RUGBY LEAGUE BREAKOUT

WHAT EMAIL WAS INVENTED FOR

5  ADJUDICATION

5.1  POSSESSIONS   Each team has six possessions in the game and there are six tackles in each possession. The field position is different at the start of each possession. The first possession starts 80 yards out, the second starts from 60 yards, the third from 40 yards, the fourth from 20 yards, the fifth from 10 yards and the sixth from 5 yards. The attacking team selects a play for each tackle while the defending team selects a defending play (tactic) for each possession and some additional options that apply for the whole game.

5.2  ATTACKING PLAYS   For each tackle the attacking play is selected for the attacking team. For each possible attacking play there is a player position, a skill required, two numbers for the yardage gained, and a risk factor. The position and skill decide who carries the ball and which skill is used. The risk factor is the risk of a turnover (a forward pass, a knock on or an interception) on that tackle. The two yardage numbers are the "fixed yardage" and the "variable yardage".

5.2  THE BALL CARRIER   A suitable player (one who plays the right position for the play) is selected to carry the ball. Half the time the ball carrier will be the best player for the play (i.e. the one with the highest strength in the skill required for the play) and half the time it will be any suitable player selected at random.

Note: The choice between giving the ball to the best player and a random player is not itself random. Whichever choice is made on one play, the other choice will be made on the next. The random bit is which one is made first.

5.3  THE FIRST DEFENDER   The first defender on each play is the opposite number of the ball carrier (i.e. the guy with the same shirt number, who plays the same position). The strength of the defender on the play is either the same skill as the attacker, or the tackling strength of the defender, or the average of the two (one of the three options is chosen at random).

Note: The choice of the three options for the strength of the defender is random (not like the way the ball carrier is chosen). The same random choice could happen again and again.

5.5  YARDAGE   The number of yards gained is the fixed yardage for the play plus the difference in the strengths of the attacker and the defender, up to the value of the variable yardage. If the defender is stronger than the attacker then you can be driven backwards.

5.6  LINE BREAKS   If the difference in the strengths of the players is greater than the variable yardage then the defender has missed the tackle and this is a line break. In this case the attacker gets extra yards equal to the variable yardage (again) plus the difference between the speed of the attacker and the strength of the cover defender (see 5.8, below). Again, it is possible to lose yardage.

Note: The cover defender is usually stronger than the attacker, but rarely by enough that you don't get extra yardage from the line break.

5.7  DOUBLE YARDAGE   If the previous play in the same possession was a line break then the yardage is now doubled.

Note: This is an important rule. When an attacker breaks tackles and disrupts your defence you are vulnerable to what happens on the next tackle before you defence has a chance to recover.

5.8  COVER DEFENDERS   In a line break the cover defender is the next similar player (forwards cover forwards, and backs cover backs and halfbacks) with the highest total of speed and tackling skills. The strength of the cover defender (in the yardage calculation for line breaks) is the average of his speed and tackling skills.

5.9  DEFENCE PLAYS   Many defences (the inside, open, wide, press, swarm or heavy defences) alter the fixed yardage either up or down according to the characteristics of the attacking play.

The tight defence reduces the fixed yards and the variable yards (this makes the short yards harder to make but increases the chance of breaking a tackle for a longer gain).

The loose defence increases the fixed yards and the variable yards (this makes the short yards easier to make, but reduces the chances of breaking a tackle for a a longer gain).

The goal line defence reduces the variable yards by half the fixed yards, removes all the fixed yards and increases the risk factor.

The deep defence is bad against everything (except kicking plays).

All defences have greater effects (for good or bad) if you set the effort option higher.

5.10  DEFENCE OPTIONS   There are three additional options on defence, for which you set a value from 0 to 9. These are the offside, hardness and effort options.

EFFORT: Your effort value is added to the strength of your defenders (both the first and cover defender). An effort value above one also increases the effect of the defence play (for good or bad).

OFFSIDE: Offside reduces the fixed yardage on each play but increases the risk of conceding a penalty.

HARDNESS: Hardness reduces the variable yardage and increases the risk factor on each play but also increases the risk of conceding a penalty.

Note: Reducing the variable yardage is not necessarily a good thing. It makes it easier for the attacker to make a line break.

5.11  TURNOVERS   Each play has a risk factor. This is the chance (out of ten) of a turnover on the play. The more complicated the play and the better the yardage it might gain the higher the risk. The risk is reduced by the handling skills of the ball carrier. If the ball is turned over then the possession ends (the defending team doesn't get to run the ball back or win an extra possession for themselves).

Note: The risk reduction for handling skills is one third of the skill (fractions do count).

5.12  KICKS   If the play chosen by the attacking team is a kick (on sixth tackle only) then the yardage calculation is simply the fixed yardage plus a a random proportion of the variable yardage. The player who is the target of the kick (the chaser) contests possession with his immediate opponent. If the defender wins the ball the possession is over. If the attacker wins the ball the possession continues (but you'll normally kick on the sixth tackle, in which case the possession will end if the ball isn't recovered).

On a grubber kick (GK) the kicker is also the chaser. On a bomb (BK) the chaser is the attacking player with the highest total of speed and handling skills. On a cross kick (CK) the chaser is the winger with the highest total of speed and handling skills.

On all kicks the skills needed are speed and handling for the chaser and the defender and the kicking skill of the best kicker among the attacking half backs and loose forward. The chance of recovering the ball on a kick is proportional to the skills of the players.

Example: A half back with speed 4, handling 11 and kicking 9 tries to recover his own grubber kick. The yardage gained is five to ten yards. His immediate opponent has speed 6 and handling 10, The attacker has 24 chances of recovering the ball, and the defender has 16 chances (in percentage terms their chances are 60% and 40%).

5.13  DEFENCES ON KICKS   If the defence is playing offside, the chance of the attacker receoving the ball is increased by three times the offside value. If the defensive play is deep defence (DD) then the yardage is reduced by one plus the effort of the defence. In addition the chance of the defender recovering the ball is increased by three times the effort of the defence.

5.14  KICKERS   Your place kicker (on penalty goals and conversions) is the player in your team with the highest kicking skill. Your open field kicker for drop goals and tactical kicks (kicking plays) is the half back or loose forward with the highest kicking skill.

5.15  DROP GOALS   If you really want to, you can try for a drop goal (DK) on the sixth tackle. The chance (in twenty) of success is the kicking skill of your open field kicker less one for every five yards you are from the goal line. It's only worth one point.

5.16  TRIES & CONVERSION   A try is worth four points, and you also get a kick at goal for two points. The chance (in twenty) of success on a conversion is the kicking skill of your place kicker.

5.17  PENALTIES   Penalties are awarded against teams that use the hardness and offside options. Penalties are awarded only on the sixth tackle (after the play, even if it was a kicking play, and only if you didn't score anyway) and you have to kick for goal. The chance (in twenty) of success is the kicking skill of your place kicker less one for every five yards you are from the goal line.

Note: Yes, this is a completely unrealistic rule, but it works and avoids the complication of deciding whether to kick the penalty or go for the try or reset the tackle count. We call it an advantage rule!

5.18  FIRST TIE-BREAKER   The first tie breaker applies when the two teams are within one score (a converted try, which is six points) after the six normal possessions. Both teams get an extra possession starting from 80 yards out (this is the seventh/extra possession on the turnsheet).

Note: Yes, it's not really a tie-breaker, because you might not really be tied. So think up something better to call it and tell us about it.

5.19  SECOND TIE-BREAKER   The second tie breaker applies when there is an actual tie (scores level) at the end of a game in the finals or a cup competition. The winner is the team that scored the most points during the season. If both scored the same, then the winner is the team that conceded the fewest. If they scored and conceded the same number of points then the winner is decided by the toss of a coin. The winner kicks an automatic drop goal, which is awarded to their open field kicker.

5.20  KEY PLAYERS   For each game you pick two key players. This increases their strengths by two when picked as the ball carrier and/or as the first defender. There is no key bonus when they're picked as the cover defender, as a kicker or a chaser.

Note: Although it's only a little one, and it's hidden away here at the end of a section, this is another important rule. You can use your keys to try to even up the strengths where you think your team is vulnerable, or you can use them to exploit the areas where you think your opponent is vulnerable.