NRL Fullbacks; from Giants to Midgets
The age of the tall NRL fullback has passed. When looking through the current NRL teams, it seems nearly all teams have a custodian built for speed and not for height.
Why has this transformation occurred?
To understand the change in size, we must reflect on tactics used in by gone years. In the early 80’s the rules were slightly different – defusing a bomb or catching a ball on the full in the touch area didn’t award the defending team a 20 metre tap, the defending team simply gained no advantage in a diffusal situation. So it was common for the attacking team to hoist up a bomb after bomb and proceed to demolish the tall fullback once he had gathered the high ball.
This tactic was used constantly by the
Before these rule change, fullbacks needed to be tall and tough and not only get up high and take the bomb safely but also absorb the impact of 2 or 3 attackers who would tackle heavily upon arrival.
Players such as Brett Mullins,
When we look at Rugby League fullbacks of today such as: Matt Bowen, Karmichael Hunt, Billy Slater, Luke Burt, Brett Hodgson, Anthony Minichiello and Milton Thiaday – they certainly don’t have the height or build of their predecessors but what they do have is pure speed to burn.
Put simply the rule changes over the years given fullbacks better protection, and turned them into not just defensive tools but powerful attacking weapons.
As the game of Rugby League got faster and more skillful, the age of full time professional training has seen another area improve dramatically: defence.
With defence being so tight, it has forced teams to kick more in the hope of scoring more tries. While the bomb is still used, it’s not used as much as previous seasons – instead we see banana kicks, chip kicks, 40/20 kicks and reverse spin kicks. This new kicking repertoire has seen fullbacks covering lots of ground in short amounts of time.
Fullbacks may have to make a cover tackle in the left hand corner, be up on their feet and defuse a banana kick at the opposite corner one tackle later.
The age of speedy fullbacks is upon us and there are certainly are plenty on offer in the NRL at present. It’s no coincidence that the two grand final sides in Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos have the fastest and most dynamic custodians in the NRL.
As Anthony Minichiello returns for the Roosters this year, we wait with anticipation to see their results.
