I watched the game on the weekend and again yesterday, I have now seen the jets only half a dozen times, so not much as others, but Im convinced the Walker brothers style would be successful in the NRL.
My thoughts why
1.Stops line speed in the middle- The current NRL defensive philosophy is about winning the tackle and when possible rushing up with the inside defenders to prevent the attack getting on the front foot. We all talk about line speed, that looping run from DH, dropping blokes on the inside or going wider and often throwing a couple passes with ball runners going in different directions prevents this, you could potentially rush 3 defenders up on either side of the ruck (but not for long) but the reality is you wont be able to do that and shooting your tight defenders up leaves a gap to be exploited. This is why they make the same distance as a normal hit up, even know they go sideways, and throw a couple passes.
2\. Creates a lot more 1 on 1's- The ball movement means that players have to stay in the channel and the initial contact is often 1 on 1 and it takes longer for a second man to get there to help. This obviously has loads of advantages, quicker play the balls more offloads (which creates more 1 on 1's) and of course 1 on 1's are more likely to lead to more breaks.
3\. It makes more defenders more accountable on each play- has they hit more channels more often and switch directions a couple of times, it brings more defenders into each play , this will make more players work harder, increase fatigue, as well as offering more opportunity to catch out someone clocking off for a second. I reckon this will further slow down line speed etc.
4\. More defensive decisions have to be made- Obviously the more questions you ask, the more likely you are to get one wrong, especially if it is not the same decision that is being made every other game.
5\. I dont think there is that much more risk- The initial ball movement to get them going, isnt going to lead to all that many mistakes, and that leads to the other passes (the offloads) being slightly easier, they will have a slightly higher error count, but it wont be like it will be 50% completion every week.
6\. It will be harder to prepare against- It is different, most teams play the same, somethign different maybe harder to match against. It changes the just worry about our game mantra (which is easy to do if everyone does the same thing every week)
My thoughts why
1.Stops line speed in the middle- The current NRL defensive philosophy is about winning the tackle and when possible rushing up with the inside defenders to prevent the attack getting on the front foot. We all talk about line speed, that looping run from DH, dropping blokes on the inside or going wider and often throwing a couple passes with ball runners going in different directions prevents this, you could potentially rush 3 defenders up on either side of the ruck (but not for long) but the reality is you wont be able to do that and shooting your tight defenders up leaves a gap to be exploited. This is why they make the same distance as a normal hit up, even know they go sideways, and throw a couple passes.
2\. Creates a lot more 1 on 1's- The ball movement means that players have to stay in the channel and the initial contact is often 1 on 1 and it takes longer for a second man to get there to help. This obviously has loads of advantages, quicker play the balls more offloads (which creates more 1 on 1's) and of course 1 on 1's are more likely to lead to more breaks.
3\. It makes more defenders more accountable on each play- has they hit more channels more often and switch directions a couple of times, it brings more defenders into each play , this will make more players work harder, increase fatigue, as well as offering more opportunity to catch out someone clocking off for a second. I reckon this will further slow down line speed etc.
4\. More defensive decisions have to be made- Obviously the more questions you ask, the more likely you are to get one wrong, especially if it is not the same decision that is being made every other game.
5\. I dont think there is that much more risk- The initial ball movement to get them going, isnt going to lead to all that many mistakes, and that leads to the other passes (the offloads) being slightly easier, they will have a slightly higher error count, but it wont be like it will be 50% completion every week.
6\. It will be harder to prepare against- It is different, most teams play the same, somethign different maybe harder to match against. It changes the just worry about our game mantra (which is easy to do if everyone does the same thing every week)
