By RUSSELL SMITH
FOR my inaugural contribution to this auspicious website, I have reached for the back catalogue (a decade ago) bemoaning one the “rules-based” short-comings of our great game.
And as excitement gathers around the launch of season 2018, and on the heels of a spectacularly successful Rugby League World Cup, I hope to engage with you in a lively debate about rules, discipline and sportsmanship.
“It should come as no surprise that the late Kerry Packer and former ARU supremo John O’Neill kicked around the concept of a hybrid rugby game. Cherry-picking the best bits of both codes, O’Neill describes in his new book It’s Only a Game how the great man mapped out his vision. If anyone wanted to launch a derivative rugby competition, Kerry Packer was the man. He had this uncanny “eye” for how sport jumped from television to the living room and created an engrossing spectacle.
“After all, he revolutionised world cricket, and the end product garnered a stunning personal legacy. In the end, they kicked the idea into touch, Packer unwilling to ‘risk the power of rugby league’ and its die-hard constituents.”
However, this fan base is getting a raw deal. It’s high time that the NRL and its ‘rules committee’ follow Mr. Packer’s example and pull out the butchers’ paper. The law governing the game, particularly around the tackle and play-the-ball area, is an ‘ass.’ The propensity for defensive players attacking the ball of a tackled player is nonsense. It is difficult to adjudicate, resulting in inconsistent refereeing decisions, which are the scourge of the game.
Ball security, coached from day one, is fundamental. It’s the mantra of every professional coach of every professional side but it’s in desperate need of a reality check.
Kerry Packer described the ruck and maul of rugby union as ‘a dog’s breakfast’; sadly the same applies to the tackle and play-the-ball area of rugby league. Super League had all but eradicated it from their competition while maintaining a fast-moving game with none of the antics of ball gouging and uncompetitive tactics plaguing the NRL.
The last thing we want is for the great man to strap on his ankle-highs and start taking the field in that other ‘game they play in heaven.’”
