This year's grand final could be won by a team deliberating conceding a penalty, rather than a try, when desperately defending its own 20-metre zone.
The practice of surrendering two points to the opposition, rather than six, was first raised by Wayne Bennett when he coached the Knights.
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If you study the number of times the 16 NRL teams have conceded penalties in their own 20-metre zone this year, particularly compared to breaches on the entire field, there is a wide discrepancy.
"The Skinny Coach", now in charge of Brisbane, can't be accused of hypocrisy, a charge often made by his rivals.
The Broncos have conceded the lowest number of penalties (16) in their own 20-metre zone and have recorded the lowest number of penalties overall (137), according to Champion Data, the NRL statistics provider.
The coach who protests the most about opposition tactics – North Queensland's Paul Green – has 33 penalties against his team for breaches while defending their red zone, double the tally of Brisbane, who they play in an elimination semi-final in Townsville on Friday night.
Only the Titans, with 34 penalties, recorded more.
The team that Bennett was targeting back in his Newcastle days – the Storm – is the second-best behaved in its own defensive quarter, with only 17 penalties and 158 overall.
Perception and reality are often at odds in the NRL. Green complains about the Storm's alleged wrestling tactics, yet the referees punish his team far more for slowing the tackle.
Not all penalties conceded by the defensive team in its own quarter are for delaying the play-the-ball – but most are – lying on the tackled player, taking a second grab at him, or hands on the ball.
The other three teams left in the finals race are also fairly well behaved defending their own quarter – with the Panthers and Sharks conceding 19 penalties and the Raiders middle of the table on 25.
However, this is not to say the lads from the Sutherland shire are choir boys, conceding 198 penalties overall, the highest in the NRL.
It's one thing to complain about a tactic frustrating the fan and another to offer a solution.
It's one thing to complain about a tactic frustrating the fan and another to offer a solution.
A team that concedes two points gets to return the ball via a place kick from halfway.
Kicking tees and the skills of the modern player mean the ball is booted to land just short of the tryline, with the receiver usually passing it to a teammate who makes about 10 metres.
This means the first tackle usually ends short of the quarter line and the team, which received two points for a penalty, rather than six for a converted try, is suddenly under siege.
Why not force the team that conceded the two points to restart play via a drop out from its 20-metre line?
It means the attacking team's first tackle is near the halfway line and in a strong position to respond to a negative tactic.
Champion Data does not keep exact statistics on the timing of tackles when a team is defending its own posts but play-the balls seem to take longer, compared to the middle of the field.
Obviously, anticipation affects our judgment because, sitting in the stands, we can see holes in the defensive line closing while the tackle is delayed, often from the increasing practice of the defender lying between the man playing the ball and the dummy half.
One suggestion, offered by a prominent player to this scourge of taking the odds on conceding a penalty, rather than a try, is to stand the offender on the dead-ball line for the remainder of the set.
It's a big penalty and would have to be preceded by warnings – perhaps after a team has already conceded three or four penalties for the same offence.
Well held: Sharks forward Wade Graham is tackled just short of the line by Cowboys rival Ethan Lowe. Photo: Matt King
The offending player would be required to remain on the dead-ball line if the attacking team received a repeat set.
The most effective punishment would be a return of the five-minute sin bin for professional fouls.
Tries are harder to score in an opposition quarter via passes, rather than kicks, because the fullback often stands in the defensive line.
The NRL has responded cleverly to teams' preference for tries via aerial bombardment. It now punishes the kick, if it comes to nothing, with the kicking team forced to defend seven tackles from the 20-metre line.
But there hasn't been a subsequent and significant increase in tries scored via the hands because slow play-the-balls in the defensive quarter, together with fullbacks plugging holes, means attack is quashed.
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