to-side (than the defensive team), they almost had a 300 per cent greater probability of scoring."

continues in the link...

 

[Perth Tiger]

Hopefully they can drill it into the coaches heads (poor coaches anyway) that five hit ups for a kick aint good enough and they encourage more attacking (lateral) movement

 

[TheFrog]

Hopefully they can drill it into the coaches heads (poor coaches anyway) that five hit ups for a kick aint good enough and they encourage more attacking (lateral) movement

The Cowpats got to the decider a couple of years ago solely on 5 tackles and a kick. They had completion rates in the 90's. The trouble with jungleball is you tend to lose possession.

 

[Perth Tiger]

The Cowpats got to the decider a couple of years ago solely on 5 tackles and a kick. They had completion rates in the 90's. The trouble with jungleball is you tend to lose possession.

well I guess having Taumalolo going berserk during the that Stretch may be the exception, rather than the rule

 

[gUt]

The Cowpats got to the decider a couple of years ago solely on 5 tackles and a kick. They had completion rates in the 90's. The trouble with jungleball is you tend to lose possession.

what if you have a monster pack of forwards and calypso backs?

 

[blue bags]

storms been doing it for years

 

[Perth Red]

storms been doing it for years

what, winning?

 

[10$ Ferret]

Bellamy tuened the game into a wrestle fest and encouraged the inconsistencies in the game
the media (esp Ch9) have turned the game into an overanalyzed whinge fest

 

[pennywisealfie]

How about a rule to let TPJ be TPJ. Unreal.

 

[butchmcdick]

How about a rule to let TPJ be TPJ. Unreal.

The dichead rule

Each team nominates a player who can dog shot an opposition player who is lying defenceless on the ground

 

[blue bags]

duty of care - rules