I can probably be accused of not being au fait with modern RL tactics. However, to my simple mind, if you kick a penalty 40 yards (probably metres these days) you have 30 yards less to run than if you kick it 10 yards?! Oh for a kicker who can make ground on penalty kicks.........

Agree with you there Alan, been saying the same for ages - why kick it it in row "Z" 10 meters up when you can kick it in row "M" 30 meters up practice, practice, practice

It’s infuriating when you could be on their line and your still a way out, even more so if you mess up on first tackle. If I was a forward I’d tell the kicker to tap it and get us 20 yards. If you miss 1 long kick in 10
You still have opposition down by their line.

Conversely taking short high kick offs gives you a chance to get ball back..worth losing a few yards for and chances of touch or knock on.

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

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

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