The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

The rules rugby league must change

Roar Rookie
22nd April, 2017
Advertisement
Josh Dugan of the Dragons is helped from the field with a suspected concussion during the round 5 NRL match between the Newcastle Knights and the St George Illawarra Dragons at Hunter Stadium, in Newcastle, Saturday, April 4, 2015. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
Roar Rookie
22nd April, 2017
88
3314 Reads

We all know rugby league is the greatest game of all, but let’s face it, there are some rules that really frustrate fans.

Rugby league officials have never been afraid to change the rules. In fact, many of these rule changes have helped to shape rugby league into the game we know and love. Rule changes such as defenders standing 10m back from the ruck, rather than 5m, a limited tackle count, and increasing the value of a try from three points to four are just some examples.

It would be hard to imagine our great game without these rules. In that spirit, here are a few rules that I believe are crying out to be changed.

1. The strip
The strip rule as it stands now is an absolute farce. If the ball comes loose in a tackle, the referee needs to decide if the attacking player simply lost the ball, or if the ball was helped free by the defender. Now if the ball was helped free, was this intentional, or was it just dislodged as part of the tackle?

If it was intentionally stripped out, was there more than one player in the tackle? Did a player drop off the tackle before the second defender arrived, or just after? Did the strip occur in the act of preventing a try?

If there was only one defender in the tackle and the ball was intentionally stripped, did the defender knock the ball on, or did it travel backwards?

What a shemozzle!

We could easily simplify this situation, and stop me from screaming at my TV every game, if we just allowed defenders to attack the ball, regardless of the number of players in the tackle. It is the attacking players responsibility to retain possession. If he carries the ball in such a manner that allows his opponent to take the ball off him, then I believe he doesn’t deserve to maintain possession.

Advertisement

And while we’re at it, let’s forget about which way the ball travels after it’s been stripped. If you can strip the ball from your opponent, you should be allowed the opportunity to gain possession. It seems odd to penalise a defender for removing the ball from the attacking player simply because it travelled forwards.

This gives the attacking team, who had the ball removed from their possession, a fresh set of six. Ridiculous! There’s no knock on from a charge down, so why should there be for a strip?

2. Penalties in attacking zone
This has become a major issue in rugby league, and to date very little has been done to combat it. The idea is simple, when you’re defending your own line, under pressure, you give away a penalty. The attacking team walks back to the 10m line, and you get to reset your defence. Repeat this a few times and you might even frustrate the attacking team into taking the easy two points. Giving away two points is better than six.

Obviously something needs to be done about this situation. What if when a team is defending their own line, any ruck infringement by the defending team results in a restart of the tackle count rather than a penalty. There is no stoppage of play, just the referee signaling that the tackle count has restarted.

This removes the incentive for the defending team to deliberately give away penalties. You can guarantee coaches will start drilling their players not to give away penalties when defending their own line (as opposed to encouraging it, as they do now).

NRL referee Shane Hayne decided to not refer a close no try decision in the Wests Tigers clash with the Manly Sea Eagles.

3. Using the sin-bin for head-related infringements
The NRL themselves have admitted that the game needs to take concussion seriously. There is some evidence to suggest that multiple concussions can lead to serious health issues.

Advertisement

The NRL should be congratulated by the stance they have taken by mandating in game Head Injury Assessments (HIA). However, there isn’t much action taken when a player is ruled out of a game for failing an HIA as a result of foul play.

Sure, the offending player may face a suspension, but how does that help a team when their halfback has to sit on the bench for the rest of the match having suffered a concussion after a shoulder charge from an opposing prop.

I’d like to see the NRL introduce a mandatory sin bin for offences that could lead to a concussion. i.e. High tackles and shoulder charges.

If you hit a bloke high, you sit out for ten minutes. If you use your shoulder to knock a bloke senseless, you sit out for ten minutes. Pretty simple stuff.

I know we all love seeing the big hits and the watching the big boys collide. I don’t see this changing the fabric of the game. Player safety must come first.

It also means that any team that has a player rubbed out due to concussion as a result of foul play will get some sort of advantage within that game, by forcing their opponents to play a man down for ten minutes.

I’m sure the suggestions I’ve put forward are not perfect, and many will disagree. But I’m confident we all agree that these three areas deserve the attention of the rule makers, in order to make the greatest game of all even greater.

Advertisement
close