I knew you would, I was hoping you'd post
You might get to see some of the outlying action, but you miss simple stuff, like if you're at ground level at one end of the ground, it's very difficult to even tell how far away the players are from the try line at the other end. You miss the angle of passes. You miss fiddly stuff like play the balls, scrum feeds.
I can understand missing some things, especially at ground level, but it really isn't that bad. Scrums and play-the-balls are quite easy to observe no matter where you are at the ground. I was about 10-12 rows back on the 20 metre line all of last year and had no problem seeing what's going on. Sure I wished I had a better view, but it wasn't too bad.
Fredescu said:
It might be hard to you to relate about the tackle count thing being that you go often, but I find that if I haven't gone in a while, I miss the ref signalling 5th tackle and it throws me in a loop. I love to know if they're kicking on the 4th tackle or if they're running on the 5th. This is way easier to tell on TV.
I usually keep a running tally of the tackle count in my head as the set progresses, though sometimes what's happening is too exciting and I get sucked into the action, forgetting to do so. What I do that's very easy, is glance at the ref after a tackle. The defenders are usually slowing the play-the-ball down giving their defensive line time to get back 10 metres, this gives plenty of time to see if the ref has his hand in the air signalling last tackle.
As a Bulldogs fan (if memory serves), you've got it easy as their home ground is ANZ Stadium where they show the tackle count on the big screen. That should make your life a whole lot easier attending games there.
Fredescu said:
Sure, the fun interesting exciting stuff happens at a macro level. The hits, the runs, the cut out balls, the run arounds, the chip and chases. Overall I find that too much league stuff happens at a micro level that you miss live unless you've got an excellent viewpoint, like knock ons and forward passes, and backline plays at the other end of the field.
I find most of this stuff easy to spot, so I don't know what to say here. Often times I was better able to see some lost balls in the ruck or illegal strips from behind the play at the other end of the field.
Fredescu said:
Like Dead Man said, you can get spectacular line crosses without grounding, with the added bonus of the drama of knowing a try has been scored instantly.
For me, it's nowhere near as awesome. The added skill and precision needed to ground the ball makes it so much more exciting.
As a Bulldogs fan, you should remember
this as a prime example, and
this.
David Mead scored
this freak try that was all the more difficult as he had to ground it, rather than just run it in. Sandor Earl's
amazing effort in the finals of 2010 vs the Raiders wouldn't be possible without grounding.
On the defensive side, what about
this incredible trysaver? Also from 2010.
I just can't see how no-grounding can improve on the fantastic spectacle of a try being scored in Rugby League. I'd liken it to allowing AFL players being able to walk through the goals with the ball to score; it removes a certain skill element that makes it exciting and rewarding. I do sympathise with the views on the video ref intrusion, but I think there are far better solutions.
