Origin I is set to be one of the quickest and most intense matches ever played, with predictions that the six-again rule could increase the speed of the game by up to 15%.
While Origin is renowned for being played at a faster pace than NRL matches, the introduction of the six-again rule this year resulted in the speed of Telstra Premiership games being higher than last season’s series between NSW and Queensland.
The NRL finals were a step up again from the regular season, with the average distance players sprinted at high speed increasing by 30% to 312 metres compared to the 2019 premiership (241m).
There was also a 15% increase in the average distance of high speed running per player from last season (241m) to this year's premiership (277m).
Intensity, which is measured by metres per minute, and the total distance run by players in NRL matches were also significantly higher than last season and greater than the 2019 Origin series.
The time that the ball was in play during games this season also increased by 84 seconds to 56.3 minutes compared to last year’s premiership (54.9min).
Players, coaches and officials all expect the interstate series to be faster than matches in this year’s NRL season, with Queensland assistant coach Mal Meninga saying the increased pace and intensity was likely to be a key factor in the opening Ampol State of Origin match at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday night.
"Origin will be quicker, we know that," said Meninga, who oversaw nine series wins for Queensland between 2006 and 2015.
More:
https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2020/11/03/breakneck-speed-six-again-to-make-origin-even-more-intense/
Topic: 'Breakneck speed': Six-again to make Origin even more intense
