One on one steals

[The Nickman]

It's almost as if once teams really focused on it, they were actually able to stop us from doing it at will. And all the hand wringing about it was a complete and total waste of time.

Who could have possibly predicted this?

Yeah, agreed. I don't think it's from a supposed crack-down at all, the only penalties I remember were from Lui attempting to strip and a) they were all spot-on and 2) he should never ever attempt to strip again.

[Cranky Old Man]

I think two things have happened. The Raiders have not made many attempts to strip in recent games, possibly to decrease the attention of referees and opposition and secondly the referees seem to have moved the benefit of the doubt slightly back in favour of the ball carrier.

[The Nickman]

I think two things have happened. The Raiders have not made many attempts to strip in recent games, possibly to decrease the attention of referees and opposition and secondly the referees seem to have moved the benefit of the doubt slightly back in favour of the ball carrier.

I don't think we're attempting it as much because teams are wrapping the ball up better now, Cranky.

I can't think of any decisions that have gone against us that were incorrect in recent times.

[Cranky Old Man]

Yeah, you are probably right Rickman, teams are obviously very wary around Hodgson and the other poms and maybe I mistook that for a calculated plan by the Raiders.
I've never thought we got any bad calls re the strip, but there are always 50 / 50 calls and in the early days I thought they slightly favoured the stripper whilst now I think the carrier gets the benefit. Not much in it and I am not perturbed by it at all as long as calls are fairly consistent. There is that word again.

[Botman]

We've certainly not given up trying to strip the footy, we just havent been as successful... which is weird because from what i was told, the decrease cant be because teams are wrapping the ball up and focusing on this, i was told that it was almost impossible for a ball carrier to retain possession with these rules

I know, i know... i said the same thing! Then why wasnt it happening 10 times a game? Why was it only happening once in every 2 games, and when you take out the Raiders, one in every 3-4 games... it didnt make any sense to me either. I figured once teams prioritised ball handling the rates would drop, but again i was told this would go the other way and just wait and see, when everyone is practising it and doing it, this would be a disaster

But what was clear is that the rule was terrible, and it was impossible to expect ball carriers to hold the footy. And there is no earthly explanation about why we've seen it go away. It must be some kind of voodoo magic. Im sure @yeh raiders has some theories.

I just wish someone, ANYONE, had of told us all this was going to be how it played out, it would have saved a bunch of posters and indeed coaches a lot of time with all their hand-wringing.

[The Nickman]

We've certainly not given up trying to strip the footy, we just havent been as successful... which is weird because from what i was told, the decrease cant be because teams are wrapping the ball up and focusing on this, i was told that it was almost impossible for a ball carrier to retain possession with these rules

I know, i know... i said the same thing! Then why wasnt it happening 10 times a game? Why was it only happening once in every 2 games, and when you take out the Raiders, one in every 3-4 games... it didnt make any sense to me either. I figured once teams prioritised ball handling the rates would drop, but again i was told this would go the other way and just wait and see, when everyone is practising it and doing it, this would be a disaster

But what was clear is that the rule was terrible, and it was impossible to expect ball carriers to hold the footy. And there is no earthly explanation about why we've seen it go away. It must be some kind of voodoo magic. Im sure @yeh raiders has some theories.

I just wish someone, ANYONE, had of told us all this was going to be how it played out, it would have saved a bunch of posters and indeed coaches a lot of time with all their hand-wringing.

Hahaha yeh raiders telling us that Peter Sterling would never have been able to handle playing with today's one-on-one strip rules was truly my favourite moment of the debate.

[CJ42]

Teams are most definitely being much more careful now, which means it has worked out for us.
Less struggle from the ball carrier (helps us slow the ruck) and less chance of offloads (which i think was the main reason we did it so much).

[BadnMean]

I think once teams became a but more aware when doing their homework on the Raiders that the strip was necessary to prepare for it's become harder to pull off.

It's a risky move with the chance of giving away a knock on; a penalty; 6 again; a holding penalty. Decent go for us given we trust our defence to absorb any pressure it puts on. But we need to be smart about doing it only on the first 3 tackles of a set or 1 on 1 making a try-saver off a break is also a good time. Lui should be banned from it. It helps to have "name recognition" when the ref can go either way on a call. (unconscious bias)

[Cranky Old Man]

Yeah, B&M , I really do think "unconscious bias" comes into calculations regarding the strip. If Hodgson does one they are more likely to acknowledge he has the method down to a fine art and thus has got the benefit of the doubt. If a random like Liu tries it the refs are more likely to doubt his skill and thus he wont likely get any benefit of the doubt. Pretty normal human reaction under pressure, really.

[The Nickman]

Come on guys, to be fair here, both times I remember Lui getting pinged for it they got it 100% spot on. He just simply shouldn't be trying it!

[Cranky Old Man]

Don't misunderstand me Nicko, I agree with the decision against Liu, he got it entirely wrong and had to be penalised. But my point is that he should never attempt the steal, he is highly unlikely to get away with it and any circumstance where it is near enough to a 50/50 decision will result in a penalty. Hodgson is far more likely to get any benefit of the doubt for the reasons I gave.

[greeneyed]

Lui should NOT be attempting strips. I think that tactic has been shelved.

[BJ]

I thought Lui got hard done by once and the others had successfully dropped off, but he definitely failed about 5 times. He seems to have rightly put it away with those low percentages.

[RedRaider]

Should the Chooks win tonight I reckon the 'one on one steals' issue will be in the papers all week trying to put pressure on the Refs.

Fact is: it's in the rules and we are not doing anything illegal by the rules of 2019. Last night was classic in that Hodgo stopped a try with one and Sia got the ball at a crucial time for us. The philosophy of removing the contest for the ball has seen scrums and raking in the play the ball removed from the game.

While I appreciate the pressure put on the Raiders by Souths last night with set after set of line drop outs, finishing with a grubber kick which the Raiders had to put dead, is not great for the game. One on one steals open up the opportunity (and risk) of the defensive side getting the ball back. I expect another Trent Robinson spray on this issue should the Chooks be our opponents next Sunday.

[Billy Walker]

Sia got in on the act with a timely steel against the Rabbits. Hodgo is king but we have a few blokes who can nab a steal.