Uncategorized – Rugby League Strategy

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Chanel Harris-Tavita a real no-looker

I haven’t seen much of the Warriors number 7 but in Round 1 he impressed me with a range of well executed no-look passes. Check out the following clips (best watched at half speed) and see how he sets up his runners by maintaining eye contact as he accelerates towards the defensive line. Several timesContinue reading “Chanel Harris-Tavita a real no-looker”

Scrums 2021

Introduced last year centre field scrums resulted in a number of tries where teams failed to defend 4 v 4 (article – defending centre field scrums). With a whole off-season to plan I was interested to see what coaches would deliver in round 1. Scrum Attack – The Trap and Wrap I noticed a newContinue reading “Scrums 2021”

Grand Final Review – Take Your Chances & Defend Your Errors

I really wanted Penrith to win the GF (prefer underdogs/new winners) but they met a committed Melbourne defence which held them to zero points at half time. For me at this point the GF was over – no favourite up 22 points at half time had ever been run down in the last 10 yearsContinue reading “Grand Final Review – Take Your Chances & Defend Your Errors”

Interesting Stuff – Round 19

Play of the Week I liked this variation on the block play by the West Tigers Lots of players crossing lines hold the defence in tight followed by some nice ball play by Eisenhuth – the elaborate first dummy brings Munster in and he can’t release (great line by Garner as well who somehow managesContinue reading “Interesting Stuff – Round 19”

Defending Centre Field Scrums – Strategy Fail or Execution Fail?

Last night I was pleased to see Souths lining up 4 v 4 on the non-feed side of centre field scrums. Then this happened: I was concerned with this try given my push for this defensive setup. So was this a strategic fail or execution fail? I’m going to argue for the latter (self-interest anyone?)Continue reading “Defending Centre Field Scrums – Strategy Fail or Execution Fail?”

Interesting Stuff – Rounds 17-18

Favourite play of the week – Scissors play cuts Dragons This next try came after a long delay from a bunker referral so the Raiders had plenty of time to set this up. After a long shift the magic happens. Whitehead and Wighton execute a ‘scissors’ change in direction which has them slice straight through.Continue reading “Interesting Stuff – Rounds 17-18”

Ruck holes

Everyone knows by now for the dummy half to take advantage of 1 marker situations but are there opportunities if this is not the case? Late in the tackle count middle forwards get tired and forget to close gaps coming from the inside in defence – especially the ‘A’ gap on the other side ofContinue reading “Ruck holes”

Interesting Stuff – Round 16

Do the unexpected Manly’s Jake Trbojevic kick for the winger went unrewarded even though it was a great tactic. Even Josh Addo-Carr with his speed was burnt. Over-chasing from marker will get you into trouble eventually Justin Olam is an enthusiastic player who looks like he leaves everything out there. I’ve noticed he loves toContinue reading “Interesting Stuff – Round 16”

Defending Centre Field Scrums

Introduced this season the option for a Centre Field scrum position has opened up exciting attacking options. With a standard field width of 68 metres this gives the attacking side the chance to setup flank attacking plays covering 34 metres. What I’m struggling to understand is why teams are choosing a 3/3 split in defenceContinue reading “Defending Centre Field Scrums”

Interesting Stuff – Round 15

Run-around variation I think the run-around is an under-utilised effective play and I will be adding a post in the near future on its use. In the Raiders vs Titans game I loved the below variation: In the first photo usually there is a fullback out the back but because there isn’t the defensive lineContinue reading “Interesting Stuff – Round 15”

Corner Trap – The Great Escape

A strongly applauded strategy is to kick deep into the corner to trap the attacker inside their 10 close to the sideline. From here attacking options are extremely limited (eg passing open side with few attacking players back on-side) allowing defences to compress and target 1 runner. The first carry from this position is oneContinue reading “Corner Trap – The Great Escape”

Interesting Stuff – Round 14

Short kick-off variations – Manly The above sequence is a good variation on the more typical style pop the ball high in the air for winger to catch short kick-off. Garrick does a great job of concealment with a last second inside-out kick. It was only a wicked bounce and desperation by Ponga that preventedContinue reading “Interesting Stuff – Round 14”

Bomb Defusal – Risk Management Part 2

In this article we will cover bomb defusal which is another area where I feel risk could be better managed in the NRL (previous article: what can Dane Gagai teach us about risk management). We all know teams with the best defence regularly contest finals matches – so why do I consistently observe poor defenceContinue reading “Bomb Defusal – Risk Management Part 2”

“We come in peace” – preparing for first contact

We hear a lot these days about run metre domination and in particular post contact metres – what if I were to tell you non-contact metres is a better predictor of game margin. Say Wut? Yep the run metre metrics you see reported actually has sub-categories. The two most popular are: Post contact metres –Continue reading ““We come in peace” – preparing for first contact”

What can Dane Gagai teach us about Risk Management?

Risk management refers to: “the practice of identifying potential risks in advance, analyzing them and taking precautionary steps to reduce/curb the risk.” In rugby league the risks we are worried about are those that lead to the concession of points – the most basic of which is your opponent having the ball. So how do we minimise opponent havingContinue reading “What can Dane Gagai teach us about Risk Management?”