Mark from Brisbane said:
So a question to @TechnicalCoach
Has the game evolved as far as it can go based on current rules and current regulations for things like performance enhancers??
It's just the game is SO different from that even a decade ago, and I wonder where they can go or what we might see in another decade?
Not sure what you mean by your first question in relation to performance enhancers.
Go back 10 years from any point and the game will look SO different---compare a game from 2010 to 2000 or 2000 to 1990 or 1990 to 1980.
I still see many areas of improvement in relation to attack, with more options crisper passing going both ways and more centralised straight variety through the middle.
Way too many teams are overly reliant on setting up the big play going right to left(strong passing direction), Souths don't have many varied options going left to right and the distribution tends to be slow, Dragons were the same---most clubs are to be honest.
Not sure why clubs have not been using the second man as a decoy more often this past 3-4yrs, it is starting to come into play a lot more now. I've mentioned numerous times in the past this should be happening to take advantage of up and in defences trying to kill the second man play but attacks have been lazy just going through the training drills that worked in 2007-2009.
You can hit a deeper option, a face ball option, a shorter runner coming from behind the ball player and hitting a shorter line between the second man decoy and ball distributor(Reynolds pass in last Semi) or a pass over the top (DCE earlier in the season) I think against Canberra.
Storm and Manly improved both attack and defensive structures from 07-12.
Storm improved defensive structures and improved the art of slowing down the play the ball mixed in with attacking plays that were well structured well rehearsed simple straight and effective combined with second man plays and a better attacking kicking game.
Manly improved on Storms structures, improved their wrestle from the previous season (07) but combined that with dominant aggressive tackles a bigger pack and with our own edge and second man plays.
Manly also increased the ball movement and offloads--- increased the ball playing of forwards through the middle with second man plays and more lateral second man plays used for softer yardage gains on the edges in our own half.
Roosters and Souths have improved upon these structures added their own twists combined with more square/straight power plays that Manly and Melb have lacked and bigger mobile forward packs.
The game will continue to change and what is a teams strong point can quickly become their weak point.
There is plenty of room for improvement in attack through all areas from the middle to the edges and playing more off the inside hip at times---always having options off both hips not just having runners on the outside.
Same thing happened in Soccer with Spain taking the game to a new level with Tiki Taka(which is possession based but I'm talking in relation to using shorter passing with more options)---- I see the same in Rugby League.
The quick crisp change of angle cross over play against the Roosters that lead to Stewarts try or inside outside short plays the Storm perfected I see more progression in this area in attack, using under plays and hitting more central straight runners also.(Souths are vulnerable to such play through the middle off an under play)
I don't mind the wrestle as long as the player wrestling is doing so while trying to move around and get into marker. There is a good example of this recently with Matai wrestling while moving around the player trying to get into marker totally happy with that to continue in the game.
I would rather more policing of the 10m, stepping off the mark, not playing the play the ball correctly and reducing the interchange before looking at the wrestle.
I do recall at the start of the year mentioning that a new way to slow the play the ball after trying to kill off the cannonball tackle was to hold the players up and walk them around. Refs will call held but feel that since the player is being walked back at the same time a little lag effect of the message getting across should be allowed, this is being abused big time.
Refs have no idea if the tackled player is holding the arm of the tackler to milk a penalty or the tackler is pretending to have his armed locked to allow him more time to remove himself from the tackled player and slow the play the ball. Problem is if you are caught milking as the attacking team no penalty arises against you so why wouldn't you try and do it all the time.
