The Chief wrote:
Interesting to see the Huddersfield "response" after their loss to us last week. Wigans "kids" display against Leeds and the complete turn around in Saints performance last week.
Whilst attitude, commitment and desire should be a pre-requisite for any professional rugby league player, has Super League changed slightly this year in so much that aggressive defence (for 80mins) is the #1 tactic that is dictating results?
The game over here in recent years has focussed heavily on winning the collision and quick play the balls, but are we moving more towards the NRL style of uncompromising defence rather than a passive/efficient defence style? Obviously quick line speed and big tough shots in defence is what the crowd wants to see, but it seems that putting in good first contact, wrestling on your feet and controlling the ground has been replaced with a "hit him as hard as you can" style, which obviously takes more out of the tank, but is more effective in getting control of a game and therefore who wins the game?
Discuss!
I think that's true, and it's definitely the case at Leeds as Brian McDermott has said himself. They've changed from a steady defensive line to one where it's more a case of getting back into good starting positions and then getting up almost as fast as you can to try and pressure the attack into either making mistakes or turning the ball back inside.
It's almost a mix of a blitz defence and an umbrella defence, with B, C, D & E defenders responsible for getting up very quickly in defence.
