The last thing the NRL needs is more rule changes but they’ve put themselves in a “damned if they do, damned if they don’t” position with the fans after the flurry of different rules over the past two years.
They won’t backtrack on their innovations but the six-again rule is clearly being exploited so there needs to be changes made to stop teams deliberately using the lack of traditional penalties to their advantage.
The NRL is yet to officially announce it but in 2022 it is set to revert to an old-fashioned penalty with a kick for touch instead of a six-again call if teams make an infringement on the opposition when the other team is coming out of their own 40-metre zone.
Then of course coaches will exploit the six-again rules a different way.
This adjustment to the rule is a step in the right direction but the punishment for a six-again infringement is so much less than a traditional penalty that teams will continue to deliberately give them away elsewhere on the field if all it means is they’re defensive set is extended by an extra play or two or three, or at the most six.
Players are so fit these days and they train all off-season for the scenario of defending for back-to-back sets and then some.
The six-again rule was being exploited so much over the past two seasons that it got to a stage that whenever a team gained possession, the defender making the first tackle would almost automatically lie on his opponent like a dead weight until the referee yelled at him to move.
Even then they were slow to peel off the tackled player knowing that a six-again call would only add one more play to the set.
When you compare that minimal punishment against the advantage they’d receive of slowing the opposition’s attacking set from the first play, it was obvious to the smart coaches that defenders could, and should, push the envelope.
The incoming tweak to the rule to give proper penalties in a team’s 40-metre territory will reduce this blatant cheating but it won’t stop it altogether.
It’s not hard to see how some fans have struggled to keep up with all the new rules such as 20/40 kicks, two-point field goal, 18th player provisions, the positioning of scrums, captain’s challenges and when Bunker reviews are done.
The NRL has made a rod for its own back now and they can’t win either way – if they introduce new rules, the rusted-on supporters will be up in arms about the game moving further away from its traditional structures but if they do nothing, then coaches will continue to work the margins.
It’s no coincidence that Penrith conceded the most set restarts in 2021 as they marched to their first title in 18 years and minor premiers Melbourne were also one of the main offenders.
Last month when they were foreshadowing its next change to the rules, the NRL pointed to the results from a fans poll on its website of more than 23,000 voters indicated 65% thought the speed of the game was just right and that 54% thought the six-again concept was a positive addition to the game.
What wasn’t highlighted was that the six-again rule’s popularity has dropped significantly – in the same poll the previous year when the concept was in its honeymoon stage, 82% of the fans gave it the thumbs-up.
It remains to be seen whether the NRL will put it to a fan vote next year but if the popularity continues to drop, especially by another 28%, will that mean they change the rules yet again?
Like politicians who come up with policy on the run depending on what the polls say, it can be a double-edged sword when you are constantly bending to the whim of public opinion.
Wayne Pearce floated an idea without consulting the rest of the ARL Commission in August when he said he wouldn’t mind seeing all kicks that find touch would result in a seven-tackle set. His idea was to encourage more ball in play – it wasn’t the worst idea but the timing was poor after all the recent rule changes that were seemingly apropos of nothing. The backlash was severe and the league quickly made it known that this would not be happening.
Storm prop Christian Welch spoke on behalf of the players and the fans when he tweeted in response: “Please just leave our game alone. The tension, grind, pressure & game management almost already gone. Would love the commission for less gimmicking with the rules & more focus on bigger picture strategy.”
Some dyed-in-the-wool supporters and dinosaur media commentators arc up if you dare make the slightest of changes but most rugby league fans don’t mind a tweak here or there if it improves the overall product.
Administrators need to always bear in mind that professional sport’s lifeblood is TV rights and they must ensure the product they’re selling is worth buying.
Rugby league had become too stagnant with wrestling tactics and slow play a few years ago when teams like the 2016 Sharks and 2017 Storm grappled their way to trophies by using strongarm tactics in the middle of the ruck.
Welch’s comments summed it up for the wider rugby league fan base – they are worried about the DNA of rugby league being phased out with all the recent rule changes.
If the innovations make the game seem like touch footy, American football or even heaven forbid, the sworn enemy of rugby union, then crowds will drop and ratings will plummet.
But if the on-field action passes the eye test and remains entertaining and at its core, true to the sport’s fabric of a tough, physical but skilful contest based on endurance, then rule changes will not only be tolerated but embraced.
After all, rugby league was founded with a massive rule change, going from 15 players to 13.
SPM
Roar Rookie
Escalating penalty is the answer ie the additional six for the first infringement, then a traditional penalty for the second 5 mins in the bin for the third with an accompanying penalty 10 mins in the bin for the fourth infringement a send of for the fifth infringement penalty try for the sixth consecutive infringement. If this was enforced by the referees and players didn’t listen the the path is clear and would only have themselves to blame Additionally defenders who make a traditional and decisive legs tackles should be afforded the right to get to marker before the play the ball can happen no need to wrestle or lay on the tackled player then additionally no risk of contact with the head or neck and impossible to effect a crusher tackle when you tackle the legs.
SPM
Roar Rookie
Keep it but as a 12 tackle set, so six more instead of six again. You won’t see players wanting to give away a 12 tackle set and is more of a penalty than the current six again.
Magic Mike
Roar Rookie
Vlandys has killed the game!
Magic Mike
Roar Rookie
The Vlandys guy jhas killed the game...its not rugby leag anymore! Walsh is correct, the game management and grind is gone and these needs to brough back?
Gus O
Roar Rookie
I’d also be pleased to dump the captains challenge. Players should not be encouraged to challenge the refs decision - that is the slippery slope. If we want to protect the game from howlers, we could set up some independent overlord in an external review centre who could check every damned decision thing from every angle and over rule the refs whenever they feel like interfering. I don’t know, we could call it something like a… bunker. Otherwise, we could take the right to challenge away from the players and maybe give it to the coach (that could be funny, watching Bellamy frothing directly into the ref’s earpiece), or maybe give it to the on-field trainer since they are so close to the play every minute of the game. Alfie’s already the on-field Broncos captain, everyone loves Alfie so why not bring him into the game a bit more and have him challenge ref decisions, since we’ve clearly decided to ignore the existing rules that limit trainers time on the field. Uh-oh… sounds like I've accidentally called for a mid-season crackdown on trainers for 2022. Apologies to all.
Gus O
Roar Rookie
No more short lived mid-season “crackdowns” please. Stop players crawling forward off the mark and taking markers out of play, stop the forward passes from dummy half, stop allowing attacking players to drag or push defenders off the tackled player (looking at you Munster) - if they want to be part of the tackle then we should allow them to be cleaned out by defenders like they do in… oh, that’s the other game. We don’t need new rules, we just need refs to consistently apply existing rules. I’d be really happy to get past this attempt at millimetre perfect rulings for contested bombs… who cares if there is a bobble if it is part of a fair contest - the more important issue is allowing a fair contest without obstructing attackers from getting there at all. The escort rule is so inconsistently applied, but then we need 10 replays to work out if someone’s fingernail grazed the ball in the aerial contest for possession… good grief, somebody please pass me the painkillers.
Short Memory
Roar Rookie
Agree 100%. Extra time. Then if it's still a draw, it's a draw.
Redcap
Roar Guru
Yes, thanks Paul, I'd gathered that. What's your position? You're a club supporter as well, are you not?
mushi
Roar Guru
The first part seemed like the obvious fix to me. The counter has been players don't always hear it. Don't really see that being an issue as not hearing it is the same outcome now. The deliberate conceding should be a binning. But the NRL seems to go through two black/white settings for sin bins. The blitz/crackdown or whistle in the pocket.
Kent Dorfman
Roar Rookie
yep, players know the rules - so when the ref blows the penalty & says what it's for there should be no complaints
Kent Dorfman
Roar Rookie
RL was meant to cure the rahrah complexity & confusion by making the rules simple so that even the uneducated could know what is going on - changing the rules over the past few years probably hasn't helped. As for soccer it's easy - the bloke rolling around on the ground crying like a girl is the one who gets the free kick
Tom G
Roar Rookie
It is practically impossible for the NRL to tread carefully when they only ever wear clown shoes
criag
Roar Rookie
Yes, and as I’ve said before…Band Aid! Band Aid! Band Aid! STILL not thinking about WHY we have players wanting to slow the play-the-ball. Of course, they want their defence to be set……that’s not actually unreasonable!
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
Mr Suttor, every team pushes the envelope in defence. No exceptions. I'm sure even Paul Sutton would agree with me on that :happy:
Kevin
Guest
That’s such a good point , the storm are constantly portrayed as the “ dogs of war “, yet their highlights reel is the best in the business , how else do stars like slater , ado carr , Hinds etc become house hold names that entertain
Nat
Roar Guru
I can't say it out loud. The people in my head are listening. They gave up listening to cheech, it's been a very long time since an actual thought ran through that head. Nothing but a monkey with the symbols occupying that space.
GWSingapore
Roar Rookie
I would like to see four quarters rather than 2 halves. This would give players a needed extra recovery time and might assist in preventing the one-sided blowouts that have dogged the game last season.
Paul Suttor
Expert
The NRL doesn’t need more rule changes as fans will arc up. They actually need to make this rule tweak because this innovation was being exploited. Coaches will exploit any new rule to their advantage. Approval rating for 6-again is plummeting.
Muzz
Guest
Yeah, Tread carefully b itches or else.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
Thanks Paul, nice work. Rugby League has been in a state of flux for its entire existence with rule modifications. The biggest change came with the adoption of American football’s four downs. In AF there are four distinct plays where the offense play complex moves to score a touchdown. In RL they boast of fast continuous action so the PTB is crucial to disrupting the defence but it turns out to be bash, barge and bomb. In AF they don’t have bombs because a three point field goal is a consolation for getting close to the try line. In RL a one point field goal is a good option to take as you get the ball back from the kick-off but the fans don’t like field goals and bombs are an easy way to score a try.