Heading into the 2019 season i would like to discuss the something in which i find to be very broken with the NRL. I been watching Rugby league for over 2 decades and have a good grasp on the fundamental changes overtime, in which there are many.
But today i want to look at MOMENTUM, The modern game has huge momentum changes, momentum swings have always be apart of the game as long as i can remember, but what has changed, is the length of the swing. It is common these days to witness swings of momentum that last up to and beyond 25 minutes.
As a long fan, I find it a very frustrating viewing experience, especially when momentum is artificially halted by the referee almost due to pity for the team on the receiving end.
WHAT LEADS TO LARGE MOMENTUM SWINGS?
Now i believe Referees rule on what's a spectacle > than fairness, and one example of this bias is penalties given to the team in possession vs penalties given to the team without possession. Teams these days are far more likely to receive a penalty if they have the ball then without then 20 years ago.
It almost seems as extreme as 9 to 1 in favour of the carrier, this directly causes the momentum problem we have today, If you have the ball in possession and a penalty is blown for an infringement your team has a 90% chance that penalty is for you.
So you get another set of possession, In which you are still likely to receive the next penalty and so on and so forth, some teams are given 5-7 penalties in a row do to this way of thinking by the referees.
Now in reality, Has the team in possession really become angels? and suddenly play more to the rules? not likely.
HOW TO FIX THE PROBLEM
It involves tougher adjudication against teams in possession, no "warning or replays" just penalties.
Examples of where the interpretations need to be made are as follows;
- Incorrect play the balls
- walking of the mark / stepping to the side
- holding defenders on you (don't shout milking, blow a penalty for the defense)
- stricter enforcement of forward passes.
- voluntary tackles
- tapping the ball correctly and in the right position.
- running behind a team player is a penalty, falling to ground is a voluntary tackle which is a penalty!
If the referees can get penalties for and against teams in possession closer to parity, those artificial montemum swings will become shorter, The referees influence on outcome reduces for what i believe to be a better experience.
Your Thoughts?
Replies
Agree - the one tht gets me ticked off is the stripping ball rule - the defenders get penalised a lot more than the ball carrier does. I’ve been saying for a while tht unless it is a blantant stripping of the ball by the defender - all other drop balls are ball carriers responsibility & a scrum is awarded to the defending team. Tht’ll sure make the ball carrier take more responsibility with the ball & ensure he plays the ball properly.
If a tacker holds on a second too long its a penalty, but a runner can hold onto a tackler and it's not a penalty? it's milking?
You can no longer strike for the ball in the ruck and scrums are a joke so without any genuine contests for the ball, handing the ball back after scoring points has to be changed.