Could someone please answer a science question for me, because it has puzzled me for a while.

At the Bulls game, Brough was through and in front of the posts, albeit about forty yards out. Semi was alongside him. Now I reckon Brough was nearer to the posts than Semi, and therefore you would think that he would get there first, but I have no doubt that had he not "run the arc" (to quote the bald oaf from Dewsbury) he would have been caught. If Semi is faster than Broughy (although maybe not ), why does running away from him for longer to get to the corner make it less likely that he would be caught. If the chasing man is faster, you would think that running for longer would increase the chance of being caught, but it never seems that way.

Or have I got too much time on my hands?

If Danny had headed in a straight line to the posts he would have been running parallel with Semi who would have only had to divert his course only slightly. By heading for the corner Danny was maximising the distance between him and Semi by also partly running away from him.

I presume it's because Semi wasn't directly behind Broughy so they actually ran different lines to a distant point. A bit like a scalene triangle with Semi having the longest side to run and Broughy the shortest.?????

The other reason could be that whilst Brough was running an arc (if he was?) it made it harder for Semi to time a tackle?

you all have tooooooo much time on your hands.

who cares he scored and kicked it

Exactly, particularly the second point. Almost impossible to fend somebody directly from behind - if they are quicker than you all they need to do is to get right up to you and grab your collar for an ugly but effective tacking method. Running away brings the hand off into play and gives the ball carrier (if the ball is in the correct hand) another option when the defender gets within range, its probably much easier too to judge the Martin Offiah style hitch kick if the defender dives for your legs from an angle, rather than directly behind.

cas fans use the same technique when running from the old bill

I is all about shifting the trajectory of your momentum in order to evade being tackled. Action from one player will always be quicker than reaction from another.

Broughy is the one who decides to "shift" and in doing so he gains a split second advantage over Tadulala which translates in to a greater distance between ball carrier and defender.

There are many occasions when you will see an attacking player shift trajectory a number of times which has the effect of completely throwing the defender off track.

One of the most scientific threads ever appeared on rlfans

The corner was nearer for Danny than for Semi, hence he got there first...simple..
I wondered what happened to the winger on the other side who was surely nearer to be able tackle him..

Just been lazy, he will get a kicking from the coach when they view the tape.

I like it. I'm not hot on science (or is it maths), and I'm one of those people who thinks that when the petrol gauge is on empty, it is better to get to the garage as quickly as possible rather than drive slowly, but now Broughy's run to the corner makes perfect sense.

I feel proud that I was the cause of the words "scalene triangle" being used on RLfans. Who would have thought it.