What's incredible to me is that SL seems to struggle to produce halfbacks who even seem to want to control a game - let alone do so. That's why Sinfield is 6 for Leeds (and probably England) - he actually revels in being the centre of the game and directing play. He'd be nowhere near that spot for England if one or more of our dangerous runners was an 'organiser'.



I just don't get how anyone can call themselves a halfback if they don't want to push the team around the park.



Mind you, I also don't understand how SL produces so many centres who seem completely unable to set up their winger (or in some cases that they even have a player outside them). Call me dumb, but its probably the first skill I'd want them to have.

It's a fair point, on the centre's side I think thats because coaches just shove big quick lads who should be playing second row in at centre because they are terrified of being overrun if they put someone a bit lightweight there

Been saying the same for years. Don't know where it happens because when I was growing up and playing most of us wanted to have hold of the ball and push out game winning passes. Perhaps those skills weren't as valuable in the amateur game, particularly when it was played during the winter when passing is more conservative. I don't think anybody has really asked that question so maybe skills across the board will increase now there's more summer amateur RL. That said, passing. If you coach kids teach them to spin pass in both directions, irrespective of their position.

Dos that mean that young halfbacks have the cocky attitude coached out of them, or is it that they think the only objective is to score tries? Bobby Goulding at 17 wanted to run the game. At Leeds as an 18-year old he clearly wanted to be first receiver even with Hanley and Schofield in the side. I just don't see British halfbacks with that attitude, except sometimes Brough.

That's how the game has gone these days. Its all physical and no skill.

These things go in cycles, some small skillful player will turn up and rip it up running circles round the big fellas, them everyone will want that style of centre again

Thats true but it's down to the coaches , not being built like a tank doesn't mean you cant tackle, I just wish coaches would see that. Maybe thats one of the reasons we arnt seeing as many specialist halfbacks as well , all the quick lads with good footwork are being pushed into playing 1 or 6 rather than being given runs in the centre's so that in turn keeps out the more traditional creative halfbacks.



The reduction in skill and reliance on brawn is one of the reasons I dont enjoy the game as much these days, I used to watch the Dulls in the mid 90's and after and thank god I supported a proper Rugby team where we played with skill rather than just power but sadly now most teams are taking that route

I can't see it being the latter. It's not like we were producing conveyor belts of half back talent before then. If you look at the talented half backs who came through in the early 90s, aside from Nigel Wright and Tommy Martyn who else has there been? Francis Maloney? Graham Holroyd? We used to rely on Deryck Fox for a while and I doubt he'd get a game these days. Now I've given it some thought I'm interested to see if we do start to see skills coming more to the fore with more summer RL although that could still take another ten years to see any sort of pattern. I do believe coaching is at the heart of it though. Nobody is born knowing how to play RL, it's all learned through playing and coaching. I guess if you're not seeing those skills on telly people won't do them in school e.g. when we saw Australians doing flick passes behind their backs in the Ashes we were all trying them back at school.