Attack, defence and transition. Three terms that are used liberally in the game of rugby league, and three essential components of any game plan.

Kurt Wrigley, an integral member of the South Sydney Rabbitohs coaching staff, works with their attack, their kicking, statistical analysis and forward planning. From the start of a set right to the finish, Wrigley outlines essentially what will make a difference within a side.

"We work hard to get every little advantage we can."

Attack has always been about the following; the larger players, typically the forwards, generally move the ball up field through a hit up in order to push back the defence.

In other words, the forwards use their power to gain field position. Skilled forwards will attempt to pass the ball after drawing in the defence which breaks down the effectiveness of the defensive line.

More commonly, this is known as an off-load. The attacking team may also use combinations of plays utilising speed, passing and kicking designed to confuse the defence, breaking down the effectiveness of the defensive line.

However, it is their kicking game that is usually used as a method of gaining field position.

When an attacking team is struggling to make ground down the field, a kick can be used to return the ball to the opposition team in their half of the field.

"Look at your attack. You break it up into ones coming out of the end zone, back of the field, front of the field when we get some good ball, whether they made an error or they've had a penalty."

Wrigley explains, "When they've had the ball or they've had a scrum; we call that transitional. Transitional is basically [where you] get rid of the ball, kick chase and also when you're receiving the ball."

These are typically back of the field strategies. For example, the ‘stay to get out'. With the ‘stay to get out', the team is essentially in one area, with the possibility of ‘getting out'.

The team may not ‘get out' in the finish, depending on the defence of the opposition, yet they have had the capacity and the shape to get out and shift.

However, if the opposition cramps their defence up to much, then there is a possibility to make it out and make some clean yards down the field. In contrast, another technique is the ‘move to stay'.

The focus rests on obviously getting down the field and getting some yardage. Unless you're behind on the scoreboard and it's late in the game, the aim is to not have a ‘windscreen wiper' attack that folds in and out.

Other strategies include balanced ball movement were the focus lies on the strengths of your team and the middle 1/3. Late in the half when players are tired, a lot of dummy half running is ideal.

There will no doubt be a lot of bigger players in behind the ruck, which will make people double and triple their efforts.

Heading down the middle of the field allows the attacking side to get a kick in- it doesn't mean that the ball can't be shifted to either side if there is an advantage to be had, yet it means you can force a channel down the middle.

"We have two principles at the back of the field - one, if we get a reasonable play the ball, we trey and stay there again. Teams now are rather good at covering up things, so rather than shifting away from the area if we get good play, you tend to stay in there again.

"You'll get an even better advantage if you get an even better play the ball, and then you shift the ball."

"The other thing is, after we have a bit of movement, we tend to get in behind the ruck. Pass numbers, these blokes have got to travel down to the short side and cover that. Usually they're broken up with nice big spaces behind the ruck so you can get behind it and get some nice easy yards."

Towards the front end of the field is where the attack is concentrated on set starts; penalties, scrums, and turnovers. Special attention is also given to shape and depth of the attack, as well as the early attacking kick.

The important thing to remember is that when you're constructing sets off of penalties, is to try and not to have to set up plays. Make sure that the set up plays aren't just a play at the ball, it's something you're trying to break the line with. The ultimate aim is to generate the play the ball speed throughout the set.

The only way you can do that, is to stress their defensive line. This can be done through the order of carry. Traditionally, a forward carries the ball into the line followed by a smaller player.

Wrigley has found though, that the smaller and often quicker players get better play the ball. They have a greater chance of using a dummy to make ground while a bigger player just crashed up and goes under.

The smaller player can also work on weak spots within the ruck. The bigger player is better when the play the ball is quicker because he's got more momentum.

"The game's about pressure, about controlling momentum and handling the pressure, as well as limiting yardage."

Wrigley says. If the defence is really tight and standing shoulder to shoulder, that's when the player has to move the ball. There needs to be a nice balance between moving the ball around and staying in the same area.

The issue simply comes down to knowing when to do it, and when not to do it. With the speed of the game being so quick, a lot relies on a player's instinct.

It's all about everyone in the team knowing what they are doing, and being in the correct position.

"The best way to help with defence is to control where you give the opposition the ball."

"What we're trying to do is have patterns where we mix up, where we have a nice balance of actually moving the ball across the field, and also staying in one area."

The little adjustments made to the game plan, are essentially what helps a team establish their balance.  Not massive changes, but slight changes that allow for improvement.

That way, the right combination of attack, transition and defence are established.