RL1908 - Rugby League Football History

Fabric of the Game Being Eroded

The 'play-the-ball' is now heading the same way as the scrum - a joke.

Have a close look at the next NRL game you can - and really focus upon the play-the-ball. Watch what the attacker is doing and compare it to the rules.

While the defenders have to do everything correct or risk being penalised, the attackers are getting away with completely ignoring the rules - and with it they get a distinct advantage over the defence.

We all know that the marker is no longer allowed to strike for the football, so the attackers have got it easy when it comes to playing the ball back to the dummy-half. But of late, the NRL and the referees have let the play-the-ball become a nonsense.

Because the attacker is breaking the rules, the attack is getting too much of an advantage over the defence. This widens the gulf between teams with the best players and those near the bottom of the table.

If the attacker was required to play-the-ball as the rules set out, it would slow it down just enough to give the defence more of a chance. As it is, all the penalties run with the attacking side in modern Rugby League. It is the defenders who must play to the rules while the attackers can ignore them.

OK, so the referees are yelling out "lost his legs!" when the tackle is deemed to be dominant or if the attacker has yielded/dived to the ground, to give the tacklers a bit longer to clear the ruck. None of this rubbish would be needed if the attacker had to actually rise to his feet and play-the-ball properly - and I am not just talking about raking it back with his foot (which few do!).

The ARL's Rule Book currently states "...the tackled player shall without delay regain his feet where he was tackled, lift the ball clear off the ground, face his opponent's goal line and drop or place the ball on the ground in front of his foremost foot. The tackled player may not play the ball before the players effecting the tackle have had time to clear the ruck. When the ball touches the ground it must be heeled backwards by the tackled player."

Are attackers meeting the Australian Rugby League's own rules?

Q1. Do they "regain their feet"? Watch if the foot being used to play the ball has at anytime been placed on the ground before the ball is raked (or rolled) backwards. Players have been trained to get up on one leg and play the ball with the other. The only time they regain their feet is AFTER the ball has been played. Ever see a penalty for this breach?

Q2. Do they "lift the ball clear off the ground"? Most players plant the ball on the ground and push up off it to get up. Few regain their feet and lift the ball clear off the ground. Rarely do we see a penalty for this breach.

Q3. Do they "place the ball on the ground in front of his foremost foot"? Given what the attackers are doing in Q1 and Q2, this is not easy to do! The ball is rarely placed in front of their foremost foot! Ever see a penalty for this breach?

Meanwhile if the markers don't stand one behind the other, which is difficult given the speed that the play-the-ball is carried out by ignoring the rules, the referee is quite happy to penalise the defending team. The attackers can stand right alongside their dummy-half but the defenders' 2nd marker must get back. The attackers can play-the-ball incorrectly and earn a penalty against the tacklers or markers. How is that fair?

All right, we don't want to see a game full of penalties. But why is it only the defenders who have to play to the rules? The above three breaches are easy to detect. All it would take is the release of a warning letter to all clubs and then start enforcing the rules. Not hard is it?

Fair enough that scrums have been allowed to detoriate when it comes to enforcing the rules - even an immaculate rugby union scrum will still produce the ball being won by the feeding team - scrums are far less frequent these days anyway. But play-the-balls are not - there are more of them than ever. Plus, they are where games are being won and lost.

Allowing the obligations upon the attacker to be ignored is detoriating the fabric of the game itself. Some balance must be returned so that attack and defence have an even start after each tackle.