Save the spectacle | Thebigtip

 Two golden point games in one weekend is always going to be an exciting weekend in the National Rugby League. But when they turn into mediocre field goal shootouts, the game loses.

We all remember last year’s Finals match between the Wests Tigers and the Sydney Roosters. 100 glorious minutes of gripping footy before Shaun Kenny-Dowall streaked away for one of the most memorable finishes to a game you could ever imagine.

On Friday night, the struggling Parramatta Eels threw everything they had at the Dragons. A considerable lead at half-time for the Eels had everybody thinking that the fatigued Premiers were going to let this one slip. But as always, the Big Red V clawed their way back into the match and eventually got themselves to 14-all. Setting up only the second golden point game of the season. What followed was ten minutes of madness and a river of inept field goal attempts. When Jamie Soward did put one between the posts, Jack Bosden was penalised for not playing the ball correctly.

Dragons messiah Wayne Bennett hates golden point.

"I'm reading about all the supposed changes we should be making (NRL) and I'm sitting there watching them go another ten minutes tonight and I'm thinking 'are we kidding ourselves or what?'," Bennett said.

"I'm happy with the draw, I've always been happy with the draw."

Monday night football at Leichart Oval was much the same story with the Wests Tigers somehow sending their match against the Newcastle Knights into golden point. You could see it coming. Ten minutes of terrible field goal attempts.

This isn’t Super Rugby and there are no Quade Cooper’s in this game. NRL players would spend less than ten minutes practising field goals at training on a weekly basis. So why are we still playing golden point?

Last night’s game was finally sealed when the Tigers inched within thirty metres of the Knights line and Robbie Farah slotted the point and an undeserving win for the home side.

The problem isn’t the extra time. It is the mad dash to kick a field goal which is killing the spectacle. If players knew they needed a try for victory, we wouldn’t have this problem. Its almost embarrassing how poor the quality gets when all anyone on the field is thinking is the one point.

Bad luck for Bennett and bad luck for the representative players. The NRL is the fans game and they want extra time. The more they can see their team the better and if that means we need golden try, then golden try it is.

Wayne Bennett and his tired old Dragons will say they need a break. For some reason I think Stuart Flanagan and his Sharks might have another opinion.

Give us golden try and save the spectacle.