It's a few days after the event, but this article from the SMH on Friday is worth discussing.
The effect of penalties is more significant than ever before: as the article says, one in three tries now result from penalties (and this is without considering the repeat sets gained and the subsequent tries or the significant tiring of the opposition defence from having to defend multiple sets).
Curiously, this does not seem to be deciding matches: home teams are faring better than they have over recent years and the Cowboys - Melbourne game went Melbourne's way despite a huge penalty count against them (although it is hard to imagine any other team defending as well as Melbourne did and overcoming such a hurdle). But as the game continues to get faster and the emphasis on speed from dummy half increases, surely the relationship between penalties and results will strengthen.
A possible solution is to "grade" penalties. This could be done where the penalty for more minor infringements is merely a re-start of the tackle count, rather than a long kick downfield.
Or, offences could be graded and a set metre penalty could be enforced (as is the case in the NFL). Sure, the grading of offences could be difficult and having the on-field referee to determine the grade whilst carrying out so many other duties could prove a troublesome task, but it would overcome the current situation, where a penalty received in the middle of the field usually results in further yardage gained than a penalty received near the sideline.
Also, the yardage gained from a penalty would not be contingent on the quality of kick or the weather conditions (i.e. a strong wind) on the day.
Whatever the solution, something must be done in this area and done soon, otherwise the pressure on referees (and the importance of their decisions) will only increase: that can't be good for the game.
Monday 5 May 2008
Penalties: does the punishment now exceed the crime?
Round 8: A Lyrical Roundup
Even though Round 8 of this year's NRL competition provided us with two exciting games from ANZ Stadium at Homebush, the major event of the weekend at the Olympic Precinct was without doubt the Foo Fighters concerts at the adjoining Acer Arena.
Let it be stated that the Tuesday Roast is not one to ignore the sentiments of the people, so instead of the standard dry discourse, this week's edition will borrow heavily from the world of music.
But instead of describing each of last weekend's games via the pen of Dave Grohl, the lyrical link to Round 8 will come from another multifaceted (and, indeed, multi-group) musician: Mike Patton. Or, more particularly, the most famous band with which he is associated.
Ladies and Gentlemen, your Round 8 roundup is brought to you by Faith No More.
"It shouldn't bother me, no, It shouldn't, no no, It shouldn't bother me, It shouldn't but it does!"
(from A Small Victory, off Angel Dust (1992)).
While the Foo Fighters were performing for a full house on Saturday night, the Tigers and Brisbane game took place in a far emptier facility just metres away. Despite the small crowd, it was a highly entertaining game. Brisbane eventually won comfortably, but the Tigers gave them a few uncomfortable minutes late in the game.
Still, neither coach was pleased after the game. A Small Victory is about the competitive instincts engendered into a son by his father, followed by the realisation that no matter how strong this competitiveness, victory can not always be achieved. Both Brisbane's Wayne Bennett and Wests' Tim Sheens are father-like figures to their teams and were disappointed in post-match correspondence.
A losing coach is rarely happy, but this was perhaps the Tigers' best effort of the year to date. Sure, they allowed Brisbane to score too often with little difficulty, especially after coming close to putting points on at the other end, but they often stretched one of the NRL's best defences: a significant achievement for a team learning to play without their best player and who also lost a major cog (Todd Payten) very early on.
Meanwhile, Brisbane had every right to be very happy with their effort. Their ability to respond after pressure showing little to no signs of fatigue was exemplary, better than it has been for several seasons. Karmichael Hunt returned from injury and caused the Tigers problems for much of the game, while Peter Wallace took over from a struggling Darren Lockyer and led the team well and Sam Thaiday had a dominant game up front. Lastly, Ben Hannant did well to deceive all officials and earn a penalty from the half-way line, despite incorrectly executing the "make the kickoff go dead" procedure.
Despite the post-match comments from the coaches, both teams should be fairly happy with how they performed. However, the same cannot be said of Penrith and Parramatta...
From the bottom, it looks like a steep incline, from the top, another downhill slope of mine, but I know…an equilibrium's there
(from Falling to Pieces, off the Real Thing (1989)).
Both of Western Sydney's major teams are notorious for being wildly inconsistent. Over the course of a season - or even a game or a half - they can touch dizzying highs and despairing lows. This game had it all: for both teams.
The first 10 or so minutes favoured the visitors. Some strong play by Penrith was prevented from being converted into points, before a very easy try due to pathetic Penrith goal line defence.
The remainder of the first half saw Penrith dominate. They scored two tries - to Civoniceva and Puletua - added a penalty goal and could have had several other tries. Despite no evidence of either defender getting hands under the ball, Nathan Smith was judged to have been held up over the line late in the first half. Clearly, this was the referee's initial decision before it was sent to the video referee (who could not decide either way) but how this initial decision was arrived at is a mystery to anyone who watched the game.
The first 10 minutes of the second half saw more bad luck come Penrith's way, as Michael Gordon's failure to fully know the possession-in-goal rule saw him expend a significant amount of energy in setting up a try for Luke Priddis which was never going to be awarded. To compound matters, Parramatta scored soon after, despite Brett Finch appearing to have come extremely close to being tackled before passing the ball out. The ensuing kick-and-hope took a very fortuitous bounce, leading to a Nathan Hindmarsh try.
Hindmarsh was overjoyed and rightly so: after another poor first half, his lucky try meant Parramatta was only down 2 points. From here, Parramatta provided what has become their standard 10 minutes of playing somewhere near potential: however, a downcast Panthers' team allowed the suddenly ebullient Eels far too many offloads and 3 long-range tries was the result.
With the game virtually won, Parramatta eased off and allowed Penrith a late try, but the failure to convert the try secured the win. In contrast to Wayne Bennett, Parramatta coach Michael Hagan was quite happy with his team's effort. Parramatta's next opponent is the Dragons: an intriguing matchup of teams who rarely play at their potential and of nice-guy but lame-duck coaches. I bet Nathan Brown wishes he had Johns, Buderus and Simpson at his disposal for his first 6 seasons of coaching...
Speaking of the famous Knights' troika, they were all absent from Newcastle's lineup as they took on the Gold Coast on Saturday night. But, incredibly, despite these big name absences, Newcastle was favourite to win. To again borrow from Faith No More:
Cause you come from out of nowhere, my glance turns to a stare
(from From Out of Nowhere, off the Real Thing (1989)).
Both Newcastle and the Gold Coast have impressed and surprised NRL watchers thus far this season. Neither team was expected to do much; in fact, many picked either of these teams for wooden spoon contention. Gold Coast was looking for their 6th win in succession, while Newcastle was looking to build upon their last start comeback win over the Roosters with their third win in four matches at home.
Newcastle coach Brian Smith has often achieved major results coming off a bye and he clearly had his team drilled for a big-time scalp. Their defence was very quick off-the-mark and gave the talented Titans little time to make plays. This was the basis for a first-half domination of field position and then possession, as tries to Naiqama and Mullen gave Newcastle a 12-nil half-time lead.
But as Gold Coast started to receive more attacking field position, their excellent kicking game resulted in a host of repeat sets. The Newcastle defence showed great resilience to turn away one of the best attacks in the NRL so far this season, but eventually Scott Prince set up 2 late tries and it was only further determined Newcastle defence and a fortunate penalty or two which gave Newcastle a famous win. This win was even more special due to having lost their last 9 games without Buderus.
The New Zealand Warriors don't have one player as influential as Buderus, but were without a number of important players for their game against Canberra on Sunday. However, their cause was helped by torrential rain in Auckland for much of the day. Canberra's comically high error count and extremely low completion rate was in stark contrast to the almost-perfect display of wet weather rugby league by the Warriors. It may well have been perfect, except for one of the more incredible penalty kick bloopers you will ever see...
It's always funny until someone gets hurt and then it's just hilarious
(from Ricochet off King For a Day (1995)).
Canberra's tragic inability to hold on to the ball for a sustained period, followed up by further mistakes as they tried in vain to chase down the Warriors, meant this was a very one-sided 14-6 win. It may have been more if the usually brilliant Michael Witt kicked a penalty goal late in the game. Instead, he incredibly miscued so badly that the kicking tee went further than the ball and Witt was left to nurse a sore leg after kicking the ground with such intensity. A more unlikely mistake will not be seen for many years.
The final two games of the weekend have a strong association with mistakes. Souths have made plenty of mistakes in their winless start to the season (including the unfortunate alcohol episode from last weekend), but their opponents on Sunday - the Cowbores - have had an uncharisterically slow start to the season.
A possible mistake the Cowbores made before this game was to decide to play Matt Bowen. Bowen was originally named in the team, before pulling out on Friday due to further knee soreness. This decision was then overturned on the weekend. Bowen had a solid game, but his knee injury was apparent at times, but interestingly, the Cowbores' loss on Sunday meant they are just 1 win and 4 losses this season with Bowen in the lineup (compared to 2 wins and 0 losses without him).
However, the more likely contributing factor to the Cowbores' loss was their massive effort in trying to overhaul Melbourne last weekend. In this game, their defence, crispness, intensity and all-round effort was far higher than in most games. To play at such a level only to lose by 2 points, then to lose Lilyman to suspension and have several players backing up from City v Country was always going to make a trip to Sydney against a spirited team such as Souths very difficult.
Awakened by the sun light, victimised by last night, memories flashing through my head, was I just born or am I dead?
(from The Morning After, off the Real Thing (1989)).
That said, the Cowbores looked very strong in the game's first 10 and final 10 minutes, more so than they often look when they play in Sydney (when the Cowbores moniker is far more apt). But in the intervening 60 minutes, the Rabbitohs' relentless effort eventually wore down the resistance of the Cowbores. The usual number of Souths' errors (including several kicks out on the full) were not dwelled on; instead they were shrugged off and continued defensive vigour and liberal dosings of speed in attack got them home.
Last and least, it was the City v Country Origin game from Wollongong. This relic continues to be a fixture on the representative schedule, and incredibly was brought back from the dead in 2002, despite marginal interest from most. One game in a "regional" centre is not enough to make up for years of neglect for Country Rugby League...
That's why I'm easy, I'm easy like Sunday morning
(from Easy off Angel Dust (1992), but originally by The Commodores (1977)).
Most supporters are over this game and over their long-time relationship with this game. Even many players are indifferent or even against this game; they "just want to be free to know the things they do are right".
That's enough lyrics for now. City overcame the considerable handicap of having Corey Hughes in their team to come back from a 16-6 half-time deficit and led by 6 with under 10 minutes to go.
City looked to have all the momentum, but after Todd Carney hit a gap and scored under the posts, the game was tied at 22 and a field goal shootout started....and stopped at the 80 minute mark.
An antiquated concept decided (or not decided, as it may be interpreted) by an antiquated method. Despite the initial empty feeling, this was probably an entirely appropriate outcome, especially with the lack of clarity provided by the game for a host of key NSW State of Origin positions.
On that confused note, regular service will resume next week.
