NRL's kick-blocker crackdown changes the game - but the question is do we want that?
NRL kickers are under more pressure than ever. But what will the knock-on effects of the new crack-down be?
Premiership winning playmaker Luke Keary has indicated he is readying to leave South Sydney, with a decision on his NRL future due within a fortnight.
Greg Inglis’ move to five-eighth has put Keary on the outer at Redfern.
And after Souths re-signed utility Cody Walker earlier this month it appeared the club would also battle to keep Keary, who is off-contract at season’s end.
The 24-year-old has flirted with a defection to rugby union but looks set to stay in the NRL with either Sydney Roosters, St George Illawarra or Melbourne.
Keary indicated his first preference was to stay with the Rabbitohs, but it looks like that is no longer an option.
“Souths is a great club, I have some great memories, but sometimes you have to move on and we will see what happens over the next couple of weeks,” Keary said.
There has been talk of a falling out between Keary and Souths coach Michael Maguire and owner Russell Crowe, and the five-eighth’s form this year has been down on what it was over the past two seasons.
However Keary denied protracted negotiations over his future were affecting his performances.
“It is a work in progress at the moment and I am just concentrating on things here at Souths,” he said.
“It is not really a distraction, my manager and other people are dealing with that and I don’t have to think about it too much.
“I just want to go where I am going to play my best footy.”
After being relegated to the bench following Inglis’s move to pivot, Keary missed last week’s loss to Wests Tigers with a foot injury.
With Inglis and Adam Reynolds on State of Origin duty, Keary will come back into Maguire’s starting side for Friday night’s round 15 fixture with Parramatta.
“We are not playing the footy we want to at the moment,” he said.
“We will tinker around with the halves there and it definitely gives me a chance to put my best foot forward.”
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NRL kickers are under more pressure than ever. But what will the knock-on effects of the new crack-down be?
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