Our kick offs, just like the majority of SL, are so predictable. Most of the opposition may as well be taking on water, while the known catcher feeds the prop for a drive!

After the first three on Sunday, it was obvious Brierley wasn't going to drop the ball - heck, he didn't have to move much to catch it! Remember the awkward kick offs Nanyn and Ridyard used to fire at the opposition? They were actually an attacking weapon!

I asked a reasonable question



You wrote the Story Mr Maurice

Did you see the kick offs from the HKR scrum half last night? They cause mayhem in the Leeds ranks.

Missed that C&W. Mixing the kick offs can be a potent weapon, especially with the number we had to do last week! Kicking it to the same player, in the hope that he eventually drops one, was never going to succeed last week. Ryan may have had his weaknesses (although they weren't obvious last week!) but he's never had a problem with catching the ball. In the 'bad old days', we used to repeatedly kick to Rob Worrincy, who had a 'weakness' under a kick, according to the coaching team. My heart was in my mouth, as he always used to catch the ball, and gain huge ground.

No coach, but whether it is to the same player or not is irrelevant IMO as the chances of someone dropping it is unlikely.



I presume the whole point is to have the ball hanging in the air for as long as possible so the defensive line can get down the field as far as possible



HKR was an interesting one, skimming it across the floor and therefore an unpredictable bounce - be interesting to see if it catches on

Yes, Its a punt,the positioning of the ball on the tee is often obscure to obtain height and distance at a slow pace. It usually arrives at the same position because thats the kickers maximum range.

Ridyard's (and Nanyn's before him) were landing in the in-goal are, but spiralling, to make them difficult to catch. No sacrificing distance, but causing trouble for the would-be catcher. Often, Ridyard's kick -offs were dropped, or bounced, going dead. It's a skill that can surely be acquired, by a half-decent kicker?

Only takes practice but they've not got time with them being full time professional's

They used to have one of the best modern-day kickers on the coaching team, but he didn't/couldn't get through to them last season.

Doesn't the new ruling place emphasis on not kicking the ball directly into the in-goal area Alan.

New rules?! Drat, I haven't mastered the old ones yet?





Point taken, but I still maintain that it should be possible to make life very difficult for the catcher, rather than serving possession up on a plate for him. Maybe a cunning, spiralling kick aimed for just short of the tryline?

From a kick off

Bizzare ruling if that's the case