LEAGUE FOOTBALL

Grey River Argus, 31 August 1948, Page 3

LEAGUE FOOTBALL

EXPERIMENTS SUGGESTED (To the Editor) Sir—Players and spectators would be grateful to the Rugby League Executive if they would provide a complete one-round competition, for football can be enjoyed on the West Coast to the encl of October, in Britain and Ireland football is played for ten months of the year. This final round could be used to try out new ideas, and these would increase the interest of the public. The new rules I suggest are:— (1) Each side shall consist of twelve men, the scrum having three men in the front row and two locks in the second. This gets rid of the “breakaway” who is a spoiler, for he often blocks the ball from coming out when it is hooked by his own men. Frequently he gets in the w r ay of his own half-back and spoils his play. With only two rows in the scrum the ball would have practically only one man to pass and the hooked ball would go clear from the heels of the hooker., co the hands of the half-back to be sent by him smartly to his five-eighth. (2) Let the new throw-in rule - be played as follows: When the ball is kiciced out of bounds, the non-offend-ing side shall throw it in to any part of the field on their side of a line drawn across the field parallel with •he goal line through the spot from which the ball was kicked out. This would give a deserved advantage ter the nori-offending side, open up the game, and reduce . the number of scrums which in one senior game, amounted to one hundred. Moreover, this rule has been played in Auckland and our men should be given a try at it. (3) Players may kick the ball out of bounds on the full from their own twenty-five except frftm a kick-off or after a force. This would stop the silly “ping pong.” These changes would make league still more enjoyable to players. If the thirteenth mari must be kept in a team call him a rover. Let him put the ball in the scrum, throw in from the lineeout and go any where in the field on his own side, but keep away from the back of the scrum. I am etc., “PROGRESS”