Things you don’t see in modern rugby league

[double hoops]

The Donkeys not play on a Friday night.

 

[Under the Sticks]

5 and 10 minutes sin bins

 

[Pablo]

The forwards belting the **** out of each other for the first 20 mins and trying to prove a point.

Fatigue being a factor and small blokes getting opportunities to run around and through tired defenders. Seemed to be a lot more long range tries.

The first man in a tackle actually using his shoulder with some force trying to tackle the player to the ground with a second tackler only coming in if required. Not this first tackler grabs and holds up a player so 2 of his mates can come in and finish the tackle rubbish todays game is.

Just to name a few.

 

[Stuey Davis’s Socks]

When Parra fans were feral...... oh, wait

 

[Shoe1]

Grown ups with day jobs. Today's 30 year old kids play X box before and after training.

 

[DUFFMAN]

Halfbacks like Toovey feeding a scrum and picking the ball up and sprinting 10-20 metres to score.

 

[HoldenV8]

What do I miss?

• Forwards packing into the scrums.
• Scrums where players actually bind and there isn't so much room between the players that you could drive a bus through it and not touch anyone.
• Contested scrums (can you tell I'm an old forward yet?).
• Referees who have the balls to award or disallow a try based on what THEY see. 95% of tries these days, even ones Stevie Wonder could see were tries, get sent to the video ref or 'bunker' and its gotten beyond a joke. Are they instructed to get more air time for the sponsors?
• Shoulder charge and players not getting suspended for what might look like a shoulder charge.
• Biff. Not the best look for the game but I have to say well done to Sam Burgess for putting one on Klemmer's chin on Sunday, even if it was a powder puff punch. Just a small reminder to the Dog that this isn't the NRL they're playing right now so being an Ennis-like twat will get you belted.
• One referee.....one set of interpretations.
• Players who can tackle. Most of the older ones can. Players like Jake Trbojevic can. But most of the backline graduates from the U/20's, even some of the so-called superstars, think tackle is what you take fishing.

Did I miss anything?

Oh, and just on creativity from halves, things like the Phil Blake chip and chase.....while the ad-lib style halfback still exists to a point (JT, DCE), I do think that a lot of it has been coached out of the players. And I think that its also something that has been slowly dying since they made defences move back from 5 to 10 metres. They have too much time these days. Players like Blakey, Mortimer, Sterling, Langer, Tooves.....Cliffy, they all had to think quickly on their feet. That kind of thing seems to be missing from today's game.

 

[north coast eagle]

Sweeping backline movements with both centres standing deep and running on to the ball. Ball playing halves like Cliffy. Flowing game with quick scums and quick referee decisions.

 

[Go manly]

Bubble gum in football cards

 

[HoldenV8]

Rex Mossop's commentating.

That's the end of the opening stanza.

 

[Nordburg]

A player going for an intercept.Especially a winger who is defending an overlap

 

[mozgrame]

Reg Gasnier.

 

[Lyonstomenzies]

Manly winning more games than they lose.

 

[Rusty Cage]

Kicking duel

 

[TokyoEagle]

The marker raking at the play-the-ball.

Not much ad lib play today, it's all exactly the same, 4 hit ups , maybe a stretch out on 5 but often not, last tackle is either a kick to the corner, a grubber or very occasionally they actually run the ball.

Then set for defence whilst the opposition does the same.

Games are won on the number of mistakes or penalties and not much else.

Teams that have the less mistakes and NRL favourites usually win.

Taking out the contest for the ball, raking and contested scrums, has to take some of the blame for this. It seems the only chance for ball turnover these days are the mistakes and end of sets that are talked about above.

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

The 13 import rule.

 

[HoldenV8]

Coaches not being fined for pointing out the truth about a referees performance. I mean, since when did referees become a protected species? Let them cop criticism for crying out loud, it might actually help them grow some balls.

 

[Bearfax]

Controversy Corner with the Moose and Ferris Ashton

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

The theme from 'Shaft.'

Down Shaft...

 

[wombatgc]

The incisive cheekbone chop and face mawling an outside back could expect from running up the gutz of the opposition.
Also technology has improved the horticultural nature of our grounds. Bring back grounds that with a solid days rain looked like an inland ocean....did they forfeit? F@ck No!, they got out there with puddles up to their knees, sliding from the 25 metre line to score under the posts.