I have been watching Wakefield/Rugby League for 65 years. The game is now a shadow of it's former self. Scripted to the point of boring, and ref'd to the point of distraction. I will continue to watch Wakefield, but a lot of the joy and pleasure has now gone, for whatever reasons.

A little early for a post-match rant isn't it?

It is absolutely right though

As long as you feel better to get it off your chest.
I know what you mean about the refs but I do still enjoy the game a lot. I haven't been watching quite as long as you but surely we are better now without unlimited tackles and scrums that just fell on the floor and ended in penalty and the thuggery that went on.
Not everything is better by a long way but there is a lot of improvement as well.

Broadly similar to what I said on another thread, and whilst I still enjoy the game, I can't argue much with the OP; there are increasing periods of each match that pass me by, with little to grab the interest. There are things that could be done if control were wrested back from the cheaty coaches, but the tail is wagging the dog at the moment.

The ruck needs cleaning up, which might prove for a better game, and I would suggest a couple of things:
1. trying to milk a penalty results in a penalty.
2. moving off the mark puts the markers onside, wherever they are.

One of the problems with better defences is off the cuff stuff doesn't work as well. Personally, I love a clever well-executed move, however over-practised. We do perhaps have to question whether the thuggery was part of the appeal back in the day. If you watch some of the old matches, the rugby often isn't great. Perhaps we have been told that the product is better than it is so much that we expect too much.

Completely agree. It appears to me that skill levels in the game are on the decline, for instance fewer number of 40/20s, perhaps replaced by a desire to focus on athleticism as opposed to ability. For me teams are over reliant on penalties to get into an attacking position rather than skill which gives refs a massive influence over the game. I'd far prefer to see a 40/20 or a slick move from the likes of Jamie Lyon lead to a try than the current norm of penalty penalty try.

I like that. Too often you see players get tackled, then move 2 or 3 yards to play the ball, often resulting in the markers being penalised when it should be the other way around. Of course it does again rely on the refs spoting them moving off the mark, which they currently seem incapable of.

Not sure I agree with cleaning up the ruck, albeit like the idea about moving off the mark - Carney is a prime example of moving forward to gain an advantage, often incorporating a cheap shot at the same time. I think too much emphasis is put on a very fast play the ball as a method of breaking down defences, at the expense of good ball handling and runners to create gaps. 'Cleaning up' the ruck usually means more penalties equals piggy back tries and thus increasing the referees influence on the game. Maybe being stricter on offside might be a better way forward?

There's so much emphasis on speed and size these days that I sometimes wonder if a return to the 5 metre defensive line would increase the skill levels on show.

Moving off the mark really bugs me and should be penalised. Basically the player playing the ball is cheating to get a quick play the ball and/or put he markers offside. Rather than actually giving a penalty, to stamp it out the play should be halted and the ball replayed with the defence having chance to get back in place. When players cease gaining an advantage and being disadvantaged, they will stop doing it.

I've thought and believe the same but initially it would kill any and all attacking play until the officials and players adjusted to it and God knows how long that would take

I'm not sure that's the case; if the ruck were ruthlessly and consistently cleaned up, coaches would soon stop teaching their players to cheat in that way and move on to the next method of gaining an advantage - so there would be a flurry of penalties initially, then it would stop. The problem we have is that the officials are both miles behind the coaches and players, and desperately inconsistent in their application of the rules around the ruck. It's a total mess.

They've brought in a new interpretation this season in the NRL - it's round 3, and there's already a lot less messing about in the ruck.

Didn't they try do that here when we had the Child horror show at Magic Weekend v Cas?