Yet again you have sent in some excellent questions to skysports.com, so I won't waste too much of your time here and will move on quickly to the answers.

The questions you have sent in cover the subjects of attacking strategies, what we can learn from our friends Down Under, the current crop of injuries and the age old argument about refereeing standards.

Leeds Rhinos: Taking Melbourne by storm

Rarely does a week go by when the action we see over a Super League weekend doesn't bring these issues up for more debate. I am sure this weekend will be no different with a bumper five days of action lined up for you here on Sky Sports.

We kick off on Thursday with some live National One action between Leigh and Salford before moving over to Headingley for the big one between Bradford and Leeds.

The Hull derby, Saints v Wigan and Hull v Leeds all follow and while I wouldn't be sure to pick all of the results correctly, I am sure that these matches will only add fuel to the fire of debates you have ignited below...

PHIL CLARKE ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS

Email Phil Clarke: skysportsclub@bskyb.com

DO AUSSIES RULE?
Hi Phil, Having recently returned back to England from spending the last six years living in Australia (I actually spent a New Year's Eve with you on Circular Quay back in 2002), I just wondered if you could give me your opinion on the different styles of "footie" played between the countries. Having watched the opening matches of the NRL season over the weekend, it was significant to notice the depth in attack the Aussie teams have. As you may remember a number of years ago, NRL teams changed from having a deep attacking line to a flat attacking line so to unblock strong defences. For a period of time this seemed to work and not only teams in Super League adopted this change but also teams within our rival sport! It seems the only teams in Super League that have switched back to "deep attack" are both St Helens and Leeds and we all know how successful these two teams have been over the last few years! So when will the time come that the rest of the teams in Super League work out that flat attack doesn't work anymore and that going back deep in attack gives the half backs more time to use their skills and unlock defences? Once again it's time to copy from the Aussies and not get left behind! Ian Williams

PHIL SAYS: I can still clearly remember the New Year's Eve that you mention as a very good friend had moved out of Sydney and had given me his appartment with a very good view overlooking Circular Quay and the Harbour Bridge. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, the fireworks were cancelled and it was a massive anti-climax.

We are obviously talking about generalisations in play here Ian, not every team or game is played the same. However it is probably safe to say that Aussie teams have had a greater interest in defence for far longer than over here. In fact most of the defensive coaches at clubs over here (and the ones who have gone to work in rugby union over here) have learnt a great deal from clubs in the NRL.

It could be argued that Sir Clive Woodward owes a debt of gratitude to the defensive experts in NRL after Phil Larder gained invaluable knowledge from them before the Rugby World Cup in 2003.

The differentiation in coaching, with specific interests in both attack and defence, probably relates back to when Jack Gibson went to study NFL in the 1970s - he was a pioneering coach ahead of his time.

It was a decade when they majority of people in rugby league in this country were prepared to stagnate and it has been very hard for us to catch up ever since.

Prior to the Carnegie World Club Challenge I spent some time looking at both Melbourne's and Leeds' performances in 2007. What I found was interesting and answers your question to a degree.

Leeds were the top off-loaders of the ball in our competition and went on to win the Grand Final. Melbourne Storm made the lowest number of off-loads in NRL in 2007 and yet still won their Grand Final. That is not to say that the Storm are a boring team, or that their skill levels are inferior to the Rhinos', but that their game is more conservative than that of our champions.

The majority of rugby league fans like to see the ball passed across the field and at times you need a deep back line to achieve this, but you also need to get over the advantage line. That perhaps explains some team's reticence to do this. We tend to see a deeper backline when the attacking team is within 20 metres of the opposing try line and you need the depth because the defeners are closer to you.

I still think that if you watch St Helens closely you will find they only go wide to a deep backline after they have made some holes in the defence and had a quick play-the-ball. The key to giving the half-backs some time and space is to have some strong and powerful runs followed by a quick play-the-ball. It is what all creative players dream of.

The one thing that I think we should copy from Australia is the creative thinking of coaches and clubs. People who challenge the status quo are the market leaders in industry, business and sport.

SUB SHORTAGE
Dear Phil, greetings from Kuwait! With the Super League definitely becoming more competitive and also expanding next season, do you think that the 'powers-that-be in the game' should increase the number of subs presently allowed for each game on the bench? Also I think the number of player interchanges should be increased to prevent over-stressing/exhausting players in a game. The reason I am bringing in this point is because of the plethora of injuries occurring to many SL players this season already, which have depleted and degraded the resources of many clubs, not only but especially to my beloved Black & Whites, Hull FC. I think therefore a strong case for a review of these rules may be necessary and overdue! Trevor Fuller.

PHIL SAYS: That is a very interesting point Trevor and is the sort of issue which I think the RFL, led by Tony Smith, will be debating over the next year or two.

It is important that we keep pace with the evolution of the game to ensure player safety and continue to produce a spectacle that people want to watch.

In my opinion there are four qualities that I like to see at a rugby league game: Speed, skill, strength and stamina. They are the attributes of a great player and a great game.

If we did increase the numbers off subs and changes that a coach can make, would we be devaluing the element of fitness required by players to compete for 80 minutes? From what I have seen so far this year, the injuries which have occurred during matches have not been as a result of fatigue, when a player's body starts to tire.

I asked a player what he thought of your idea so as to get an up-to-date view of the game and he said that you could potentially get more injuries with fresher players on the field as the speed of the game would never slow down.

Let's hope that you get a feast of action in Kuwait over the Easter period. The four games that we have in 48 hours on Thursday and Friday should set you up nicely for the weekend.

THE OFFICIAL VIEW
Are our referees good enough? I am a big fan of rugby league and enjoy sitting down to watch your coverage on Sky Sports every week regardless of who is playing. Last week I watched - well I tried to watch - Wigan v Warrington but something kept getting in the way! Steve Ganson seemed like he was intent on spoiling what I thought was going to be one of the games of the year. He was involved in the game so much I started to lose interest as I had unwittingly tuned in to the Steve Ganson show! I know the referees have a job to do and without them we would not have our great game, but isn't one of the ref's main jobs to let the game flow? In my opinion the worst referee in Super League for letting a game flow is Ashley Klein which is confusing because in international games he performs very well. I do rate Ben Thaler. I think he is a good ref who does not think all the fans are there to watch him and so tends to keep out of the game which is what I believe our game should be about, not stop-start like the other code. Who do you believe is the best referee currently in Super League? Marc Eastburn, Hull FC Fan!

PHIL SAYS: I imagine that our referees are better this year than last and one of the reasons we are seeing more penalties is because they are more aware of what to look for.

The role of the touch judges and their communications with the referee has also increased the likelihood of finding penalties. I can't recall seeing dozens of occasions when the referee has stopped the game and penalised a team unnecessarily. In fact, I still see several occasions in a match when the ref could penalise a team for being offside and allows the game to go on. Fundamentally you need to decide whether you want to allow the game to flow or you want the official to penalise a team for breaking the rules.

What is the point in having a rule book if you don't penalise teams for breaking them? I disagree with the saying that the referee's job is to let the game flow. His job, in my opinion, is to govern the game according to the rules. It is not his fault if defenders won't get both feet back behind the try-line when defending close to their own line. For far too long players have been offside and gone unpunished. It is the players' problem, not the referees.

Determining whether a player is offside or onside is an inaccurate science, as is the penalty for holding down in the tackle. We are asking the ref to make a subjective judgement call at every single play the ball. The rules state that the defender must release the player immediately but in reality this rarely happens. And the defender is even allowed to hold down for longer when the referee shouts that the attacking player has surrendered to the tackle.

Likewise, imagine that you are a touch judge looking across the line to see if the defenders are back in line with the referee. If they are stood in line with the defenders they are, in theory, supposed to keep one eye on the defensive line and the other on the foot of the man playing the ball. It's hard to do this properly with one pair of eyes. Perhaps you would need a cricket-style Hawkeye system to see if the defenders have set off a fraction of a second too soon.

In saying all this I have come to realise that unlike Association Football, we now have a complex game with many rules. Do we want the game to stick to the rules or not?

I don't wish to get personal on referees and I am sure that they are all trying their best. However, I am not a fan of them acting as humorous public speakers at sportsmen's dinners on the back of a reputation built up as a referee on television. I appreciate that they are entitled to earn a second income but feel as though this is an inappropriate one given their role as a match official.

Each week I watch six games; see over 30 tries, 360 runs, 700 tackles, 80 off-loads, 200 kicks and 200 different players. I don't have time to analyse the referees!

All I hope is that we have a great derby at Craven Park this Friday and that we all go home talking about the tries and not the penalties.

Have a great Easter weekend watching rugby league. See you next week!

back to top