Quality in 2021

[Dunbar]

Before I go any further I will say I love the NRL and it is by far the best sporting league on the planet for me... the best league in the best sport.

But...

We are all used to how competitive the league is but there are some poor teams this year.  The first three games in round 4 have seen an average winning margin of 37 points and I don't think that is because the Panthers, Rabbitohs and Storm have stepped up a gear this year, it is far more about the Sea Eagles, Bulldogs and Broncos being really really poor.  I have to say, these three are about as bad as I have seen the Aussie league.  I know that the sport is becoming more and more about momentum and the law changes can create ever more imbalanced score lines but all three of those teams capitulate week after week (unless its the Broncos playing the Bulldogs like last week when an awful team beat a really awful team).

I worry because the league tends to get more imbalanced and the score lines start to blow out later in the year as teams start to lose personnel and the bigger and better squads show through.

[Graham]

It’s early days, but yes for me the gap between the best teams and the worst teams does seem to have widened. The new rules and the quickening up of the game does to me appear to have contributed to this.

Presumably the new rules were to appeal to spectators and especially the tv audiences. Trouble is if the gap between the best and worse continues, games could become more open but less competitive. Generally speaking the close run thing between two closely matched teams increases the tension and enjoyment for the viewer. So the new rules could be a double edged sword.

Its not a good image for the game to see a number of uncompetitive teams turning out each week.

[Farmduck]

It's a self-entrenching result of the player market. Players will take a $100K pay cut to go to a serious contender and there are only probably 4 serious contenders. (This is not to ignore the excellent recruitment done by some of the clubs.) Then the weaker clubs have to pay more for any "star" they can get which weakens their capacity to surround that star with a good team. The best example of this was the Cowboys back when they bought Thurston. Or Wests, when fan sentiment insisted we keep Benji and Farah despite both being past their use-by dates and soaking up 30% of the salary cap between them.

Look how easy it is for Storm and Roosters to sign players. Teddy took $200K less than Wests offered him to join the Chooks. Papenhuyzen couldn't get out the door fast enough. Ryan Matterson was our Player of the Year and left at the first opportunity.

The other point is that, given the standard of the current top teams, who would Wests or Doggies buy that would make up the gap? Even the Broncos can't field a decent 6 and 7.

[DavidM]

Its a really evident feature of things . The league used to pride itself on depth , competitiveness week to week and a measure fluidity in the league from year to year . Bottom to top or vice versa they’d say .  Now it looks more like SL , there’s some average stuff now and 6 or 7 teams you can lock in for the pointy end 

[Dunbar]

1 hour ago, Graham said:

Generally speaking the close run thing between two closely matched teams increases the tension and enjoyment for the viewer.

This is the crux of it for me. Last week we saw a really close game between the Raiders an Warriors... In part because the Raiders lost personnel and failing to defend a dominant lead.

But immediately the authorities look to rectify this by proving an 18th man so that type of drama at the end would be less likely. 

In general, I tend not to care who wins week by week (with the exception of wanting the Brits to do well). But if a score hits 30+ advantage I drift off a little... a tight finish though will always keep my attention.

It seems to me that the sport is trying to achieve perfection at the expense of entertainment and drama.

[unapologetic pedant]

11 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

It seems to me that the sport is trying to achieve perfection at the expense of entertainment and drama.

"Entertainment and drama" are matters of individual preference.

If we divide games up into - open and one-sided, tight and close, open and close, tight and one-sided - only the latter category is a problem for me since it reflects a reluctance or inability to entertain on the part of the winning team. Anything in the first 3 categories is fine by me.

Moreover, those classifications are superficial when applied to a whole game. Scorelines can mislead. We often see all 4 permutations at different periods in the same game.

Personally, I`m loving this year`s NRL. I don`t watch all of every game so there`s an element of general impression at play, but I`m  sure there are more off-loads, particularly late ones through fewer premature "Held" calls, and officials are playing on more rather than covering their backs.

[Dunbar]

26 minutes ago, unapologetic pedant said:

"Entertainment and drama" are matters of individual preference.

If we divide games up into - open and one-sided, tight and close, open and close, tight and one-sided - only the latter category is a problem for me since it reflects a reluctance or inability to entertain on the part of the winning team. Anything in the first 3 categories is fine by me.

Moreover, those classifications are superficial when applied to a whole game. Scorelines can mislead. We often see all 4 permutations at different periods in the same game.

Personally, I`m loving this year`s NRL. I don`t watch all of every game so there`s an element of general impression at play, but I`m  sure there are more off-loads, particularly late ones through fewer premature "Held" calls, and officials are playing on more rather than covering their backs.

Yes, I am very happy to agree that entertainment and drama are entirely subjective.

However, when we look at the NRL this year compared to last, for the games played to date there have been half as many again this year that have had a 20 point plus winning margin (11 in 2021 vs. 7 last year) and twice as many that have had a 30 point plus winning margin (6 vs. 3).

It may well be that the high score lines are more entertaining than the close one's, both of us are a sample of one and so we cannot really say one way or the other.

What I will say though (as I said at the beginning) is that I strongly believe that the bigger score lines are due to the losing teams getting worse and not the winning teams getting better.

What I do agree with is that I am also enjoying the NRL this year... I always do.

[Clogiron]

The 4 teams off the pace are the one's everybody expected, and that was down to poor coaches, weak playing rosters, poor attitude and application shown in the past. The last three are attributed to the first, the only suprise to me is that the Dragons aren't amongst them, but they usually fall off the pace later in the season anyway.

[anjado]

The problem with the game is that between the years of 2006-2020 the game became incredibly bogged down and slow.

This was a direct result of journalists complaining that the game was too fast despite the fact that 2002-05 provided some of the best football in the history of Australian Rugby League. 

Some teams still haven't adjusted to the new rules.

Manly - They waste four tackles a set on one out hit up's trying to run one big play which the opposition knows is coming and can easily stop. It's no surprise their try against Penrith came off the back of a good offload early in the tackle count Penrith weren't ready for it at all due to the fact they hadn't done that all match and were just waiting for the next one out hit-up.

Also their players are overweight and unfit and not having a dummy half is ludicrous. 

Bulldogs - Can't settle on a halves pairing, playing the same as Manly just trying to complete sets without doing anything. If you watched the game today the Bulldogs front rowers actually played well and got over the advantage line. But again they use up 4 tackles trying to set up for one play which the opposition knows is coming. They only looked good when they got the ball to Cotric early.

Cowboys - See above got to wait to see what happens when Taumololo comes back and the game they played against the dragons was a decent if mistake prone game. Their spine is quite weak.

Broncos - Aren't fit can compete for 40 minutes a game against good sides and 60 minutes against middling teams. If they improve their fitness they should get better. 

Tigers - Make silly errors but they aren't so bad if they can cut down on them they will do alright. should improve.

Dragons - Hunt being out is a shame, but they have improved and actually seem to be competent.

Everyone else is fairly good, the others should get better but they need work. The top teams are great it's just a shame about the injuries.

 

[unapologetic pedant]

6 hours ago, Farmduck said:

Look how easy it is for Storm and Roosters to sign players. Teddy took $200K less than Wests offered him to join the Chooks. Papenhuyzen couldn't get out the door fast enough. Ryan Matterson was our Player of the Year and left at the first opportunity.

Your description of successful clubs repeatedly signing the acknowledged best of other clubs only really applies to the Roosters. Even with them, it`s not the decisive factor.

How many of the Storm`s current squad would the Tigers have been keen on before they proved themselves at the Storm? Didn`t Tigers deem Pap too small to make it? Thus he went to a club with a coach who thought he could. Likewise, weren`t they mildly indifferent to Josh Addo-Carr making a similar move?

Tigers lose Ryan Matterson to Parra. Panthers lose RCG to Parra. -what`s the difference there?

[unapologetic pedant]

57 minutes ago, anjado said:

Manly - They waste four tackles a set on one out hit up's trying to run one big play which the opposition knows is coming and can easily stop. It's no surprise their try against Penrith came off the back of a good offload early in the tackle count Penrith weren't ready for it at all due to the fact they hadn't done that all match and were just waiting for the next one out hit-up. 

Bulldogs - Can't settle on a halves pairing, playing the same as Manly just trying to complete sets without doing anything. If you watched the game today the Bulldogs front rowers actually played well and got over the advantage line. But again they use up 4 tackles trying to set up for one play which the opposition knows is coming. They only looked good when they got the ball to Cotric early.

What you`re essentially outlining here is two teams playing without confidence in themselves and each other. When either play against a team who are playing with confidence in themselves and each other, the contrast blows out the scoreline.

I looked down the team lists for Sea-Eagles v Panthers before Thursday`s game. There was little if any difference in natural talent to the aggregate of match-ups. 

Nelson Asofa-Solomona is continually looking for offloads this year. Put him in the current Manly team and he`d clam up and just grind out the yards.