The rule Super League HAS TO get rid of

The Super League is at a fascinating juncture with the likes of Leeds Rhinos, Hull FC and Hull KR chase the play-offs with Warrington Wolves in peril of missing out alongside Salford Red Devils.

Wigan Warriors are chasing a spot in the top two alongside St Helens as Leigh Leopards look to hold on to second spot.

Wakefield Trinity and Castleford Tigers are locked in a battle for survival.

The product is great on the field at the moment. However, it could be better.

Once upon a time, when you kicked the ball dead the opposition would simply get a tap on the 20-metre line and would begin a normal six tackle set from there.

But nowadays teams are punished even more. Not only do they give up 20 metres, they also hand the opposition an extra tackle.

Often by the end of these seven-tackle sets, teams are probing in the opposition’s half looking for a try. Now you might think that’s fair, after all it was a poor kick for it go dead and therefore the team who kicked it should be punished right?

That’s a perfectly acceptable view point as is the notion that this punishment stops teams kicking the ball dead intentionally to waste time.

However, a recent account between Leeds Rhinos and Hull KR really cemented my view that these seven-tackle sets do more harm than good.

I haven’t seen a game with more of these seven tackle sets and they were all from attacking kicks with dangerous attacking kicks from Schneider and Blake Austin.

Unfortunately, often the kick was just a bit too long and the ball dribbled out of play. Subsequently, the opposition were given a 20-metre restart and a seven-tackle set punishing a team for attacking and for trying to play good rugby.

The Rhinos even conceded two tries from seven tackle sets.

Instead of being dull and tacking the tackle, the players were positive and tried to conjure up an exciting moment. If it had paid off, we’d be watching that try on highlight reels for weeks on end/ Ultimately, it didn’t go to plan and they was punished. So, next time we might not see these players not try the same thing.

In fact, overall we see a lot less kicking near the opposition tryline as teams fear it could go dead and hand the opposition a major advantage. Ultimately, this means we see less tries from these positions, less creativity and a less positive product.

To me this should be changed. We should encourage creativity akin to what Williams showed and the best way to do that is the changing of this rule so that attacking flair isn’t punished.