I met a very intelligent man last week. I knew he was intelligent because what he said was instantly obvious and yet I've never met anyone in the world of rugby league who has ever said it before. Pure genius.

He knows about my interest in passing accuracy and put forward a suggestion to me which was a 'light bulb moment'. He started by talking about a plan to make a player physically stronger and said that every Super League club would have a programme designed to make a player improve his strength.

Kyle Eastmond demonstrates super handling skills

Ideally it would be individually specific and would have the range of exercises, the number of sets and reps plus the frequency and rest periods. There might be slight variations but this programme would look very similar for most players.

My friend asked me what was the programme to improve passing accuracy? How many passes a week should a player make in practice? Over what distance? To a moving or stationery object? What rest should he get? How would you measure and monitor progress?

It's much easier in a gym where you can see a player lifting more weight and the bar bending as he gets stronger but how do you apply the same principles to the skills of the game?

I've chosen passing as my example but it could equally apply to offloads or kicking. We've put too much focus on measuring the physical improvements of players and not enough on the technical. The game wants to invest thousands of pounds into buying GPS equipment to measure how far and how fast each player runs, but this neglects the fact that he needs to have his hands on the ball.

In 10 years time we'll look back and laugh at the fact that we just used to guess how to improve the skills of a player without having individual plans.

Can you imagine a team being told to go into the gym and do whatever they like doing? Some would do squats whilst others would do squat thrusts. This is effectively what most clubs do when they encourage their players to go out onto the field and practise their skills.

It would make sense to me for the RFL to centrally co-ordinate some proper research into skill acquisition for our sport. What are the best ways to improve the kicking or passing accuracy of our players? We know how to make them stronger, now let's address the next piece in the jigsaw.

Phil answers your emails...

Got a question for Phil? Email him at skysportsclub@bskyb.com or use the feedback form below...

Punching out?

Hi Phil. You never seem to see the old fashioned punch ups in the game anymore. Is this because the game has gone more professional or has a passion been taken out of the game?
Cheers, Alan.

PHIL REPLIES: We do occasionally see a 'punch-up' as the sport will always involve physical contact and aggression, but they seem to be less frequent. Players and coaches have a priority to win matches and they know that their discipline is a key component of success.

The game is now faster and arguably more skilful than ever before and, in my opinion, provides the right level of entertainment. However, like you, I do enjoy it when tempers occasionally boil over.

Try this for size

Hi Phil, just a thought on the size of the current ball - a subject featured in a recent column. I understand some preliminary trials were done way back in the 1960s and 70s using an American (NFL) standard football. Do you think it worthwhile that this idea might now be revisted and reviewed under modern-day conditions? Given that in the UK and France RL is effectively an all-year-round sport, I think this modification should be seriously looked at in view of Super League players being at a distinct disadvantage whenever adverse conditions prevail, causing a noticable drop in playing performance and efficacy compared to the NRL in the antipodes, where there are more favourable climatic conditions.
Trevor Fuller.

PHIL REPLIES: Yes I do. Much as we like to see the physical battle in a game, I think that it's fair to say that most people equally enjoy the skills on display.

My colleagues, Eddie and Stevo, were frustrated at the one-man plays which we saw at Wakefield last Saturday night and anything which helps to encourage offloads and ball movement should be investigated in my eyes.

Attention to detail is what sets champions in all sports from the field and you make a good point about weather conditions. Players change their studs and footwear depending on the pitch conditions, so why shouldn't we consider using a different type of ball in winter to summer?

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