THE RL1908 BLOG

News, Reviews & Opinion - Sean Fagan - RL1908.com

When a State of Origin match fails to thrill the diehard and blow-in fans alike, alarm bells should start ringing that something is going awry.

While there may be disagreement about what that “something” missing is, few can argue that the game (on and off the field) can't be improved to ensure it remains "the greatest game of all".

One of my biggest complaints about newspaper coverage of rugby league today is that they spend most of the time reporting and writing about the off-field action (behaviour of footballers, contracts and the salary cap) rather than dissecting and analysing the game itself.

The Sydney Morning Herald undertakes a series of articles exploring rugby league, and the current state of play:

Attack falls for dummy - Andrew Stevenson

Game fades to grey - Roy Masters

The power of the penalty - Andrew Stevenson

The killing fields - Greg Prichard

Williams put through the wringer - Jamie Pandaram

Innovation's always been the game - Sean Fagan

Striking cold gold in league's underground - Andrew Webster

Even silvertails losing polish - Roy Masters

How wrestling turned the game on its head - Andrew Stevenson

Unarmed combat - Roy Masters

Comparing 1977 with 2007 - Andrew Stevenson

Writers at the Sun-Herald & SMH have also written various other articles challenging the way modern rugby league is played:

Give the little guys a chance - Phil Gould

Coaches run decoy in blame game - Phil Gould

Ball skills a forgotten art - Phil Gould

The all running, all passing game - Phil Gould

"A very tough game of touch" - Roy Masters

Fewer replacements would please - Roy Masters