There is an interesting article on NRL.com today about the size of today's Rugby League players, with the following graphs showing the diference between playing heights and weights, comparing 2004 to 2018.
Put simpler players are bigger - a lot bigger. Even halfbacks are now 180cm, while most other positions have increased by about 4cm and 4 to 5kg. Some positions like wing has seem dramatic changes in body type with the average weight of a winger jumping from 91kg to 97kg. The skinny kid out on the flank is certainly no more.
The NRL seems to know this is an issue, hence the talk about the move to less interchanges. It needs to keep this factor in mind for two reasons. One, often it's the smaller, more agile players that are the real excitement machines of our games and slowly but surely they are being rubbed out of our game. When a player like Bevan French who should be one of the stars of our game, is basically being sized out of the competition, you know there's something that needs to be rethought.
Indeed, I suggest the issue goes even deeper to the core of the game. To engage the grassroots, kids need to at least be able to dream that one day they can make it. If even the average male is significantly too short for even the smallest Rugby League position, you make it very hard for your typical kid to hold onto that dream that one day they can make it to the top.
The dilemma is not unique to Rugby League. At a professional level, all sports are increasingly biased to big humans. However, that doesn't mean that all sports can't do their best to at least try and find a way to keep the dream alive for your average player.
Volleyball is an interesting an example. At one point, the position of 'setter' was the position held by the short-guy in the team. However, as professionalism kicked into gear and teams started taking advantage of constantly hitting over the setter, that position too was quickly replaced by giants. Volleyball then did something in 1999 that was quite remarkable. They created an entirely new position called the Libero. This player would be a defensive specialist who only played in back court. It not only opened up the game to shorter players but improved the quality of the games, because Liberos are now the players you look for, for the incredible, diving and reaction saves that keep the ball in play.
So the question has to be asked - has Rugby League done enough to stop the game becoming the exclusive enclave of giants. Is it an issue worth worrying about?
The games current reaction to this, has been to reduce the interchange but this doesn't seem to have had any impact on playing size and I'd suggest that forward packs this year are bigger than ever. In a professional sporting environment, the big men just become fitter. Indeed, all those changed have seemed to do at this point is rub out another body type from the game, as the 'rounder' players in our game increasingly struggle to compete with the power body-types.
Ironically, the traditional game of Rugby League was one that really did champion the ability of smaller men to challenge the giants. The old mantra that the bigger they are, the harder they fall, was a reality in League as a well executed low tackle quickly evened out the playing field.
For me, that's what the game has to re-examine. The necessity to tackle high so as the play-the-ball can be slowed down, is really the rules that provides all of the advantage to larger players in the game. If you reward a solo legs tackle with a slow play the ball, by allowing the tackler a reasonable amount of time to set at market, it would revolutionise the game in the same kind of way that the Libero changed the game of volleyball.
I think back to many of the game's legends and wonder how many of them would have made it in today's game. Would our own legends Ray Price or Peter Sterling be able to compete today? Neither were considered particularly small in their day but would be undersized for their respective positions today? That's not even to consider a player like Allan Langer.
Our game benefits with diversity. It benefits as a spectacle. It benefits by being more inclusive. No doubt, by making the game more about the brawn and less about the brains, it even has given way to some of the player behaviour issues that are hurting the code so much today. For me, it should be one of the NRL's pressing high-level issues that needs immediate attention.
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I had this argument on Facebook with a couple of guys who swear that Ray Price would still be a great in today’s game and I argued that not only would he struggle but also he didn’t have a natural position in today’s game.
What we are seeing is the homogenisation of positions and therefore body shapes. I mean what is really the difference between a halfback & a five eight, or a backrower & a center or winger ?
Other sports have seen this same progression, AFL have seen the virtual elimination of its traditional lines, ie forwards, half forwards, midfielders, half backs, full backs.
The NBA has the same issue as the last 15 years have seen the progression to positionless basketball, where the traditional back to the basket big man is all but extinct and the game is now dominated by mid sized uber athletes like LeBron James, Kevin Durant & Giannis Antetekuompo who are 6”8-6”10 but can handle the ball and shoot it like a traditional small man but defend the rim line a traditional big man.
I think it is just the natural progression of professional sport.
I can't help but smirk at someone who is 6'10 being described as mid-sized!
Cannot help but think when we live in an age where our kids our glued to screens we're not doing the entire sporting fraternity any good at all, by making the dream of professional sport unrealistic for all but a few freak body types.
Cannot say that I don't think its coincidental that soccer/football which still has a place for slighter athletes, continues to grow and grow in popularity and at a grass-roots level. When you have a player like Messi who is the echelon of the sport, it means any kid can dream of one day being the best. Don't underestimate the power of that.
Haha, in basketball 6”10 is midsized, but it always has been. But the big 7 footer or the fleet of foot 6”2 guy are becoming less common, to say nothing of the sub 6 footer.
I think it still has affected soccer to a degree, the old nippy little skilful winger is much less common these days in favour of big strapping athletes who can get and down the pitch all day. Messi is the exception.
Price would still have been great just a different style of player think Radcliffe or Murray. His motor was ridiculous and held most stamina records across the league. He was hard and a leader. He also would have been bigger due to the training. He may have even revolutionised the game.
I tend to agree with Brett. It's a reality. Everything evolves. And generally, people are living longer and getting bigger.
The late Athur Beetson also commented on the evolution of the game.
How we choose juniors based on physical size and capabilities, first, over size and natural football ability. The aim was to make football players out of athletes, rather than athletes out of football players.
I suppose it will be interesting to see what happens in 10-20 years.
The problem is Popppa that "bringing someone down" is still not a great tackle in the modern game. You can slice someone but they still end up on their front, they can still get up quickly and they get the quick play the ball and that is what set ups your attacking plays. So my point with the rule change would be that if Alfie grass cuts a player, instead of that player being rewarded, the tackler is rewarded by being given the opportunity to release the legs and get back to marker.
Sorry Phil but you are comparing apples with a block of cheese.
First up the old school tackles are nothng like this pansy kiss 'em on the cheek and do the two step BS going on.
Hit the guy properly and you actually roll them in the tackle, so fall on your face, get up quickly doesn't occur.
Next, when you look at the Walker Brothers you willl notice this is their tactic - on the deck, get them up quickly to play the ball so the attack doesn't get as set as they want to be which restricts time in possession.
While they wrestle and carry on you get more time on possession than the opposition and the opportunity to set your attacking line.
Today's game is not even close to what was played 20 years ago.
If you care to troll back through the old Sun newspaper, you will find an article called "The Flying Squad" - some of the best pictures of tackles you will ever see - Raper, Thornett, and many players from that era parallel to the ground, at hip height making tackles.
To even think you can compare the two eras is delusional - 20 years ago (and beyond) the game was based on TALENT - today it is a game for atheletes and maulers.
Let's not forget that there are more Islanders player league these days than back in the early 00's. I read the team lists from the junior games and over 60%-70% are of Islander names. These boys are naturally bigger the Anglo-Saxon, Irish, Europeans that played the game in the past.
To that you can add the professionalism of the game where players have the time to work on beefing up their bodies with muscle. There was no time for that in the last with a regular 9-5 job.
Finally add the medical expertise the clubs have these days to "juice up" the players.
I've said in a previous post, a mate has two sons who were pulled from the game of league after the mum son her son being knocked out by a bigger islander kid (under 10's). She said straight up to my mate "You either pull the kids out to play another less physical sport or I'll divorce you and take the kids with me". The kids are Greek-Italian background. They play soccer now.
Poppa, they aren't taught to tackle grass cutter style anymore precisely because it allows for a quick play the ball. It's two men to hold the ball runner up for a few seconds, then third man takes the legs and bring everyone to the ground, soaking up more time, allowing the defensive line to get set.
The size increase is pure physics. Newtons 2nd law of motion, Force = mass x acceleration, bigger things moving faster are harder to stop. Polynesians being genetically usually bigger, are the build that currently fits the requirements of the sports, being big and fast.
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