You see it every weekend when you switch on the telly but it was invented in Newcastle.
In the 1992 season, Matt Rodwell and Michael Hagan were pulling the strings at the Knights.
With David Waite coaching the team, he pulled his playmakers into a meeting to discuss a fresh way he wanted the team to play.
“There was a particular style of play that David Waite was introducing,” Rodwell told the Our Town Our Team podcast.
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“I’m surprised there’s not more mention of it. It’s the style of play NRL teams have been using for the past five or six years. Going to the line, hitting the lead runner with an option out the back and then going to the line again.
“If you go and watch the tape of Newcastle in 92. We were the first side to employ that attacking style. We had our own terminology for it.
“The way David Waite explained it to us, we had so many options.”
It was Rodwell’s breakout season.
He was awarded the Dally M Rookie of the Year as well as the Norwich Rising Star award and the Knights reached the semi-finals for the first time in their five-year history.
“We called it, Billy Bust,” he continued.
“Weird name, right? Billy Bust right, Billy Bust left. Fortunately for me, David Waite called me into his office and said I’ve got the start.
“My (starting) first-grade debut was against Illawarra Steelers at Marathon stadium. It was a 14-all draw.
“It was a solid debut and I kept my sport for the next game and I formed a terrific combination with Hages for the rest of the year.”
For about three seasons, they were the only club playing this way.
Now, lead runners and block plays are as common as a cold in winter but back in the 90s, it was fresh and exciting.
“No other team did it,” he said.
“Broadcasters would be commenting on the unique style of play.
“It was interchangeable with me and Hages at either first or second receiver.
“It probably disappeared on from the scene when David Waite moved on from the Knights… it might’ve been Melbourne who re-introduced the style.
“It’s been around now for 5-7 years.”
