Last weekend's series of thrashings in the NRL had more to do with finals-bound teams flexing their muscles than a wider issue with the game, according to league officials.
Statistics shown by NRL head of football Graham Annesley at his weekly media briefing suggest games are generally tighter than they were last year, when a rash of gaping margins were panned by fans for making matches unenjoyable to watch.
The average winning margin for round 23 was 32.25 points, making it the most lopsided weekend in the NRL era.
The Sydney Roosters' 72-6 mauling of Wests Tigers, Melbourne's 60-12 pummelling of Brisbane, and easy wins for North Queensland, Cronulla and Parramatta contributed to the round's one-sided nature. The Dragons also cracked 40 points in beating the Titans.
The 466 points scored by all 16 teams from Thursday to Sunday was also the most in one round of NRL action, eclipsing 438 from the final week of the 2020 regular season.
Statistically though, data from the NRL shows the average margin for the year to date is 16 points, two points lower than last year's average (18) and close to the 15.1 of 2020.
Games are also staying closer for longer, with the average margin at the 65th minute mark for 2022 at 11.8 points, well below last year's 16.3.
"We're seeing more points scored, you will see margins get wider as that happen," Annesley said.
"But if you look at the length of time that games are competitive before they really start to blow out, beyond that point where a team can't really drag it back … this year at 65 minutes, on average, teams are still within that two converted tries, which in 15 minutes is very much doable if you're trying to get back into a game and win a game.
"Now, of course, that's an average and that's across a whole season. So there'll be close games and there'll be other games that aren't as close, but it is a good indicator of the competitiveness of games across the board."
Annesley suggested last weekend's results were indicative of a draw pitting several high-ranking teams against sides out of finals contention.
The match between first-placed Penrith and seventh-placed South Sydney on Thursday supported that argument, with the Panthers winning by just four points.
In games featuring teams relatively close together on the ladder, Canberra beat Newcastle by six points, while Gold Coast only trailed St George Illawarra by four with 15 minutes to play before three late Dragons tries blew the final margin out to 20.
But it does not account for the clash between the fourth-placed Storm and sixth-placed Broncos on Friday night.
"Some of the teams that are in the eight and are going to be playing finals football, they really put their foot on the gas and they tried to send a message to the other teams in the competition that they're in form, playing well and they're going to be a threat in the final series," Annesley said.
"We saw a number of those clubs that will definitely be in the eight step up and kick into overdrive across the course of the weekend. That's contributed to some of those scorelines."
AAP/ABC
