Andrew Johns has claimed that if junior halfbacks want to go on and succeed in the NRL, then touch football is the place to learn their trade.
The Immortal has been a massive advocate of introducing weight divisions in the junior competitions as opposed to the current age divisions, an attempt to allay fears that the smallest kids will turn their back on the sport before they've even got a Steeden in hand.
There is certainly a point amongst it all that comes back to the lack of elite halfbacks in the NRL today, and you only need to take a look at the ladder to see just how vital they are.
Across the NRL today, only six halfbacks have premiership rings, and every team currently sitting between 1st and 5th has premiership-winning number seven, only Daly Cherry-Evans sits outside the eight.
"It’s hard for the kids to learn their trade – and that can start as young as six, seven or eight years of age when you’re learning how to step, how to pass and how far to go to the line – and these poor kids are terrified of getting smashed" Johns wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald.
"That’s where touch football can be so valuable. We’ve seen the likes of Ryan Papenhuyzen, Shaun Johnson, Matt Moylan and even Benji Marshall have a grounding in touch football."
The immense increase in OzTag participation is a testament to Joey's comments, allowing kids to explore the mechanics of the game without the fear of getting cut-in-half by someone twice their size.
Correlate the number of elite halfbacks in the competition to elite fullbacks, and it's an entire different kettle of fish. The amount of quality custodians dwarfs those donning the seven, and it boils down to one detail - contact.
Across a junior team, the back three for a side are easily the trio receiving the least amount of contact due to a lack of kick returns at that age. You can't hide if you're a half defending in the line.
Weight divisions are looming up on the NRL like a $2 favourite on the Flemington straight, there's just no way the game can continue to ignore grassroots football and the prospect of losing the small, zippy, talented halves from our game due to genuine fear at a young age.
