Has rugby league become, as some have suggested, a glorified game of touch football where speed is king, resulting in more injuries and blowout scores?
The numbers paint a different picture.
Based on the opening seven rounds of the season, statistics suggest the speed of NRL games is largely stable, if not a touch slower, compared to the corresponding period last season.
Statistics provided by the NRL during a meeting of club bosses on Wednesday show that injuries are actually down in 2026, albeit some clubs – most notably Parramatta, Brisbane and the Warriors – have had bulging casualty wards.
One of the major rule tweaks for this season was the expansion of set restarts, which are now awarded from the 20-metre line instead of the 40-metre line. There’s a perception the changes have increased the pace of the game, resulting in more points when backpedalling defences can’t handle the momentum that is going against them.
While ball-in-play time is slightly down – 54.7 minutes a game this season compared to 55.3 minutes in 2025 – the average winning margin has only increased by 1.79 points a game.
The average play-the-ball [PTB] speed is just 0.07 seconds quicker, while the percentage of PTBs that take longer than four seconds has decreased year to date by 3.47%.
However, perhaps the most intriguing finding is that there are actually fewer play-the-balls now on average per game (288.3 in 2026 versus 291.2 in 2025).
There has been little change in other statistics. Some of the data presented to the clubs includes:
- There have been fewer tackles a game in 2026 than there were in 2025 (700 in 2025 versus 680.2 in 2026). Those figures take into account each defender in a tackle.
- There have been three more comebacks by teams trailing at half-time so far in 2026 compared to 2025.
- There have been three more “favourites” beaten this season than last.
- The number of defenders out of play – those lying on the ground at the play-the-ball – is down 5 per cent.
- Off the ball movement (support players and decoy runners) is up 21 per cent (196 to 239 a game).
The Rugby League Players’ Association recently requested data from the NRL to determine if there were any “unintended consequences” from the rule changes. The figures from the opening seven rounds appear to counter suggestions that the fabric of the game has significantly altered.
Whether the numbers are enough to change the perception of some clubs remains to be seen.
After suffering a horrific injury toll, which resulted in as many as 13 players being unavailable for selection, Parramatta called on the NRL to consider granting salary cap dispensation to teams affected by serious injuries – particularly those resulting from foul play. A salary cap exemption of up to $350,000 a player is available to clubs whose stars are injured while on representative duty.
Several other clubs supported the Eels’ proposal, but the governing body has opted not to implement any changes.
Leading coaches have also voiced their concerns about what they perceive to be an increase in six agains.
“We’ve lost the fabric of the game,” Canberra coach Ricky Stuart said recently.
“The interpretation regarding six again’s is just given now willy-nilly.
“Making the game faster doesn’t necessarily make it more attractive because the scoreline is 50 to 30. I don’t believe that is more attractive.”
Parramatta prop Junior Paulo said he had slimmed down in recent seasons to keep pace with the game.
“You have got to be able to adapt and evolve, and it’s unfortunate that the bigger guys are becoming extinct in the game and the game is becoming a more mobile and high-paced sort of game,” Paulo said last week.
