NRL Analysis: How To Watch Rugby League

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With the Premier League underway and NFL season approaching, my YouTube algorithm is filled with analytical breakdowns of rookies and attacking formations, new-look rosters and season previews.

Among them were two other videos that inspired the article for this week.

‘Why 99% of people watch football wrong’ and ‘How to watch All-22 film like a pro’.

The videos break down how to watch the game, what to look for at certain times, and what one thing at the time says about the probable outcome of the play.

Rugby league isn’t the easiest sport to watch with an analytical eye. For some reason, it’s shot tight for the most part, focused on the ruck and whoever has the ball at the time. However, we can learn a lot by looking away from the ball.

Count numbers, assess spacings, check who is standing where, how slowly a particular defender is getting back into the line, and how quickly the edge is getting up.