A groundbreaking sinbin role has been adopted by the NRL as the Super League looks on.
The rule change trial during the three weeks of pre-season matches will see players responsible for illegal high tackles sin binned for ten minutes if a tackle results in the opposing player being removed from the field as a Category 1 concussion, or fail a Category 2 HIA.
High tackles identified by match officials will continue to be penalised by the referee as per usual however, with players still able to be sinbinned or red carded if the referee and video official arrive at that conclusion.
What this means for Super League is uncertain as of yet, with the new rule adopted for the three weeks of pre-season trial fixtures Down Under.
In the past, Super League has kept a keen eye on developments in the NRL, with the Captain’s Challenge the latest rule change to be enforced in the northern hemisphere.
The change in interpretations across the regular season will also see the ruck and offsides scrutinised more.
“All of the indicators we measure across the season show that our on-field product is in very good shape and that the rule changes introduced by the Commission in recent years are having the desired impact,” the NRL’s head of football Graham Annesley said.
“There are some areas of the game where standards have started to drop and other areas that required additional clarity around the way the game is officiated.
“The play-the-ball by the attacking team was one area that we needed to address, as well as 10-metre compliance by the defending team. Last season we saw too many examples of players not making a genuine attempt to play-the-ball, so our match officials will be looking at that closely and we’ve also tweaked the way the referee will manage the 10 metres to ensure more consistency when defenders are allowed to advance.”