NRL Round 8 Talking Points: The kick-off is on borrowed time, so what replaces it?
Round 8’s NRL was a weekend of domination, with an average win margin of 21 points and some teams seeing their finals hopes really…
Super League’s governing body in England, the Rugby Football League (RFL), will allow clubs an extra interchange in the event of a player needing a pitchside concussion assessment.
It is one of four rule changes that will come into effect in the Super League, Kingstone Press Championship and League 1 and Challenge Cup in the 2015 season.
The RFL said: “The change is designed to safeguard players against the unseen dangers of concussion by removing any subconscious pressure on medical staff to not be over-cautious in removing a player from the field for an assessment.”
Currently, each team can make a total of 12 changes during a match.
The RFL’s Laws Committee has also tried to clear up the confusion over obstruction, which will let the referee “allow play to continue unless the defending team has been materially disadvantaged”.
On-field officials must now also signal for a decision before going to the video referee, who would then have to find “sufficient evidence” to overturn the ruling, a system used in the NRL and the international Four Nations tournament.
Referees will also have only four rather than seven main areas in which sin-binning is deemed to be the appropriate course of action, helping the official reduce the number of ‘on report’ decisions.
RFL chief executive Nigel Wood, who chairs the Laws Committee, said: “The changes will enhance the matchday experience for players, spectators, coaches and TV viewers alike by making the laws of the game as simple and unambiguous as possible.
“The Laws Committee took into consideration views from across the game and I am sure the changes will be well received by everyone involved.”
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