Over the mark, Sir!

[silvertail]

Isaac Luke is the player I fear most next week.

He gets an opportunity a couple of times per attacking set to take advantage of out of position markers, purely due to one of their players deciding the step over the mark.

From the Melbourne school of looking at any way to win the ruck, the game is built around Luke getting an unfair penalty advantage in placing markers offside or driving forward hit ups at back peddling markers.

It is possible to get a good roll without overstepping the mark, but Souths are getting an unfair advantage. I believe that in both matches against them this year, we were winning the forward battle but ruck penalties and liberties with overstepping the mark had finally taken their toll.

Unfair advantage if you asked me.

What happened to the game I understood and accepted as a child? When did it become acceptable that a dummy half should be given such as unfair advantage? Whe on earth did a good defensive tackle, or any tackle for that matter, allow the guy playing the ball to take two or three steps forward behind the markers?

 

[Chip and Chase]

Cronulla did it a lot last night. Mainly the sideways step off the mark to try and isolate the markers and trick the ref into a not square penalty. It's pretty standard tactics these days as it rarely gets penalised.

 

[ManlyBacker]

They clamped down on this about three years ago. It was the single biggest improvement in the game for a long time. Now we get Inglis and others doing it all the time. Penalise them is the easy answer. No exceptions.

 

[silvertail]

If someone steps over the mark, the markers should be automatically on side. Even better, the ref should blow the whistle and get them to play the ball again.

 

[Brookie Brawler]

They clamped down on this about three years ago. It was the single biggest improvement in the game for a long time. Now we get Inglis and others doing it all the time. Penalise them is the easy answer. No exceptions.

1. Penalise for walking off the mark.
2. Legalise shoulder charge (unless contact with head)

These should be the NRL's top priorities IMO

 

[mozgrame]

If a player advances the ball by a couple of steps after the tackle is complete but before playing the ball, the defensive line should be able to advance the same amount of steps to nullify any advantage the attacking side may gain. Example...the ref back with the defensive should yell to the player playing the ball, "You've shortened it". The markers should then be made immediately onside, no matter where they are then standing in relation to the player playing the ball.

I know, I know. It's all too confusing for the poor refs. Just bloody penalise the player for walking forwards after held is called. How hard is that?? They'll soon stop doing it.

 

[silvertail]

Spot on Mozgrame

 

[mickqld]

If the refs are fair dinkum and don't want to penalise for walking off the mark then they should not penalise markers for not being square or defenders who might be half a meter offside. That will nulify any advantage from the cheats but as we all know it's one rule for us and no rules for the vermin.

 

[Lord Eagleton]

Did you guys see Mascord's article in fairfax? He seems to have had a gutfull. The NRL's no action over the Bulldogs/Barba thing is one reasons he has come up with the below headline..

''Why I can no longer tolerate league’s lies''

http://www.theage.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/why-i-can-no-longer-tolerate-leagues-lies-20130921-2u6xf.html

 

[manlyfan76]

Lets make it interesting, if you walk off the mark the markers can ruck the ball with their feet to gain possession like in ye olden days. They won't have to be square to do this and no 6 again if the attacking team wins the ball after the marker has struck at the ball.

 

[silvertail]

I like that, manlyfan76.

I am sure that you would agree that Ian Roberts was a great player for Manly and Souths.

He was a brute of a defender and after he smashed players for their gay jibes, he would steal the ball with a fair contest rake.

Shame that the game has turned it into what it has. Administrators are clueless, headed by someone who didn't know who Benji was.

 

[manlyfan76]

I almost wanted to call it the Ian Roberts rule but I was worried for Balmain fullbacks.
ps does anybody have footage of Roberts V Jack?

 

[KOMORI]

I almost wanted to call it the Ian Roberts rule but I was worried for Balmain fullbacks.
ps does anybody have footage of Roberts V Jack?

Search "mouthing off at the wrong man" on YouTube

*don't know what you'll find but sounds like an appropriate title!!

On topic....

It's a disturbing trend that the officials seemingly ignore: by moving off the mark (either forward or diagonally) the attacker is putting the markers in an incorrect position, either off side or "not square".

Unfortunately, in their over zealous yet inconsistent (on a team by team, ref by ref basis) policing of the ruck, the pink idiots tend to penalise the defender rather than the attacking player.... yet in fact it's the bloke with the ball that has infringed in the first place.

Another tactic that $ouffs tend to employ is to struggle maniacally whilst held then use the defender to "foul" the play-the-ball by "fumbling" the ball.... Earning their team yet another ruck penalty.

Add to that their diving skills and you're watching well coached plays designed to cheat penalties from referees too blind to see what's happening in front of them...

Hmmmm.... I'm not sure how but this post ended up being a bit of an anti $ouffs rant...

I'm proud of myself!!

 

[Fluffy]

Sometimes it is an accidental/off balance thing and it would be harsh to penalise those occasions so what is the answer?

Simple, stop play and reset back to the mark like they do now with the times held gets called simultaneously with an offload. Would nullify the attacks advantage without being too harsh.

 

[ManlyBacker]

A few years ago it was absolutely clear, walk forward from the tackle point mark and you got pinged. It was so entrenched no one dared do it. Today Inglis pretends he can't play the ball unless he walks over the tackler. I have seen only the rarest examples where we have infringed but Soufs use this tactic all the time. It is wrong in the rules and must be penalised. Show some balls ref and ping an illegal advantage. I'm fair enough to make exceptions where the circumstances of the play the ball is acceptable but it has been in stone for ages that you can't step forward of the mark. It is a great rule and some consistency is all that is required. It is THE tactic that gave Storm an unfair advantage for ages and the game has improved 500 percent since being introduced.

 

[Rod Jacko]

Also what happen to playing the ball with your foot, sorry to raise another issue, but it seems refs have given up on this basic requirement too. There was a crack down on this years ago and I recall everyone got the message fast...allowing crap play the balls means even less time for the defence to get onside and square....refs are obsessed with micro managing defenders eg you go to pick up and drive someone backwards and there screaming "HELD" , WTF why can't they finish the tackle??? It's good to watch?

 

[The Who]

Let's bring back the old, old rule that if a dummy half takes the chance, runs, and is caught with the ball then he surrenders possession.

 

[DSM5]

What annoys me about that little cheating scum is he takes a step to the left when playing the ball and that puts the marker not square. Hayne particularly falls for this, or does he? Maybe it's a ploy they have both worked out. Roy Masters wrote a sanguine piece the othe day about Hayne and Souffs and his lopsided penalty count in favour of those cheats.