Another major event tomorrow night
Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 11:38 am
Yes, for those that follow the NRL, the grand final is on tomorrow night. Should be a great game and although I'm an Easts supporter via a club membership of a club that was bought out by Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club, I'm sort of hoping Canberra get up at the end of a very close game, better odds for them if they win 
For those that don't understand the game, I'll try to mud map some of the play to make it maybe easier to understand and worth watching to see just how tough these blokes have to be to get back up after some of the solid tackles. Some jumping to catch the ball when it's kicked but they don't stand back and let them have a free shot if they catch it on the full. The other side isn't allowed to tackle them while they are still in the air but if both players are in the air they can wrestle for the ball. Once the player touches the ground the hands off rule is over, just can't imagine the other game's players being able to handle that bit of the game. If a player looses control of the ball and it hits another player or the ground it is called a knock on and the team looses the possession of the ball to the other team. There is a rather grey area here, if the player looked to have been trying to move the ball forward either deliberately or by accident unless it was from the boot, even if the ball goes backward it is considered a forward movement. Some of the passes can look way forward due to the camera angle and others look not be forward but are ruled forward .... a grey area that is part of the referees call and assisted by the lines people, the only one with flags 2 referees on the ground now, one at each end, the single ref just couldn't last the distance because the game is so fast these days. Often the on field ref will ask the video ref to watch a questionable try in slow motion from just about every angle you can imagine, but their call on the ground stands unless there is obvious evidence of a rule being broken that the on field referee didn't see.
The only way the ball is allowed to go forward of the controlling player is off the boot and it must be picked up or caught cleanly, no fumbling, or that is counted as a knock on. After 5 tackles the controlling team must either kick the footy or hand it over to the other team, so kicking is the preferred option. They can kick earlier than the 5th tackle to throw the other team off the expected game play. There is a play called a 40/20, where the ball must be kick from either the 20 mtr or 40 mtr line in the attacking teams territory and it must go out over the touch line (but not over the try line) past the 40 mtr or 20 mtr line (depending which it was kicked from) on the defenders end of the ground. If the attacking team can do this they gain the scrum feed for the resulting play of a ball going over the side line. If a player is touching the ball and touches the side line the ball is considered to have crossed the side line, rather different to the other game.
To score points they player must remain in control of the ball, remain on side so there is no forward movement so they must be behind the kicker when the kick is made, and they must put downward pressure with the hand the other side of the try line. The opposing team must give them 10 metres space when the ball is played after a tackle is called held by the referee, unless the attacking team is within 10 mtrs of the defending teams try line. Then the defending team must stay behind the try line until the ball is played.
A ball kicked over the bar and between the posts during the run of play is worth 1 point. The ball kicked over the bar and between the posts after a try or as a result of winning a penalty is worth 2 point. No points for getting close, it's either above the bar and between the posts or it's worth nothing but boo's from the crowd.
As for the scrums, an absolute farce compared to what they were once, but one of those trade offs for the 5 tackle rule. The team that wins the scrum feed gets to put the ball into the second row and the players can not break from the pack until the referee calls the ball is clear of the pack. The side in control of the ball within the scrum pack can hold the ball within the scrum pack to dispute the run of play.
There are all sorts of time limits on how long certain actions can take and these attract a penalty against the team that took too long.
A very fast and tough game played in 2 x 40 min parts, this should be a great game, not the one sided affair so many of the AFL grand finals seem to be lately. Worth taking the time to watch and attempt to follow using the mud map guide I just gave you. There are all sorts of other infringements like head high tackles, dangerous tackles when the player is lifted off the ground and driven down head first and deliberate attacks on an opposing player when they don't have the ball and these can attract a penalty, the player going on report to the tribunal or even sent to the sin bin for 10 mins causing that team to be a player short till the time penalty has been served. They don't even have to punch the other players lights out like the old days, a slap to the face or head seems to be enough, a bit over the top in my mind but they needed to settle the violence on the field down a bit because it was being reflected in the fans actions with very nasty results.
Hope you enjoy watching the game
T1 Terry
For those that don't understand the game, I'll try to mud map some of the play to make it maybe easier to understand and worth watching to see just how tough these blokes have to be to get back up after some of the solid tackles. Some jumping to catch the ball when it's kicked but they don't stand back and let them have a free shot if they catch it on the full. The other side isn't allowed to tackle them while they are still in the air but if both players are in the air they can wrestle for the ball. Once the player touches the ground the hands off rule is over, just can't imagine the other game's players being able to handle that bit of the game. If a player looses control of the ball and it hits another player or the ground it is called a knock on and the team looses the possession of the ball to the other team. There is a rather grey area here, if the player looked to have been trying to move the ball forward either deliberately or by accident unless it was from the boot, even if the ball goes backward it is considered a forward movement. Some of the passes can look way forward due to the camera angle and others look not be forward but are ruled forward .... a grey area that is part of the referees call and assisted by the lines people, the only one with flags
2 referees on the ground now, one at each end, the single ref just couldn't last the distance because the game is so fast these days. Often the on field ref will ask the video ref to watch a questionable try in slow motion from just about every angle you can imagine, but their call on the ground stands unless there is obvious evidence of a rule being broken that the on field referee didn't see.The only way the ball is allowed to go forward of the controlling player is off the boot and it must be picked up or caught cleanly, no fumbling, or that is counted as a knock on. After 5 tackles the controlling team must either kick the footy or hand it over to the other team, so kicking is the preferred option. They can kick earlier than the 5th tackle to throw the other team off the expected game play. There is a play called a 40/20, where the ball must be kick from either the 20 mtr or 40 mtr line in the attacking teams territory and it must go out over the touch line (but not over the try line) past the 40 mtr or 20 mtr line (depending which it was kicked from) on the defenders end of the ground. If the attacking team can do this they gain the scrum feed for the resulting play of a ball going over the side line. If a player is touching the ball and touches the side line the ball is considered to have crossed the side line, rather different to the other game.
To score points they player must remain in control of the ball, remain on side so there is no forward movement so they must be behind the kicker when the kick is made, and they must put downward pressure with the hand the other side of the try line. The opposing team must give them 10 metres space when the ball is played after a tackle is called held by the referee, unless the attacking team is within 10 mtrs of the defending teams try line. Then the defending team must stay behind the try line until the ball is played.
A ball kicked over the bar and between the posts during the run of play is worth 1 point. The ball kicked over the bar and between the posts after a try or as a result of winning a penalty is worth 2 point. No points for getting close, it's either above the bar and between the posts or it's worth nothing but boo's from the crowd.
As for the scrums, an absolute farce compared to what they were once, but one of those trade offs for the 5 tackle rule. The team that wins the scrum feed gets to put the ball into the second row and the players can not break from the pack until the referee calls the ball is clear of the pack. The side in control of the ball within the scrum pack can hold the ball within the scrum pack to dispute the run of play.
There are all sorts of time limits on how long certain actions can take and these attract a penalty against the team that took too long.
A very fast and tough game played in 2 x 40 min parts, this should be a great game, not the one sided affair so many of the AFL grand finals seem to be lately. Worth taking the time to watch and attempt to follow using the mud map guide I just gave you. There are all sorts of other infringements like head high tackles, dangerous tackles when the player is lifted off the ground and driven down head first and deliberate attacks on an opposing player when they don't have the ball and these can attract a penalty, the player going on report to the tribunal or even sent to the sin bin for 10 mins causing that team to be a player short till the time penalty has been served. They don't even have to punch the other players lights out like the old days, a slap to the face or head seems to be enough, a bit over the top in my mind but they needed to settle the violence on the field down a bit because it was being reflected in the fans actions with very nasty results.
Hope you enjoy watching the game
T1 Terry
