Put simply, attack is the new black.
But when – and how – did all this razzle-dazzle creep into our game?
Weren’t the early rounds meant to be all about completing sets and making your tackles?
Some good judges said a few rule changes in recent years had benefited attacking teams.
The six-again rule has introduced fatigue. The big men get pooped quicker.
Kickers have become almost a protected species and rivals are quickly penalised for laying a hand on them once they have passed or kicked.
And the short dropouts have ruined the age-old practice of rolling the ball into the in-goal area in the hope of getting a fresh set and building pressure.
What is the point if a team can get the ball back from a short dropout? Teams have been forced to get creative.
Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans arrived in the game 14 seasons ago when defence was all the rage.
You still need rock-solid defence to win titles.
Daly Cherry-Evans is loving the attacking trend in the NRL.Credit: Getty Images
But the rules were kinder to those teams with the ball in their hand. Cherry-Evans said there had been similar attacking trends in the NFL and Twenty20 cricket.
Even our beloved Ange Postecoglou has introduced “Angeball” at Tottenham in the Premier League, which is heavily based on all-out attack.
Cherry-Evans loves it. It also helps having speed in the outside blokes, which Manly has, and a healthy sprinkling of millennials who do not care (or can not remember) if they take a risk or make a mistake.
“These new-age players have this amazing demeanour where they know if they make a mistake it won’t define the game or the season they have,” Cherry-Evans said.
“It’s great, and it only keeps me fresh.”
Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds has plenty of those flamboyant and confident kids in the Brisbane backline, including Reece Walsh, Selwyn Cobbo and Ezra Mam.
The Broncos are probably the best team in the NRL when it comes to being able to pile on points quickly.
They thumped the Wests Tigers 34-10 last Saturday but hopped on the bus from Campbelltown afterwards knowing they could have had 60 points.
Reynolds orchestrated one of those long-range tries right on half-time when he kicked on his own 40m for Deine Mariner, who steamed on to the ball on the right wing, charged upfield and had no fewer than four Broncos teammates in support. Walsh ended up scoring.
“We actually attempted that play about ten minutes earlier, but we couldn’t get the ball to Deine,” Reynolds said.
“We noticed an opportunity out there and I told Deine to get ready on the wing. The boys were good enough to finish it off.”
Like Cherry-Evans, Reynolds was brought up in a defensive era and won a competition in 2014 at Souths under Michael Maguire, who adopted tough defensive principles while in Melbourne.
But Reynolds had to quickly evolve his game to suit the young rockstars at Red Hill.
“I know we can attack from anywhere on the field, and these boys like to back themselves to score from anywhere,” Reynolds said.
“Teams have become so good with their defence over the years, which is why the attack is now evolving at a quick rate.
“You need to come up with new ways to break teams down in attack.
“I had a simple game plan when I debuted, which was to make my tackles and get my kicking game right. The attack would always flow off the back of that.
“I enjoyed the physical side of things, which came from ‘Madge’ [Maguire]. Defence wins grand finals and wins big games.
“The art of the game is still defence, but I’ve since enjoyed trying to pull teams apart.”
St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan watched the Roosters scored six tries from kicks on Anzac Day. He also witnessed the Dragons score the first try of the game, which was an excellent long-range effort started by some Zac Lomax magic and finished with Jack Bird showing good instinct to pass for Jaydn Su’a.
Flanagan has always loved thinking outside the square when it comes to attack. Remember Ben Barba’s sneaky try from the scrum in Cronulla’s 2016 grand final triumph?
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These days, Flanagan said teams needed to be even more creative, and from much further up the field, because there was little reward simply trying to build pressure with dropouts.
“Getting repeat sets isn’t what is used to be,” Flanagan said.
“You’d put the kick into the in-goal and you’d be guaranteed to get another set on their tryline because most teams would take the long dropout. Now, there’s no real reward because of the short dropouts. So you need to come up with attacking kicks, or even running it on the last.”
Defence wins premierships. Attack is winning over the fans.