Unlocking the 13

Russtutty63 · 2024-02-01T06:53:08Z

February 1st, getting closer to the best time of the year now so thought I'd post something again. I have been lurking, not on the forum here but at night outside the divorcee's house down the road but that's a story for another forum. As some of you might've guessed from a previous post I have some interest in how rugby league has evolved in recent times and will continue to evolve, I mean, what will the game be like in 25 years? More use of technology here and there no doubt, conferences probably and bigger, faster athletes. One thing we're most definitely seeing right now is the evolution of the role of the 13, the lock, and that's why I wanted to post this on the forum today. Over the past 5 years we're seeing a greater emphasis on a middle who can not only do the tough carries and make 30 tackles a game but guys who can engage the line and give the halves more time to play, Isaah Yeo obviously the prime example of this type of 13. Cam Murray, Jake Trbojevic, Victor Radley, Patrick Carrigan and Tohu Harris play similar roles for their teams. Even Jack de Belin is even trying to get in on the act (I should probably rephrase that) over at the Dragons but that club have other issues that make it much less effective. But do you really need this kind of middle to succeed? I think so although Carrigan, who is progressing in this role, engages the line only half as much as Yeo but he plays long minutes and does a heck of a lot of work anyway. The Broncos do have that young bloke Walsh who is popping up all over the place so arguably the need isn't as great at that club as it might be elsewhere. In regards to the Tigers Benji has played with Murray and he did play with the guy who was probably the original 13 playing this kind of "new role", Todd Payten although he could never play the minutes these other guys do these days. I think it's blatantly obvious Benji would love a Cam Murray in his team right now. That doesn't mean you can't succeed without that kind of player but you'd probably need a couple of great players in your spine to offset that missing link. It makes me wonder how important these type of 13s will be in ten years, already we see them earning upwards of $800,000 a season, I think that'll only increase as the role becomes more specialised. The 9, 7 and 13 will probably be touching the ball more than anyone else in the team if they're not already doing it now. So the question is who will be the Tigers' 13 this year? What player can work his socks off for 60-80 mins a game and link with the halves. Can the Tigers find such a player and thus catch up with this evolution of the 13? Only time will tell.

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Anonymous 79

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February 8, 2024 5:27 pm

I’m not sure of his defensive attributes, but he’s only here for a year I think. A Sezer could be used as a lock. Certainly would be a link man in attack.

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Unlocking the 13