Hull KR boss Tony Smith believes one current Super League rule is making the game an eyesore.
A number of changes were made when the competition restarted in August, one of which saw handovers replace scrums in a bid to avoid face-to-face contact.
The changeover in possession coincides with a 30-second shot clock to restart the game, however Smith says the rule brought in to speed up the game is now having the opposite effect.
“I reckon our game looks horribly ugly at the moment with all of these stoppages,” he said.
“We are kicking balls into touch. We never used to kick balls into touch. You would only have one of two scrums for kicking into touch.
“The only time you would do that is to close out a game and try to slow it down but now, just about every set is kicked into touch.
“Now we all stand around, looking at a shot clock, where the markers do not get into position.
“One of the attractions of our sport is that it is free-flowing, having the ball in play.
“I just think it looks ugly at the moment. At least at the scrum, there was a slight purpose to it where you would have a few less defenders out in the line.”
Scrums have long been a topic of debate in rugby league with their uncontested nature leading many to question their value in the sport.
But elaborating on his previous points, Smith says they cannot come back soon enough and the game has become predictable in their absence.
“It probably shows you what the scrum did do for us,” he added. “People would not kick into touch because they were worried about having only a few defenders in the line.
“Now you kick into touch, have two markers, ten in the line and a full-back and have the full team all set, and just about every team is choosing to do that.
“It is an eyesore for those who like our sport to be action-packed and until you change something, you do not realise what you are going to get and none of us really saw it coming.
“I have not done the statistics on it yet but how many times does the ball get kicked into touch now before we stop and watch a 30-second shot clock? And how entertaining is it?”
Super League have imposed strict measures on close contact between players, including restrictions on try celebrations.
This means the return of scrums is unlikely for the foreseeable future, so with that not possible the Robins head coach has called for the shot clock time to be halved.
“I would rather see a scrum formed quickly than all of us standing around, looking at a shot clock,” Smith stated.
“Tactically, if you are going to kick it into touch, sometimes it was a mistake. You want to wear the opposition down by keeping the ball in play and all of those sort of things.
“The whole game has shifted now. It is now like ‘kick it into touch so now we can have a rest to get our defence right so hopefully we can have a good defensive set’.
“I am not for it but a lot of other people may suggest otherwise.”
Roy Cartwrigh
October 20, 2020 at 8:50 am
Totally agree that the 30 second shot clock makes the game a joke. I dont like the scrums but this is embarrassing.
John Rushbrooke
October 20, 2020 at 12:58 pm
Couldn’t agree more. Shot clock 15 seconds, but can I suggest something which I think would have a bigger effect.
I would change that if the defending markers aren’t in line when the attacking side restart the game from a touch finder or knock on etc, they should be called offside if they try and tackle, rather than as now the referee will not blow the whistle to restart until they are in line. What’s that about. It’s always been the responsibility of the defending side to get onside, not the referee to get them there. If the rest of the team are not ten metres back at the play the ball, the referee doesn’t stop play until they are – he penalises them (sometimes).
Also, after the sixth tackle or a knock on etc, penalise the team who had the ball if they don’t immediately release it.
That would speed the game up.