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Opinion

This new rule is one of the NRL's best ever moves

8th December, 2019
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Roar Guru
8th December, 2019
53
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Yep, you have read that headline correctly: the NRL have forced young players to either work or study for a minimum of eight hours a week.

The idea is to stop them from causing off-field dramas. I’m all for it and considering this off-season so far has seen far less drama and disaster makes it a plus in my book.

This new rule is simple: if you’re 20 years or under, you have to either work or study for eight hours a week or you’re not allowed to play on the weekend. This is an old-school classic in the modern era.

Back in the 1970s and ’80s, most players actually did work during the week, because they had to. Today, with most of the players getting a doctor’s annual pay check, they feel like they don’t have to work in the side. Sometimes the old-school tricks work to sheer perfection.

Payne Haas.

The 20-year-old Payne Haas will have to work during the week to represent the Broncos in 2020. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

The only negative I see is if most players who hit 21 then choose to stop working for getting a decent amount of money playing footy, that could make them go along with the proverbial young, dumb and arrogant stage – we’ve all been there.

This rule should be upped to 25. It’s usually the mid-20s when you’re leaving most of the young and dumb stage behind and focusing more on the important things. The motivated and hopeful stage can be a lifelong thing if you choose to make it that way or you eventually feel like you’re too old and hit the Squidward stage when you don’t care about anything.

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This move by the NRL is one of the best they have ever done.

Hopefully they do their best to listen to the fans a bit more. Don’t go begging for the shoulder charge or the biff to be reinstated, it won’t happen.

Each club will have to reinforce this rule as of vital importance, of course. Great management for a club and a team will lead to great success on the field. This new rule seems to be a push for all clubs.

My fellow Roarers, are you a fan of the rule, too?

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