The Sin Bin Epidemic

The Sin Bin Epidemic

Five of the eight games in NRL Round 7 were won by the team losing at half time.

It’s another vote of confidence for the closeness of the competition this year and it also adds to the current debate around sin bins in today’s game.

More than that though, it’s a sneak peek behind the curtain of what the best teams in the NRL do so well.

Staying patient, sticking to the game plan and embracing the grind has been a recipe for success for the Penrith Panthers over the last few seasons.

They’ve never been the most efficient attacking team in the comp, but their ability to dominate possession and field position inevitably starves oppositions out of the contest.

By building pressure and dragging their opponent into the grind, the Panthers consistently set it up early to win it late.

Few do it quite as well as the back-to-back champs, but in 2023 we’re seeing a few NRL clubs adopt Penrith’s gameplan. Both Brisbane and South Sydney should be equally pleased with their start to the season – regardless of their current positions on the ladder – given how well they’re absorbing and building pressure in games. Both clubs piled on the points in Round 7 to secure convincing wins by fulltime, but not before first embracing the grind in defence.

Halftime: Rabbitohs 6 v Dolphins 14 | Fulltime: Rabbitohs 36 def Dolphins 14

An early error from Taane Milne directly lead to an early try for The Dolphins and they spent the next 40 minutes asking Souths to work it off their own line.

Kodi Nikorima and Isaiya Katoa kicked to the corners as The Dolphins embraced the grind and worked through their sets.

They played with 63% of the field position and 57% of possession in the first half, looking likely in attack but only scoring once more through Jeremy Marshall-King as the Rabbitohs muscled up defensively.

Throughout this period the Rabbitohs stayed patient with the ball, minimising their errors and absorbing the early scoreboard pressure.

They completed 17 of 19 sets to limit The Dolphins attacking opportunities and keep them within just eight points at the break.

It felt like the Rabbitohs would come over the top of The Dolphins once the possession evened out, and that’s exactly what happened.

Finally enjoying their share of good field position, South Sydney made it count.

They scored through Cody Walker early in the second half before running away with late.

They’d done enough in the first half to put themselves in a position to score points in the second, and a sinbinning to Kenny Bromwich only compounded the issue for The Dolphins. Some might point to the three tries scored while Bromwich was on the sidelines and suggest the sinbin cost The Dolphins the game, but in truth the Rabbitohs early defensive composure under pressure is what set them up to win it late.

South Sydney have enjoyed one of the best attacks in the NRL for years now, but they’ve flipped the switch in 2023 to start the season as the third best defensive side in the competition.

Their attack isn’t humming like we know it can, but with Souths conceding just 16.3 points per game, they’re dragging contests into a grind rather than a shoot-out.

They sit in fifth place on the ladder at time of writing, but given their tough opening draw we can expect them to climb a few rungs higher as the season progresses.

Halftime: Sharks 8 v Roosters 12 | Fulltime: Sharks 22 def. Roosters 12

The Roosters are still ironing out the kinks in attack and it showed in this one.

They had a plan to target the spaces around Nicho Hynes on Cronulla’s left edge and did so smartly to score through Egan Butcher and Brandon Smith in the first half.

With so many moving parts to their attack, Easts have looked best when playing a simple power game through the middle of the field.

By generating some ruck speed, the likes of Smith, Luke Keary, James Tedesco and Sam Walker are able to play over the ad-line and at a retreating defence.

It was a recipe for success in the first half, but a combination of ill-discipline from the Roosters and a strong defensive showing from Cronulla prevented Easts from pulling away with it.

A total of 14 penalties, featuring two for ruck infringements and three sinbins by fulltime gave the Sharks far too much cheap possession and Hynes made the most of it in the end.

For the Roosters, to be beaten by 400+ metres in yardage sums up their struggles to begin the season.

With the return of some key forwards on the horizon, we shouldn’t judge the Roosters attack until we’ve seen what they can do behind a winning forward pack.

Halftime: Panthers 6 v Knights 14 | Fulltime: Panthers 16 def. Knights 15

Like South Sydney, the Panthers soaked up some early scoreboard pressure and made sure to not let Newcastle run away with it.

They were clearly not at their best in Round 7 but an eight-point deficit at halftime felt surmountable and in the end it was.

Full credit to Newcastle for dragging the game into a grind and competing on everything, but ultimately the class of the Panthers won through.

This one ended up closer than Penrith would’ve liked, but it’s a good example of how to win games with your defence.

The Panthers attack was poor in this one but they only needed 16 points to get the win.

Knights fans will point out that Lachie Miller’s goal-kicking could’ve been the difference, but Penrith’s competition-leading middle defence (two tries conceded through the middle third) usually forces teams to score on the edges, where four points doesn’t always turn into six.

Penrith have played the last two years with some of the best defence in NRL history and nothing has changed in season 2023.

They mightn’t be producing the cricket scores we’ve come to expect, but having allowed just 10 tries in the first seven games, the Panthers are showing they’re once again happy to defend their way to two points.

Halftime: Broncos 10 v Titans 14 | Fulltime: Broncos 43 def. Titans 26

Similarly to the Rabbitohs v Dolphins game, the Broncos were dominated in the early stages but some resolute goal-line defence limited Gold Coast to just 14 points in the first half.

Moeaki Fotuaika played out a career game to repeatedly drag the Titans into attacking field position, but Brisbane refused to crack.

The defensive pressure invited Jayden Campbell to have one last throw of the dice in the shadows of halftime, and Brisbane made their own luck to score against the run of play through Herbie Farnworth.

If the Broncos had conceded more points during Gold Coast’s period of dominance, Campbell probably doesn’t feel the need to chance his arm before the break.

He did though, and the Broncos ran away with it in the second half.

The Tino Fa’asuamaleaui sinbin proved a pivotal moment. Having defended for most of the first half, the Broncos took their opportunities in attack to score 14 points while the Titans skipper sat on the sidelines.

The speed of Reece Walsh and the control of Adam Reynolds pulled the 12-man defensive line apart, sealing the result with time still left on the clock.

Halftime: Raiders 0 v Dragons 4 | Fulltime: Raiders 20 def. Dragons 14

Easily the scrappiest game of the round, but another that followed a familiar trend. Both teams were poor in attack to make a combined 27 errors with the ball in hand.

Neither capitalised efficiently on the field position they earned, but it was the Raiders who defended their errors best.

They endured extended periods on their own try line in both halves, succesfully repelling a clunky Dragons attack to concede just two tries from 35 play-the-balls inside their 20m line.

A Tautau Moga intercept set up an unlikely comeback for St George in the second half, but again the Raiders held firm on their line to win it late.

So, what’s the key takeaway from all of this?

Whether we like it or not, sin bins have become a significant factor in today’s game.

Wins against a 12-man defensive line used to come with a disclaimer, but given their frequency in 2023, sinbinnings are now just another element of the contest.

The importance of defending your line and staying in that contest is all the more important, as a result.

If you can weather the storm and keep your opposition within reach, there’s every chance you’ll get an opportunity against a depleted defensive line later in the contest.

This doesn’t make sin bins the reason for a loss – far from it.

Instead, it highlights the importance of defensive resilience and composure in the grind.

The Rabbitohs, Panthers & Broncos displayed this quality best of all the ‘comeback’ winners in Round 7.

It shouldn’t surprise that these clubs currently enjoy the three best defensive records in the NRL, seven games in.

Their ability to absorb pressure with their defence is setting them up to win games late in the contest.

Some lovely attacking footy from the Broncos and Rabbitohs – and a textbook field-goal set from the Panthers – ended up on the highlight reels, but all three clubs won these games well before the fulltime siren – and well before any sinbins – thanks to their early resilience without the ball.

If nothing else, this all confirms what we already knew; defence still wins premierships.