Golden drama, but not perfect solution
SNEYD HITS THE FIRST WINNING DROPGOAL AFTER RULE CHANGE
LAST weekend, we saw the first Super League regular season game to go to Golden Point extra time and it was ex-Red Devil Marc Sneyd who will forever have the distinction of slotting the first winning dropgoal (even if it was nowhere near as dramatic or technically proficient as Gareth O’Brien’s in that Million Pound Game).
It’s the rule change that probably got the most headlines when it was announced ahead of the new season, but the match between Wigan and Hull FC was the only one of 19 so far this year that have gone to the ‘next point wins’ stage and history suggests we should only really expect another two or three over the remainder of the campaign.
Personally, I’ve always loved the drama that Golden Point brings to NRL matches, but that’s from an entirely neutral point of view, thousands of miles away.
Golden Try has been suggested as an alternative, though I’m not sure how realistic it is to expect cohesive attacking play from two sides that have already produced 80 minutes of thrilling entertainment.
I’ve also seen some people make a case for an NFL-style compromise, where if a team scores a dropgoal, the other side has one set of possession to attempt to score a try and snatch victory.
For me, that would be fairer, but I still don’t think it’s perfect. But then again, I don’t think there is a perfect solution.
For regular season Super League matches, I don’t see much wrong with a draw and a share of the spoils. Matty Smith’s last-minute dropgoal when Saints staged a stunning comeback at the AJ Bell in 2017 was devastating, but it at least came as part of the natural flow of the game – the possession that led to it hadn’t been decided by the toss of a coin, as is the case ahead of Golden Point.
Either way, Golden Point was only one of the new rules introduced ahead of the new season and the others have all served their purpose to make the game quicker and more exciting in my opinion.
The shotclock has removed those feigned injuries at every dropout, there’s far less kicking to touch to claim territory at the expense of a scrum and the forwards have stood up exceptionally to the demands on them to play longer stints with far fewer opportunities to rest in between.
It’s early days, but the 2019 Super League season does look set to be one of the most exciting on the field in many a year – even if I do wish we could still settle for a draw sometimes.
For regular season Super League matches, I don’t see much wrong with a draw and a share of the spoils Tom Bramwell