Adam SutcliffeInterchange Players
November 30th 2006 11:37
New NRL Rule Proposals - Forward Passes
Every Wednesday from today until season 2007, we here at www.league.net.au will inform you about new rule changes or our ideas for proposed new rules to begin in time for next years NRL season.
Today we will analyse how changing the number of 12 interchanges to 8 will benefit the sport if rugby league.
Interchanging players cut
Ever since the need for 12 interchanges for each team came into existence in the late 1990’s, rugby league has developed into a much more physically demanding, faster sport. No longer is the sport merely a 13 on 13 contest – it is now a 17 on 17 battle of the strongest, fittest and smartest.
With the game becoming faster and faster each season, match officials are copping more and more flak at their inability to keep up with the pace of the game. Australian Coach Ricky Stuart first floated the idea a few weeks back, but we here at www.league.net.au think that cutting the number of fresh interchange players back to 8 has is an integral part of rugby league’s future success.
In the past season, the rugby league interchange bench usually contains three big forwards and a utility that can slot into either hooker or half. This essentially means that teams have a rotation of up to eight fresh forwards throughout the entire eighty minutes of a match, with the majority of clubs utilising the two hooker rotation. Basically, today’s game has four fresh forwards barging into each other for the entire match, which means that defensive units usually don’t tire as mush as they used to. The three bench forward option also enables a few clubs to carry one big, usually unfit, prop forward, who can only compete in 15-20 minute bursts.
The days of the chip and chase are virtually non-existent, as players are fitter and fresher, and therefore are able to cover these once genius attacking kicks easily. With the current rule of 12 interchanges in place, rugby league is becoming too structured, and is starting to lose some of it’s unpredictability and mystique about it.
Cutting back the number of interchanges to 8, will ensure that only the fittest players survive, while also ensuring that some of the old attacking creativity evolves back into the game. As the forwards are forced to play more game time, this tires and opens up the defensive lines, which in turn will re-introduce the chip and chase, ball playing forwards and eliminate the excessive amount of gang tackling currently plaguing the game.
As the players tire form spending more time on the field, the pace of the game should also slow down a few cogs. This will benefit the match officials as well, as a slower game will increase the decision making time for the referees.
What do you think??
StephenP
Every Wednesday from today until season 2007, we here at www.league.net.au will inform you about new rule changes or our ideas for proposed new rules to begin in time for next years NRL season.
Today we will analyse how changing the number of 12 interchanges to 8 will benefit the sport if rugby league.
Interchanging players cut
Ever since the need for 12 interchanges for each team came into existence in the late 1990’s, rugby league has developed into a much more physically demanding, faster sport. No longer is the sport merely a 13 on 13 contest – it is now a 17 on 17 battle of the strongest, fittest and smartest.
With the game becoming faster and faster each season, match officials are copping more and more flak at their inability to keep up with the pace of the game. Australian Coach Ricky Stuart first floated the idea a few weeks back, but we here at www.league.net.au think that cutting the number of fresh interchange players back to 8 has is an integral part of rugby league’s future success.
In the past season, the rugby league interchange bench usually contains three big forwards and a utility that can slot into either hooker or half. This essentially means that teams have a rotation of up to eight fresh forwards throughout the entire eighty minutes of a match, with the majority of clubs utilising the two hooker rotation. Basically, today’s game has four fresh forwards barging into each other for the entire match, which means that defensive units usually don’t tire as mush as they used to. The three bench forward option also enables a few clubs to carry one big, usually unfit, prop forward, who can only compete in 15-20 minute bursts.
The days of the chip and chase are virtually non-existent, as players are fitter and fresher, and therefore are able to cover these once genius attacking kicks easily. With the current rule of 12 interchanges in place, rugby league is becoming too structured, and is starting to lose some of it’s unpredictability and mystique about it.
Cutting back the number of interchanges to 8, will ensure that only the fittest players survive, while also ensuring that some of the old attacking creativity evolves back into the game. As the forwards are forced to play more game time, this tires and opens up the defensive lines, which in turn will re-introduce the chip and chase, ball playing forwards and eliminate the excessive amount of gang tackling currently plaguing the game.
As the players tire form spending more time on the field, the pace of the game should also slow down a few cogs. This will benefit the match officials as well, as a slower game will increase the decision making time for the referees.
What do you think??
StephenP
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