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This success of rugby league can be attributed to its willingness to embrace new ideas and keep pace with the ever-increasing demands of spectators and the abilities of the modern-day players.
Ever since the sport broke away from rugby union in the late 1800s, rugby league administrators have continued to look at new innovations to enhance the excitement of the game.
This article goes through 10 of the most significant and exciting rule changes over the past 50 years and a couple of rules that were tested but later over-turned.
Successful rule changes
The replacement of the slow-moving rugby ruck with a speedy play-the-ball and the reduction of the number of players from 15 to 13 were obviously the most significant rule changes ever devised, and are both key characteristics of the game.
But it may come as a surprise to some that the rules have undergone a significant amount of fine tuning to create the style of play that we see today.
1. The six-tackle rule
While the play-the-ball ensured that the ball was always alive and not hidden in the middle of a scrum or ruck, teams eventually became obsessed with retaining possession for long periods through the use of big forwards.
A four-tackle rule was introduced in 1967 and was later revised to the six-tackle rule in 1971.
This rule change restored the free-flowing ball movement and open field running that is customary in the modern game and appealing to spectators, including television viewers.
2. Scrums replaced with hand-overs
In 1983 handovers were introduced to replace scrums when a team was caught in possession after six tackles (or tackled for the sixth time in a set).
Then in 1989, the use of the handover was extended to occasions when the attacking team knocked-on, kicked out on the full or ran into touch on the sixth tackle play.
These attacking errors previously resulted in a scrum (as they still do when occurring in the middle of the tackle count).
As a result, there are now fewer scrums and less time wastage.
3. The 20-metre restart
The original 25-yard restart rule (which still exists in rugby union today) required defending teams to take a drop-kick on their 25-yard line if the ball was made dead by either the attacking team or defending team.
This rule was over-hauled in the early days to punish defenders who deliberately made the ball dead in their own in-goal by introducing the familiar ‘goal-line drop-out’.
The 25-yard restart still applied if the ball was made dead by the attacking team, however in 1968 the rule was amended allowing the play to be restarted via an ‘optional kick’ which includes a tap-and-run or a downfield kick of any sort.
This essentially gave possession back to the defending team which compelled half-backs to improve the precision of their attacking kicks.
The 25-yard restart later adopted the metric system and is now known as the 20-metre restart.
In 1986 a rule was introduced to reward players for ‘diffusing an attacking bomb’ by awarding a 20-metre restart to the defending team when an attacking kick is caught on the full in the in-goal area.
Previously, the play would have continued after ‘marking the ball’ in-goal which made it quite easy to trap a defending player in his in-goal area and receive a repeat set of six tackles via a goal-line drop-out.
The incentive for employing a downfield kick at a 20-metre restart was boosted in 2001, when the rule was modified to award a scrum feed to the team restarting play if their restart kick successfully finds the touch line (but not on the full).
The rule provides an opportunity to make an unexpected attacking play and swing the momentum.
In recent years, the 20-metre restart for in-goal marks was changed to allow a ‘quick tap’ to be taken by the player marking the ball.
Usually, a 20-metre restart cannot be taken until the defensive line has set.
4. The 10-metre defensive line
The zero-metre defensive line inherited from rugby union was extended to three metres in the 1950s and then to five metres in the 1960s.
In 1993 (mid-season), the reference point for measuring the defensive line at a play-the-ball was changed to where the ball is placed on the ground rather than the back-foot of the marker, and the defensive line was extended to 10 metres.
The 10-meter rule has promoted more lateral ball movement by attacking teams, however some critics have argued that the rule has encouraged the use of ‘wrestling tactics’ to slow down the play-the-ball and allow defenders to get back on-side.
5. Regulating the ball strip
This rule was first introduced in 1991 and penalised defenders that were guilty of stripping the ball from the hands of an opponent player. Previously, defending players could strip the ball at any time.
The rule was amended by the ARL in 1997 (and later adopted by the NRL) to allow the defending team to strip the ball in a one-on-one tackle.
In 2008, the rule was revised such that a second tackler is now permitted to strip the ball if the attacker carrying the ball is attempting to place the ball for a try.
There are many critics of the no-stripping rule who believe that it encourages poor ball security.
6. No striking at the play-the-ball
In 1997, the ARL introduced a rule preventing markers from striking the ball in the play-the-ball, in an attempt to clean up the ruck.
This rule was adopted by the NRL in 1998 after reconciliation of the ARL and Super League competitions.
7. Banning the forward play-the-ball
The ARL and Super League both introduced a rule preventing tackled players from playing-the-ball forward to themselves at a play-the-ball, even in the absence of any marker.
This intention of this rule was to ensure that the play was not suppressed as a result of supporting players being slow to move into the dummy-half position.
This rule was also adopted by the NRL in 1998.
8. The 40-20 kick
The 40-20 rule was introduced by NRL in 1998 and was a modified version of the 40-10 rule which had proven successful in the 1997 ARL competition.
The rule is intended reward accurate and long kicking in general play, by awarding the feed of the resulting scrum to the kicking team if the ball is kicked from behind his side’s 40 metre line and goes into touch past the opponent’s 20 metre line (but not out on the full).
Prior to the 40-20 rule, the non-kicking team would have been awarded the scrum feed.
Since rugby league scrums are rarely contested, a kicking team will effectively gain 40 metres and a repeat set of six tackles after a successful 40-20 kick.
The rule has also forced defending wingers and fullbacks to make a play for the ball rather than allowing it to find the touch line.
9. The zero tackle
The zero tackle rule was first introduced by Super League in 1997 and then modified by the NRL 1998.
Basically, when a player collects the ball directly after an opposition breach such as a knock-on or forward pass, the referee can decide to play-on rather than call for a scrum and the following tackle will be counted as the zero tackle.
The rule was initially implemented as it was considered unfair for a tackle to be registered when a player dives on a loose-ball with limited opportunity to run.
However, the zero tackle rule applies even when the team collecting the ball makes a significant territorial advantage.
10. The match officiators
For many years, rugby league matches were officiated by one referee and two touch judges, which is the generally the case for most junior leagues.
In-goal touch judges were introduced in 1990 (for the finals series) to assist the referee in his decision making, but were later removed from the game with the development of the video referee.
The Video Referee was first used by Super League in 1997 and adopted by the NRL the following year.
While there are many critics of the video referee, it has certainly encouraged some spectacular feats of athleticism by try scorers (especially wingers) knowing that their acrobatic efforts will be reviewed in slow-motion rather than relying on the referee’s real-time perception.
In 2009, a second referee was included to officiate games, which has been welcomed by most players and spectators.
In recent years a dedicated time-keeper has also been introduced while a match commissioner and interchange official are now used in the European Super League.
Rules that were overturned
1. Restricting the dummy-half
In 1961, a rule was introduced to discourage pointless dummy-half running by awarding a scrum in the event that the dummy-half was tackled.
However, this rule was overturned in 1963 and dummy-half runs were once again unrestricted.
2. Kick-off following points
In 1997, Super League amended the kick-off rule so that the non-scoring team would receive the kick after points were scored.
The intention of this rule change was to prevent runaway score lines and create a more even contest, however the rule was never adopted by the NRL.
Proposed Rule Changes
1. The 30-metre restart
The most notable rule change suggested in recent times is the proposed ’30m restart’, advocated by the former Parramatta and Australian half-back Peter Sterling.
Basically, the new rule would state that if the ball is kicked dead from outside the opposition’s 40-metre line, then the defending team would be allowed to restart play on the 30-metre line rather than the 20-metre line.
The rule would punish attacking teams who deliberately kick the ball dead in order to gain territory and release pressure, which is often seen as unsportsmanlike conduct and an exploitation of the rules.
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