Rugby League Coaching Manuals

“A player is either physically involved or around the ball for less
than 10% of the game.”

“It’s the other 90% that determines whether they are a good player
or not,” Gould said.

With this in mind, it is no wonder that the concept is looked into
extensively, particularly by first grade clubs where individual
players are being paid large sums of money.

NRL teams have methods of recording how well their players work off-the-ball.

“They take a lot of wide-angle camera shots of their team in both
attack and defence to see what players are doing. The coverage
that you see on television isn’t a good indication of a player’s off the- ball capabilities because the camera primarily follows the path
of the play.

“Coaches should attend as many of the games as possible and pay special attention to what other sides are doing off-the-ball.”

Teams should have calls purely for off-the-ball play, reminding
players to be in their position either in defence or in attack. But as Gould states, off-the-ball play can involve a lot of anticipation,
the player anticipates where they have to be in defence to shut
down the opposing side’s play, or in attack by positioning himself
so that he can hit the gap or be in a position to support the tackled
player.

Off-the-ball play can pertain to an individual position. For instance, forwards are going to be positioning themselves in order to make space for the backs.

Likewise, the backs will have to position themselves in accordance with what direction the forwards are taking the play.

Off-the-ball play has been present ever since the game has been
played, however, it is only recently that it has come to be recognised as a vital coaching concern.

Players should also work on their off-the-ball play, as Gould says,

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