NRL to road-test kick-off rule change in ‘dead rubber’ matches”
The NRL is poised to trial a controversial change to the kick-off rule in matches with no bearing on the finals to determine whether a permanent switch should be introduced for the 2027 season.
Head office had considered implementing the initiative, which allows a team that has conceded a try the option to either kick-off or receive the ball from a restart of play, in the months before this season.
While the proposal passed its first test – at a committee meeting of top coaches Wayne Bennett, Ivan Cleary, Craig Bellamy, Ricky Stuart and Craig Fitzgibbon – the clubs felt the game was being unnecessarily tampered with.
To placate the clubs, who wanted more time to digest the potential ramifications of the rule, the NRL put the initiative on hold. But in doing so, the governing body kept the door ajar on the prospect of road-testing the rule in matches that wouldn’t have finals implications.
The trial of the initiative is weeks away, sources speaking on the condition of anonymity to speak freely, said. It will give stakeholders a chance to witness the rule being tested under match conditions, and then determine whether it adds value to the game. It’s the same avenue by which another big shake-up, the captain’s challenge, was introduced.
Proponents for the change feel it could reduce blowout scorelines, as the team that has just scored regains possession, making momentum difficult to stop.
Given the team that just conceded a try under the proposed alteration would have the choice of either kicking or receiving the ball, it also adds a tactical element to the game.
There have been a raft of rule changes recently, most notably the introduction of the six-again after the resumption in May 2020 of the premiership following the COVID pandemic break.
The NRL has been unapologetic about tweaking the game to attract more fans.
Many stakeholders will still need convincing over the kick-off rule change. The idea sparked a huge off-season debate when the change was revealed by this masthead last November, and the 17 clubs were unanimous in opposing its introduction.
The round 27 match between Parramatta and St George Illawarra (two clubs out of finals contention) looms as an ideal opportunity for a test of the proposed rule.
A week earlier, the Sea Eagles host the Dragons in a game also unlikely to have play-off consequences. Other opportunities could arise sooner.
South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett has been a strong advocate for the proposed rule.
“You’ve got an option, so if it offends you, and you don’t like it, do what you’ve always done and kick off … It doesn’t change,” Bennett said earlier this year.
“I’m a fan of the flexibility of it even more because now you’ve got the option to kick off, or you don’t want to kick off.
“This is a new rule of the game where you can determine whether you want the ball back. Who is to stop the team kicking off to you going short? Nobody.
“If you like the old rule, and you don’t like the new rule, stick with the old rule … If you listen to some of these guys [complaining], we’d still be playing with unlimited tackles, and players would still be wearing black boots with white laces.”
