Are there any actual positions in Rugby League?

[Kermit power]

With all the furore over what position Burgess should've played in Union, and a comment I saw somewhere about "Eastmond was a half back in League, Burgess a forward, how could they ever have been expected to play the same position in League", it got me wondering what the differences actually are between League positions?

I'll watch it if I happen to turn it on, and it's streets ahead of football as a spectacle to watch, but to my uninitiated eyes, it's very much a case of...

1. Get ball.
2. Run ball into contact.
3. Recycle ball.
4. Repeat five times.
5. Kick the ball.

Obviously that's over-simplifying somewhat, and I can certainly see the need for a full back of sorts to field the kicks off the sixth tackle, but beyond that, whilst I've got a lot of respect for the athletic prowess and the skills of the players involved in every position, I'm really struggling to understand how one position is any different to another???

I found a page about understanding the positions on the RFL Website, but the vast majority of the differences that highlights are about the forwards battling to win the ball in the scrum!?!?!??

In every Superleague game I've seen, the scrums have been unopposed, and I've never, ever seen one go against the head, so what possible difference can the players make in League scrums?

Assuming that the scrums in modern day league are just a way of giving possession to one side whilst drawing six players from each team into one place on the field, thus creating more space for open running play in the rest of the field - no bad thing from a spectator's perspective - then how do the forwards and backs need any differing skills sets, beyond maybe the wingers having an extra turn of speed?

[Kermit power]

Pieman68 said:

I suppose you could say that the skillset is narrower than in Union, but there are definite differences in the positions. Having transitioned from a second row in my younger days into a prop now, you work in a narrower channel from an attacking POV at prop and generally tend to be closer into the ruck in defence. Second rows can be slightly more transitional in that a lot of them can interchange into the centre as well

Agree with you on the scrums though, they are simply a way to restart the game and the aim is just to do it as quickly as possible

I can see a benefit to a scrum causing more open play during the time the forwards take to get back into positon, but apart from that, why not indeed just have a tap and go?

[Kermit power]

Pieman68 said:

I also think it's difficult, without having played the game, to realise the physicality of the game on the floor in RL. Although very different to the ruck in Union, the ruck is very prevalent in RL as well. Often referred to as the wrestle, a lot of work is done on the "surrender/dominant" tackle. If you can wrestle the attacker onto their back you have the advantage of being in control of the tackle and can slow down the ruck, thus giving more time for the defensive line to set. Alternatively the attacker wishes to be dominant and go down on his front or be held up, thus allowing a quick play the ball and options to open up due to the lack of time for the defensive set up

Different games that both have things to teach each other gents

I know what you mean, but as I was reading it, I found the accent in my head changing of its own accord....



Just try reading "Alternatively the attacker wishes to be dominant and go down on his front or be held up, thus allowing a quick play the ball and options to open up" out of context!