Rugby League Coaching Manuals

By Gary Roberts, RLCM - A truly great game to watch. Why? It was intense.  The scores seesawed and the play was from one end to the other.  The momentum changed between the teams and due to the closeness of the scores, the result was in the balance until the 80th minute. RLCMtv below

RLCM statistics show there were 17 penalties and 17 knock-ons in the game which consisted of 79 sets, so why was the game so good?

The ruck was extremely fast all night for both teams.  The majority of PTBs were in the vicinity of four to five seconds, beginning from point of collision to the DH pass.  This speed in the ruck was constant throughout the 80 minutes.

Can this constant ruck speed be put down to the second referee?

The question could be asked, ‘Did the quick ruck lead to the large number of knock-ons?’  The passing was very flat in the middle.

Or maybe was it due to it being the first game of the year with players still seeking to get their timing right in the hot and humid conditions at Suncorp on Friday night.

Another interesting stat from this game was that no repeat set was earned by a kick or pressure created on the 5th play.

The repeat sets only came from a penalty or from receiving the ball back after scoring points.

The Broncos deserved the win albeit by one point, although there was nothing much between the teams.  The Broncos just made fewer mistakes; the Cowboys gave them too much ball in good field position.

The Cowboys at times looked the better team and after hitting the front 18 minutes into the second half, it seemed they might go on with it, but they just dropped too much ball in their own half, thus restricting them to that end of the field for the majority of the next 22 minutes.  However, credit must go to the Cowboys’ defence as they defended their errors right to the end.

It was a good game to watch even with all the penalties, the dropped ball and both teams not being able to achieve positive field position.

Maybe the game has taken a new course with the policing of the ruck by one of the two referees or maybe it was just a hot and humid night for the first game of the season at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

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