Competition for the ball is back and the NRL is the better for it | Matt Cleary

Last year when defenders dropped off in a tackle, that was it. Play the ball. This year, the last defender can have a crackAs it has been every season since Rex “The Moose” Mossop argued the toss on Channel 7’s Controversy Corner, rugby league people will rail on Sunday mornings about consistency in the game – or more to the point, the lack of it.Rugby league has always lusted after it: the holy – and completely unachievable – grail of consistency. And in the game’s understandable if deluded efforts to control something so random as rugby league, the game has looked to eradicate the “grey”, the “messy” and the unscripted by eradicating competition for the ball. Related: NRL: Wests Tigers spoil Slater's party with deserved win in Melbourne Related: Peter Beattie: new rugby league chief fails to remember Cronulla Sharks' name Continue readingread full article

Source: TheGuardian

---