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NRL coaches’ boring tactics have robbed rugby league of its spectacle and entertainment
OK, LET’S kick things off with a question from left field. If you were suddenly handed complete control of the NRL for a day and given the power to change one thing to improve rugby league, what would you change?
Would player and fan behaviour, given the track record and the events of last weekend, be right up there?
Or is the perceived drop in refereeing standards and trying to improve consistency and competency in that area the game’s biggest issue for you?
What about the sanitisation of the game with decisions like completely outlawing the shoulder charge and the punching ban that has resulted in grown men slapping one another just to stay out of the sin bin. Would that change under your watch?
It is the coaches who have been largely responsible for making rugby league predictable — boring even.
Or maybe it would be something as simple as cutting ticket prices, changing an irritating rule or being able to enjoy a pie and a beer at the game in comfort without it costing an arm and a leg.
All are worthy considerations.
But if it was me handed the reins, I would aim a bit higher than that. Strive for the impossible even.
I’d call for an immediate change in the attitude and philosophy of coaches. They hold the key to what I consider is the game’s biggest problem — the overall quality of the on-field product.
Tactics like the gang tackle have robbed rugby league of its spectacle.
Tactics like the gang tackle have robbed rugby league of its spectacle. Source: News Corp Australia
Without wanting to sound disrespectful to any of them, coaches, or more precisely their coaching methods, have become the biggest blight on the game.
Coaches are the individuals who largely dictate how the game is played. They come up with the game plans.
They are the ones who repeatedly drum into their players the importance of ball retention, getting to the kick, field position, safety first, mistake-free footy. At the same time, they have been guilty of coaching the skill and instinct out of many players to minimise errors.
It is the coaches who have been largely responsible for making rugby league predictable — boring even in many instances.
Cleverly, they have manipulated the rules to suit their own agendas. The wrestle was introduced into the game. Now coaches who openly claim they despise the practise have embraced it anyway because they say they have to in order to remain competitive.
The gang tackle is encouraged, demanded even, all with the aim of slowing down the ruck and dulling the attack. Referees are doing their best to police it and speed up the game with only limited success.
All of the above, including the boring, repetitive one-out power running of forwards, comes at the expense of the game’s entertainment value.
You want a reason why many fans are disillusioned and no longer religiously watching rugby league like they used to, well, there you have it.
Thank heavens for the genuine superstars left in the game.
The likes of Johnathan Thurston, Greg Inglis and Billy Slater to name a few who possess the ability and still have the instinct to play outside the confines of predictable game plans and come up with the big plays that can bring a dull game to life.
You look at what Pat Richards did for the Tigers last weekend when he almost single-handedly transformed a lifeless game for the opening 70 minutes against Parramatta into something memorable with some freakish skill in the final 10 minutes.
Why do moments and tries like those he created in those final few minutes now seem like the exception rather than the rule?
Why does it take a team to become desperate because they are chasing the game before they suddenly ditch their conservative ways and start actually playing some enterprising football to score points?
The solution?
Well, there are those who are advocating a reduction in the interchange for next season who claim it will improve the game as a spectacle.
The line of thought is that players will become more fatigued and games will open up with less interchanges. It sounds good in theory.
But there are so many stoppages in the game now with the time it takes to pack scrums and for video referees to adjudicate on tries that big forwards get plenty of rest anyway. And rest assured coaches will find ways to slow the game down even further to nullify any positive effect.
Yes, the referees can be frustrating and of course player and crowd behaviour is important and ticket pricing and fan comfort are genuine issues.
But the bottom line is it’s the coaches that largely control the quality of the product and until they collectively recognise their responsibilities to the game and alter philosophies, nothing much will change.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl...nd-entertainment/story-fnlt03ir-1227297464079
OK, LET’S kick things off with a question from left field. If you were suddenly handed complete control of the NRL for a day and given the power to change one thing to improve rugby league, what would you change?
Would player and fan behaviour, given the track record and the events of last weekend, be right up there?
Or is the perceived drop in refereeing standards and trying to improve consistency and competency in that area the game’s biggest issue for you?
What about the sanitisation of the game with decisions like completely outlawing the shoulder charge and the punching ban that has resulted in grown men slapping one another just to stay out of the sin bin. Would that change under your watch?
It is the coaches who have been largely responsible for making rugby league predictable — boring even.
Or maybe it would be something as simple as cutting ticket prices, changing an irritating rule or being able to enjoy a pie and a beer at the game in comfort without it costing an arm and a leg.
All are worthy considerations.
But if it was me handed the reins, I would aim a bit higher than that. Strive for the impossible even.
I’d call for an immediate change in the attitude and philosophy of coaches. They hold the key to what I consider is the game’s biggest problem — the overall quality of the on-field product.
Tactics like the gang tackle have robbed rugby league of its spectacle.
Tactics like the gang tackle have robbed rugby league of its spectacle. Source: News Corp Australia
Without wanting to sound disrespectful to any of them, coaches, or more precisely their coaching methods, have become the biggest blight on the game.
Coaches are the individuals who largely dictate how the game is played. They come up with the game plans.
They are the ones who repeatedly drum into their players the importance of ball retention, getting to the kick, field position, safety first, mistake-free footy. At the same time, they have been guilty of coaching the skill and instinct out of many players to minimise errors.
It is the coaches who have been largely responsible for making rugby league predictable — boring even in many instances.
Cleverly, they have manipulated the rules to suit their own agendas. The wrestle was introduced into the game. Now coaches who openly claim they despise the practise have embraced it anyway because they say they have to in order to remain competitive.
The gang tackle is encouraged, demanded even, all with the aim of slowing down the ruck and dulling the attack. Referees are doing their best to police it and speed up the game with only limited success.
All of the above, including the boring, repetitive one-out power running of forwards, comes at the expense of the game’s entertainment value.
You want a reason why many fans are disillusioned and no longer religiously watching rugby league like they used to, well, there you have it.
Thank heavens for the genuine superstars left in the game.
The likes of Johnathan Thurston, Greg Inglis and Billy Slater to name a few who possess the ability and still have the instinct to play outside the confines of predictable game plans and come up with the big plays that can bring a dull game to life.
You look at what Pat Richards did for the Tigers last weekend when he almost single-handedly transformed a lifeless game for the opening 70 minutes against Parramatta into something memorable with some freakish skill in the final 10 minutes.
Why do moments and tries like those he created in those final few minutes now seem like the exception rather than the rule?
Why does it take a team to become desperate because they are chasing the game before they suddenly ditch their conservative ways and start actually playing some enterprising football to score points?
The solution?
Well, there are those who are advocating a reduction in the interchange for next season who claim it will improve the game as a spectacle.
The line of thought is that players will become more fatigued and games will open up with less interchanges. It sounds good in theory.
But there are so many stoppages in the game now with the time it takes to pack scrums and for video referees to adjudicate on tries that big forwards get plenty of rest anyway. And rest assured coaches will find ways to slow the game down even further to nullify any positive effect.
Yes, the referees can be frustrating and of course player and crowd behaviour is important and ticket pricing and fan comfort are genuine issues.
But the bottom line is it’s the coaches that largely control the quality of the product and until they collectively recognise their responsibilities to the game and alter philosophies, nothing much will change.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl...nd-entertainment/story-fnlt03ir-1227297464079
