I think it was significant that a news report said that FIFA, the controlling body of World Soccer, were looking at ways of slowing down the speed of their game. One wag suggested a square ball!!
Several times over the last year or so I have I have postulated that in Rugby League a faster game does not necessarily mean a better game.
Touch football proves that beyond doubt. It is very fast, it is extremely boring for the spectator and draws ,at best, a handful of fans. Super League, which nearly brought Rugby League to its end in Australia, was built on the nonsense that a fast game is a better game. Thankfully, Super League went the way of the dinosaurs. However, some of its influence still affects Rugby League in the negative sense--always speeding up the play the ball, the tackler giving but a microsecond to get off the player tackled, time limits on everything, wingers racing out to the 20 metre line after taking a bomb in goal. An ugly aspect of the modern game. This fetish for an ever faster game should end. That FiFA is aware of the problem in their game, which is world wide and at the peak of its success, ought to give thought to the bone- head administrators of Rugby League to address the problem here.
Replies
Bring back the scrum !
The NRL is too fast and structured these days which equals boring. I think the players are too fit and professional.
Agreed about the structured part, we should be reducing tackles per set it will increase teams needing to go wide rather than just hit it up for 4 tackles up the middle then kick to a corner.
Cant agree with your touch footy comment Robert.
I think touch is a great technical game to watch. It is played by a lot of RL players to improve fitness but is a totally different game and skill set.
If you are in to strength + skill then RL will be for you. If you enjoy tactics, speed and skill then touch is a great game to watch esp when played by later teens to early 20's kids in their prime for speed and skill.
My kids have been involved in touch and theres always a big turnout. It suits those with natural ability, those wanting less contact or those wanting to improve their fitness. Great social game for the older men and women. But when its played by fit, competitive players with skill, it can leave in awe.
PS you should try and get accom in Hervey Bay in July. 100+ junior teams, families, support etc. The town is sold out.
I do agree the RL being faster is not necessarily better. ;)
No thanks, we have enough resets with the scrum in it's current form could you imagine how the refs would handle an "old school" scrum? There'd be scrum penalties galore and no one wants that.
One of my pet hates is the dominate tackle.To me they are rewarding the wrong type of tackle.If a bloke makes a copybook Ray Price around the ankles tackle he should be rewarded more so then the gang tackles that get called dominate.Reward him by giving him more time to hang on and get up.What normally happens is a guy makes a great tackle around the ankles and because the guy hangs on slightly too long he gets penalised
I one thousand per cent agree and if I could change one thing in Rugby League this would be it. It would totally bring the small players back into the game as well.
A lot of you know I coach kids as well. We're told my the NRL to coach the traditional around the legs tackle. However, when the boys are watching footy they only see the players hitting high, and of course it's not long before even in the junior grades, that you switch from teaching them to tackle around the legs to trying to wrap the ball up.
So your left to wonder if you've got a boy who does well tackling high, what's the point in even teaching them to tackle low because they're going to have to go back to tackling around the ball anyway.
One-on-one around the legs tackle should be called dominant. Give the tackler time to get to marker and suddenly you change a very important dynamic for the betterment of the game.
I would like to reduce the interchange, for sure.
Rugby league is best when it's an endurance game. Big blokes getting tired, trying there best and little blokes trying to exploite the weekness.
The way it is now, there is not enough fatigue in front rowers. Reducing interchange would force Props to play longer stints.