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Opinion
The captain’s challenge is a big talking point of the NRL pre-season.
Similar to the cricket system, the captain can make as many challenges as they like – as long as they keep getting it right.
Some commentators have expressed concern about possible tactical use of the rule. Perhaps there’s a big line break, with the player brought down by a lone chaser ten metres out. With just a handful of defenders onside, it’s likely that a try is going to be scored on the next play.
The defender finds a way to stop the game either by stripping the ball or being offside from the play the ball and calls a challenge. They don’t care that they are going to lose the challenge, the intent is to create a break in play that allows the defence to reset and cruel the attacking team’s momentum.
Personally, I shrugged off this complaint pretty quickly – at best it’s a tactic that could be used once in a game. It’s likely to be considered a professional foul by the ref in any case, giving the player involved ten minutes in the bin.
(Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
In general play, then, I don’t really see the captain’s challenge as having much impact on a game. It will be an occasional interesting talking point where a team over-turns a bad call or perhaps when they miss an opportunity to.
Where I do see an opportunity for a game-changing difference is in golden-point games. The most common frustration with this part of the game is that referees clearly think they’ve already earned their pay over the first 80 minutes and routinely refuse to uphold the rules any longer.
They do not want the newspapers the next day saying the game was decided because the ref blew a penalty in front at 84 minutes.
Teams are well aware of this and completely ignore the rules when trying to stop field goals. Markers not close to square, defenders metres offside, we’ve become used to the fact that the rules governing golden point are not the same rules in play during regular time.
However the whole scenario changes when the captain’s challenge is available in this period. Any failed attempt at field goal – a stoppage in play – would be an opportunity to call for the captain’s challenge.
Chances are there is a clear penalty on offer, and the video referee won’t be able to turn the same blind eye to it that the on-field refs do. If teams continue playing the way they currently do, a penalty kick in good position is almost guaranteed.
The defending teams then will have to modify their behaviour during golden point. More importantly, so will the refs. They may not be keen to give game-winning penalties but ignoring them is no longer an option. They will look silly being over-ruled for obvious penalties – sillier again if they just ignored them for the other team that didn’t have a challenge left.
So my suggestion is that the captain’s challenge could have the unintended consequence of cleaning up golden point.
Does anyone see other areas of the game where it could make a significant change?
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