A beginners guide to rugby league - for newbies

copa

Club Legend
Jul 6, 2005
1,027
0
Brisbane
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
Other Teams
Lions
If any of you are interested in RL because of what the Storm is doing to all and sundry in the NRL... here are a few links that can take away some of the mystery regarding the rules and postions..

Rugby League positions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_league_positions

Rugby League - general

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_League

BBC (UK) guide to rugby league (includes a good basic position guide, with position decsription and that persons skills and job on the field, on the right hand side of the screen.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/rules_and_equipment/4215844.stm

Laws and jargon explanation
http://www.arldevelopment.com.au/index.php?id=10

The laws of the game (NOTE: there are variations to the laws for younger players)
http://www.arldevelopment.com.au/fileadmin/user_upload/arl_laws.pdf

History of RL
http://www.rl1908.com/

If all else fails.... yell out "for farg sake ref.. get'em onside!!", "forward!", "he's been doing it all night ref!!" .... and you'll fit in real easy!


Variations of rugby league in Australia.

MIni league u6 to u 8

• 3x10 minute periods
• 8 players per team
• 4 tackles
• No kicking
• Tackles below arm pits
• Small field and Football
• Every player has a minimum of one full period
• Nationally accredited coaches, Referees and First Aid Officers
• Code of Conduct and safe play code enforced

Mod League u9 to u 12

• 2x20 minute halves
• Maximum number of players per team on the field at once is eleven (11) at ages 9, 10, 11 and thirteen (13) at age 12
• 6 tackles
• Tackle below arm pits
• Kicking (no bombs)
• Code of Conduct and safe play code enforced
• Every player has a minimum of one half
• Nationally accredited Coaches, Referees and First Aid Officers

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE: (Under 13's up)
International Rugby League is the title given to the style of Rugby League kids from Under 13's to A Grade play. Whilst for these age groups the fundamental rules stay the same including the number of tackles (6), freedom for kicking and so on, some competitions and age groups will have variations in the length of each half, the number of substitutes a side can have, and how often they are interchanged.
 

LebaneseForces

Premiership Player
Jun 14, 2002
3,336
32
Sydney
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Bulldogs1935 & BlackburnRovers
Great thread! Great idea!
Maybe Rugby League in Melbourne should take the Swans idea of Barry HallHall with Billy slaterslater.com.au? :p :D
 
Apr 10, 2004
12,680
22
Melbourne
AFL Club
St Kilda
Other Teams
Bushrangers
LebaneseForces said:
Great thread! Great idea!
Maybe Rugby League in Melbourne should take the Swans idea of Barry HallHall with Billy slaterslater.com.au? :p :D
That Barry Hall ad is so lame...

Can someone tell me, after the 5th tackle, what happens if you get tackled again without kicking it? And also, when you kick it forward, is there any advantage for the opposition to take a mark and what happens if the kick goes out of play?
 
Sep 11, 2005
19,936
4,725
Sydney
AFL Club
Hawthorn
johnnyhoward said:
That Barry Hall ad is so lame...

Can someone tell me, after the 5th tackle, what happens if you get tackled again without kicking it? And also, when you kick it forward, is there any advantage for the opposition to take a mark and what happens if the kick goes out of play?

If you get tackled with the ball on the fifth play then it's a 'turnover', meaning the opposition gets the ball from that position, virtually meaning that the opposition screwed up their chance of at least defending an extra 20+m.

The only time when a player gets an advantage for taking a mark is when an attacking player kicks near the line and the defending player takes the mark in the try 'area'. That team then gets the usual set starting from the 20m line then.

If the kick goes out of play, then it's a scrum on the 20m line. If the ball goes out on the full then the attacking team get to play the ball where the kick was made.
 

copa

Club Legend
Jul 6, 2005
1,027
0
Brisbane
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
Other Teams
Lions
philhawk said:
If you get tackled with the ball on the fifth play then it's a 'turnover', meaning the opposition gets the ball from that position, virtually meaning that the opposition screwed up their chance of at least defending an extra 20+m.

The only time when a player gets an advantage for taking a mark is when an attacking player kicks near the line and the defending player takes the mark in the try 'area'. That team then gets the usual set starting from the 20m line then.

If the kick goes out of play, then it's a scrum on the 20m line. If the ball goes out on the full then the attacking team get to play the ball where the kick was made.
and then there are 40/20s

40/20 Rule: This was introduced to reward excellence in kicking for touch. If a player kicks the ball into touch and he is within 40 metres of his own line, (the 40 metre line is marked on the field of play) and the ball BOUNCES into touch within the 20 metre area of his opponents half, then the side who have kicked the ball will have the feed at the resulting scrum. This virtually guarantees possession in an attacking position and is just reward for a precise kick covering over half the length of the field.
 

dr nick

Brownlow Medallist
May 22, 2002
13,353
28
Dee Why, NSW
AFL Club
Sydney
philhawk said:
If the ball goes out on the full then the attacking team get to play the ball where the kick was made.
Yep - but they get a scrum feed where the kick was made if it's out on the full.

Scrums are non contested, but it takes the forwards out of the defensive line for the next play.
 

Lucev23

Josh Kennedy is My Dad
Sep 10, 2006
4,848
890
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
Chelsea FC
What is a hit-up? and when they say 'metres gained' is that just what is sounds like or is it something else?
 
Sep 11, 2005
19,936
4,725
Sydney
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Kerr4PM said:
What is a hit-up? and when they say 'metres gained' is that just what is sounds like or is it something else?

A hit-up is the number of times a player gets tackled running into the enemy defensive line.

'Metres gained' is, as you said, purely what it states. It's the number of metres gained by a particular player with the ball in hand.

You'd think that good forwards should aim to run at least 80-100m from 10-15 hitups. Backs dont usually rack up as many hit-ups (full-backs excluded), but you'd think that good backs would gain around 120m approximately per game.
 

1908

Club Legend
Jun 21, 2005
1,505
1
melbourne
Other Teams
cronulla
'Metres gained' is, as you said, purely what it states. It's the number of metres gained by a particular player with the ball in hand.

You'd think that good forwards should aim to run at least 80-100m from 10-15 hitups. Backs dont usually rack up as many hit-ups (full-backs excluded), but you'd think that good backs would gain around 120m approximately per game.

Before or after the advantage line?
 

Lucev23

Josh Kennedy is My Dad
Sep 10, 2006
4,848
890
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
Chelsea FC
Thanks philhawk! I recon you'd have to be one of my favourite BF members. How Common Are 40/20's
 
Sep 11, 2005
19,936
4,725
Sydney
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Kerr4PM said:
Thanks philhawk! I recon you'd have to be one of my favourite BF members. How Common Are 40/20's

Cheers mate - I think that there wouldnt be more than 8 40/20's in a particular season by 1 player.

Obviously you'd usually expect it from either the half-back (or in some teams, the hooker from dummy-half), but it's one of those things that can turn a match around. I thought the momentum was going to shift after Cronk kicked the 40/20 in the GF, but I was wrong. :(
 

Hicham

Club Legend
Sep 15, 2003
1,294
2
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
Kerr4PM said:
What Code was around first... league or union?

Prior to 1895, there was just one code of Rugby.

In 1895, a group of clubs broke away to form their own League, which over time evolved into the game today that we know as Rugby League.

Here's the story behind the split.

1895 - The Great Divide: The Birth Of Rugby League

http://www.rl1908.com/History/1895.htm
 
May 2, 2002
505
0
Perth
Other Teams
Eels, Glory
The Dice Man said:
* The Dragons are kind of like Adelaide... great all year until it actually matters.

* As a newsreader, Wally Lewis makes great compost.

* There's far, far too many Kiwis

* Could never be anywhere near as good as AFL, if not for the above reason alone.

James Squire is made in Rugby League territory.

It evens itself out.
 
Watch a game from 10 years ago and you could count on 1 hand how many forward passes there were .
Now there are 2 in every PHASE :thumbsdown:
Can't take the game seriously anymore !!!!
 

Sylvia Saint

Cancelled
May 20, 2004
7,762
7,484
Melbourne
AFL Club
Melbourne
Other Teams
Crusaders
The other day i was having an argument with a mate about the position of fullback.

He reckons that to be a FB you must possess excellent tackling skills (esp 1 on 1), but I pointed out that a large number of fullbacks over the years (campaigner, Slater, Lockyer back in the day, Bowen) have been ****house defenders!

Who is right (please say me ;) )???
 
Back