Graham Lowe: Hot-potato game plan real winner

After only four fast and furious rounds of the NRL, they're boarding up the doors on the No-Mistakes Saloon.

The saloon is the first and last refuge of league coaches.

It's the place young coaches go when their shot nerves can't cope with a string of losses; and where the older, gun-shy coaches return when their careers are under the cosh from hare-brained players doing dopey things on the field.

The giveaway is when teams leave the dressing room shouting to one another "no mistakes".

And taking that frame of mind onto the field is asking for about as much trouble as the boys at the OK Corral got from Wyatt Earp. Because when the "no-mistakes" message penetrates a footballer's grey matter, it very quickly translates to no risks, then no flair, no improvisation and finally no hope.

There never were truer words spoken about league than "The biggest risk we can take is not taking one".

And that's the message coming through loud and clear as the upsets continue in a season start as interesting and compelling as any in the last decade. The teams playing the unscripted football are setting the pace against the supposed powerhouses - and it's brilliant to watch.

In this day of head coaches and an entourage of countless assistants, the trend has been to aim for a very conservative, no-mistakes style of football.

Fortunately for the fans and their coaches, players of the calibre of Billy Slater and company at the Melbourne Storm, David Peachey and his team at Cronulla Sharks and young Scott Prince and his Wests Tigers mates have all turned a deaf ear to what has traditionally been considered the best way to play in the NRL.

Even the Warriors against the Rabbitohs last Sunday found themselves stuck in an arm wrestle until they sparked into action, throwing the ball about like a hot potato, and the result was a spectacular win for the home team.

As league has become more professional the size of the coaching staff at most clubs has risen dramatically. As a result most players have become very conservative, and are clearly over-coached.

With all these extra coaches trying to justify their existence and breaking the game down into small components, it was certainly not on for a team to play this hot-potato style. That's simply because it's a style that can't be coached.

But look at last week's results - the teams that won and the style of their victories. Each win came from imagination, improvisation and unreadable flair, and that is why we had so many upsets.

Of course, most coaches would disagree. After all, they are supposed to develop game plans that ensure success. But any coach will tell you the hardest thing to defend against is a team who are prepared to chuck the ball around.

A hot-potato game plan will fit on the back of a postage stamp because of its simplicity and also because it does not really need to be written down. It only requires the vision of players like Slater, Prince, Benji Marshall, Stacey Jones and Sione Faumuina.


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A great way to enjoy an evening is to sit down with a few mates, a couple of beers and debate how the players of one era compare with those of another.

It's virtually impossible to make realistic comparisons, but there are some players who are timeless and everyone agrees they would stand out in any era or any company.

Current and former NSW and Queensland State of Origin selectors put the cat among the pigeons last week when they announced their best-ever 25 players for each state since the Origin format began in 1980.

The interesting thing is that the only current players to make either squad were Andrew Johns from NSW, and Darren Lockyer, Shane Webcke and Matt Sing from Queensland.

While it may seem surprising to many current players, when you compare the eras since 1980 there is one strong factor that gave former players an advantage.

League is now far more structured and similar to American Football than it has ever been and this is not only dulling the brilliance of some players and making them robotic, but also making teams all similar to watch.

That is why the football of last week was refreshing and served up so many upsets.

When I looked at the players who have been Kiwis since 1980 I could only come up with three current players who, in my opinion, were good enough to make a best-ever 25-man list: Stacey Jones, Nigel Vagana and Sonny Bill Williams.

Let's hope the No-Mistakes Saloon stays closed, and you're bound to see many more contenders for that list in a great season.