www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... 1w506.html Danny Buderus would like us to limit the amount of tacklers in a tackle to 2 and move back to a 5 metre defensive line to prevent some of the wrestling tactics and slowing of the play. Would be a big change imo but could be quite exciting to watch. A lot more breaks, a lot more offloads, less time spent with the ball hidden while players mess about on the floor. would remove the third man coming in to simply add weight and slow the game down, but it also might make the game a bit too broken with a quick PTB and a run from dummy half making too many yards. Interesting idea though.

www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... 1w506.html Danny Buderus would like us to limit the amount of tacklers in a tackle to 2 and move back to a 5 metre defensive line to prevent some of the wrestling tactics and slowing of the play. Would be a big change imo but could be quite exciting to watch. A lot more breaks, a lot more offloads, less time spent with the ball hidden while players mess about on the floor. would remove the third man coming in to simply add weight and slow the game down, but it also might make the game a bit too broken with a quick PTB and a run from dummy half making too many yards. Interesting idea though.

I think limiting the tackle to two players would be a step to far. But they could look at players joining the tackle just to slow it down. They could police it like the did with flops etc, when the player is on the floor. If the tackle is more or less made and someone else comes in to just add weight, a penalty could be given. Again, might be far to messy implement anything like that.

We have a great game, leave it as it is.

5 meters? YES
2 tacklers limitation? NO

5m No 2 man yes. 2 man will speed up the PTB and with the line still having to get back 10m this will open things up more.

Players might have to start shedding a few kilo to be a half yard quicker. this leads to smaller collisions and less injuries.

5m means line set quicker and fewer gaps AKA Union. Now wouldn't that be really great to watch?

We could outlaw tackling completely and play 7 a side tag instead. Now that would really open things up. The Roby's and Burrow's of this world would be absolutely scootscootastic under such conditions.

Just make it a red card (on TV games the VR can tell the ref he's spotted one) and an automatic 5 match ban for chicken wings, grapples and cannon balls etc...that will stop the wrestling because as soon as a coach realises he's down a few players he will soon be coaching it out of them.

going beyond what you have just said, any other reasons for favouring a shorter retreat? the requirement for better running lines, structure and passing im assuming?

Or to cover for poor defence and limit the worth of the forward winning the collision maybe?

its all just a none starter really 5m's retreating distance you would seriously get no where in attack with tackles, does anybody know what skills forwards have lost since the rule change?

two man tackle well it would be fraustrating at first but peoples defence one on one would certainly get better after time and weaklinks would get found out. people like tony williams, hock, thiady, westwood would become the key players and be gold dust to teams. but i dont think the rule change should happen. more to the point just call the tackle held and penalise teams for holding them up and dropping them when held is called its all a slow down the ruck technique that all teams use.

funny buderus mentions all this because he has looked ordinary since going back to the nrl because he cant scoot and steal cheap yards because ruck defence is alot tighter over their the only player i have seen do this is isaac luke. pet hate of mine is stevo constantly rim licking any hooker who scoots and makes ten meters its just very boring and you cant get away with it at international level.

A 5m rule would open up the gap between the top and bottom teams even more IMO and it would put too much emphasis on a good kicking game. I like what we have now.

A 5m rule would make it incredibly boring. It would be a defense-athon. You would barely have time to pass the ball from dummy half before the entire line stomped all over the team in possession.

I like the idea of a 2 man limit in tackles, I think that could work.

But the wrestle and most of the nasty, malicious tactics in the tackle seemed to have left Super League at the same time Maguire did. Massive coincidence that one.

There's some sense in his view on tackling but as usual, a new rule is not required; a zero tolerance enforcement of rules that already exist would be fine. It's clear to everyone watching the game that Aussie coaches are constantly devising new ways to slow down the ruck and piling bodies into the tackle is just one of them; no need to limit the number per se, just penalise the last man in if he joins after the tackle is complete (flop) and penalise the defending team if they don't get up fast enough, regardless of how many made the tackle.

I note from this weekend's NRL games that ref's appear to have stopped calling every stage of the tackle; good - it gives players licence to hold on until the call is made, resulting in the daft spectacle of a player clearly holding down, looking at the ref and waiting for the call to 'move!' I hope they do the same here too - put the onus back on the defender(s) to get off when the ref calls held - if they don't, penalise them.

As for the 5m thing - I think that's a non-starter; it would kill off dummy half play and limit attacking options too much.

Indeed, that's exactly what I'm getting at. There's a limit to the amount of orgasmic stimulation derived from the 10 metre rule, the speed of the PTB, the acres of space in which a forward gets to run the ball in before entering into the crash-ball collision, the mind-numbing tedium of dummy half/first receiver scoots into acres of wide open space against the enforced constant retreating of defences, the abundance of soft tries scored in the quest for quantity over quality, because quantity means more entertainment, right?



Somewhere along the line the game has lost the plot along with a shed load of skill sets to boot. Who needs to develop the guile and skills in the art of slick, deft, passing in order to unlock robust defences when the current rules encourage easy metres and rapid scoot/pass quick PTB movement up field in wide open spaces against constantly retreating defences? Who needs to develop a shrewd and accurate kicking game (another skill set which has disappeared) when it's so easy to make ground otherwise? That's another reason why we get nailed at international level by the Aussies because we've no kicking game and when we're confronted with their fitter, sterner, in-your-face defences, we find ourselves kicking under pressure from within our own half right down the throat of their fullback who returns it with interest. There's no plan B - no alternative skill sets to fall back on because they were rendered obsolete by the poorly thought-out, knee-jerk rule changes in the 90's. The Aussies have only managed to retain certain skill sets (particularly among the half backs) which we've flushed down the toilet because their defences are better organised and harder to crack than over here.

I often don't recognise the game today as rugby league - call it super league lite, crash-ball scoot league or whatever, but it's tedious and something needs to change sooner rather than later. The game can return to being recognisable as a form of rugby league as a real physical contest by kicking the 10 metre rule into touch where it belongs. And that's just for starters.

i hope not, I know that AP has posted previously about the the relative lack of skill required to scoot successfully and therefore get on top of the opposing team. im hoping that his preference for a shortening of the retreat is based on skilll maximisation as opposed to (lack of) skill minimisation ie better attack rather than poor defence.

To go on a tangent then, are the defences harder to crack because of the physical intensity of the NRL vs SL? Or does it go further towards the academy and amateur games to junior and school level Rugby?

I don't think a strict two-man tackle rule is needed, but better policing of this area is definitely needed. Somebody mentioned on another thread about the possibility of touch judges getting the players back 10m, thus allowing the referee to get closer and manage things a little better. Either way, there has to be a way of stopping the way sides slow the play the ball down, particularly the use of three/four men in one tackle.

As for the 5m rule, I wouldn't like that. An intense defensive line being 10m away can be pretty difficult to play against and break down, giving them the extra 5m would nullify some of the expansive stuff, whilst I don't think it would necessarily reduce the slowing down at the PTB.

Stay with 10m and just stop the third and fourth man joining the tackle

No for me, however the problem lies with late incomers when it is clear forward momentum has already being stopped. Another unwarranted part of slowing the ptb down and should be penalised more to remove it (which also lessons injuries from such)
My reason for not wanting to get rid of gamag tackles is that when a player took some taking down the defence might have committed 4 tacklers to do so to stop his run, this would have been an advantage pretty much every time to the attacking team in days gone by. However in recent times tacklers are allowed to turn players over when effectively the tackle has already been made & not allowing the player up until the ref calls 'move', which is bollox IMO and always has been a carp rule. This nullifies good play for the most part (aka slowing down the ptb) and any advantage gained from it.

IF this was taken out of the game, ie you move away as soon as possible otherwise you're penalised then good forward efforts would be rewarded more thus defenders would have to seriously think about how many they commit to each tackle enabling them to stop the play.

Also it would be almost impossible to enforce a max 2 man tackle rule, given the object of the game is to stop the opposition gaining metres upfield to your try line human nature in respect to that basic rule would be extremely difficult to overcome especially if a Willie Manu type is pushing off or carrying two tacklers downfield with him and yet no-one could aid those 2 defenders until they pull him down.
It just isn't practical IMO and would make a mockery of the game.
It is a failing of the law makers & the officials, just tighten up what we have and penalise teams heavily consistantly for all the things that have been mentioned previously.

The Brisbane Broncos on Friday several times in the second half had two men hanging on to an attacking player who was able to make 10 yards plus after the initial tackle was made, because neither tackler had gone low - too concerned with preventing the pass. A third man was required in each case to come along and actually trip up the attacker by going low. You couldn't penalise that player for coming in, as the attacking player is clearly moving forward due to poor defensive technique by two defenders.

What probably can/should be looked at is the unnecessary third man into the tackle - i.e. tackled player falling/already stopped and a third man comes in just before the ref calls held. Basically Nathan Hindmarsh's tackling technique. That does lead to delays in the PTB which probably aren't deserved by the defending side, but I'm not sure how exactly it could be stopped unless refs call held earlier?

But surely thats what we are looking for. Defence should be punished for poor tackle technique and having 2 players hanging off a forward running through the line is poor defensive technique, the forwards has earned those extra 10metres, he has earned a quick ptb. Currently he will lose that quick ptb because despite poor defensive technique the defence get to slow the game down and reset themselves.

Can't go back to 5m, game's too quick now. I was suggesting a similar 2 man rule a couple of years ago. I'd like to see see 2 tacklers only in the opposition half, once the ball is carried past halfway you should be able to defend however you like.

Just leave the game alone.

There needs to be less tweaks, not more.

Some good ideas on here.

Id like to see outside of the 20 only one defender at the play the ball.

If you are gang tackling you have to work a bit harder and would create a few more gaps.

Often the last man on lines up to defend at the PTB whilst one of the original tacklers gets back 10.

And you wouldn't have a lot of those markers square penalties.

Why not take a player off each time a team scores. Or add another one for the team just scored against.

Make tackles one on one

Or forget about 5m and have the onside being the line the ball is played on.

Worst. Thread. Ever.