Justin Holbrook and Adam O’Brien have joined fellow NRL coaches expressing concern over a wild increase in blowout games in 2021, with 40-point scores on track to more than double from 2019 by the end of the season.
It comes after fifth-placed Sydney Roosters were humiliated 46-0 by Melbourne on Thursday night.
The thrashing involving two of the most successful teams of the past decade reignited debate about rule changes that have impacted games in 2021, with big scores and blowout winning margins on the rise.
Ladder leaders Melbourne have now scored 40 points or more in 10 of their 16 games this year – a telling new NRL record for a club that has been involved in four of the past five grand finals.
Thursday night’s win was the 29th game this season in which a side has scored 40 points or more, up from a total of 27 during the entire regular season of 20 rounds last year.
Just one game into round 16, this year’s number looks set to dou ble that of 2019, when in 20 games a team scored 40 points or more in a match during a 25-round season.
“Last night’s game you wouldn’t see a Roosters side have that many points put on them,” said Gold Coast coach Holbrook on Friday.
“No one likes it collectively, I don’t think, as a game, how many extra rule changes (there have been) and how fast it’s got.
“There’s no more plays in the game, there’s just more points scored.”
Big scores have increased, but so have the big margins.
Coinciding with the Magic Round crackdown on contact with the head and neck, 32 of the last 45 games since have been decided by more than 13 points.
That means just 13 games have been close across the past six weeks of competition.
“It’s hard when you’ve seen some games unfold the way they are,” Holbrook said.
“We’ve just got to adapt to it and get on with it, there’s no point worrying about it too much.
“It’s not every side, obviously Penri th and Melbourne are really enjoying it.
“It’s just getting the best players even better now.”
In previous years State of Origin was to blame for blowout games when key players were missing.
“There’s a number of little areas in the game from individuals to interpretations, to the style of play, in why this is happening, and it’s not something you want,” said Canberra coach Ricky Stuart.
“Certainly Origin isn’t the reason for it at the moment.”
Ponga returns for Knights
O’Brien will unleash Kalyn Ponga for Newcastle for the first time on Saturday since the high contact crackdown back in round 10.
While he’s not sure why it’s happening, he wants to take advantage with his strike player back on the field.
“I looked at a couple of teams that have lost some members of their spine and have really struggled,” he said.
“I’m looking at it glass half-full, we’re getting those players back.
“That excites me for the back end of the year.
“I can’t completely put my finger on why we’re getting these blowouts, but the shock factor of 40 and 50 point scorelines is not there this year.”
AAP
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