NRL fans better get used to watching blowouts like the game’s not-so-super Saturday just gone, says footy’s top dog Peter V’landys, because new rules are “going nowhere.”
Ah yes, just what footy fans wanted to hear.
On Saturday, arguments around the NRL’s lopsided scores came to a head. The Sea Eagles blew the Bulldogs away, 66–0, before the Titans hammered the Raiders, and the Knights kept the Cowboys to nil. All in all, Saturday’s winning teams dished up 148 points. Just one try was scored in reply.
Two days earlier, chins had already started wagging. Two contenders — the Storm and Roosters — had locked horns for what promised to be a scintillating playoffs preview. Only, it was all one-way traffic; Melbourne romped home 46–0 victors.
Then, to close out the round, the Rabbitohs put the Tigers to the sword at Leichhardt Oval, with Wests struggling to score before Souths clocked out at half-time.
These monster wins are no surprise either.
This year, one in five premiership games end with a margin of more than 30 points between the winning and losing team. Nearly 10 percent actually creep closer to 40 as the winning margin, and just 22.2% are decided by less than six points.
Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse… #NRL #NRLAnalytics pic.twitter.com/pajs0sqkzj
— Fanalytics (@NRLFanalytics) July 2, 2021
No one seems to be enjoying it either, with players and fans alike expressing their disinterest in the game at the moment. Not many are happy.
They’re just going to have to get used to it though, says rugby league’s modern don Peter V’landys; these new NRL rules “aren’t going anywhere” any time soon.
“A lot of people are blaming the six-again,” V’landys said.
“No doubt six-again is a contributing factor. I don’t disagree. But there’s a multitude of reasons.”
To counter the murmurs from the weekend, rugby league’s chief pointed to the explosive rise of the game’s biggest superstars at the moment. Nathan Cleary, Latrell Mitchell, Tom Trbojevic are all shining bright under the new NRL regime.
Except, that’s just a pocket of stars, isn’t it Peter?
Outside backs and flashy halves have risen to the surface, yes, but solid defence seems a thing of the past — just look at Manly’s second-half boilover against the Titans three weeks ago — and Rolls Royce forwards like Jason Taumalolo, David Klemmer, and even Tom’s brother Jake Trbojevic seem to have run out of engine.
He’s got an answer for that too though.
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“The teams have to adjust,” V’landys says.
“I think it’s highlighted the best teams and the best-coached teams. It’s made the game more open and faster. The three factors were: stop the wrestle, speed up the ruck and bring in fatigue. Well, the six-again has certainly achieved that.”
And in response to calls to scrap the rules, V’landys was short: “No.”
He is already preparing for a review at the end of the year, where they’ll look at every top and tail of the rules, the underlying numbers, and the unrest seeping through rugby league like a wave at the moment. But that isn’t happening just yet.
“There’s an element of fans that don’t like it,” he continued, “but you’ve got others who tell me to stick solid with it at the moment, and don’t back down.”
