NRL Rules Change 2024

[unapologetic pedant]

56 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

That reads so badly.

Annesley must have seen my post and thought I meant double Dutch.

[Irish Saint]

With no penalty now can see the defending team just hoofing the ball into touch and relying on their defence.

[Dunbar]

7 hours ago, Damien said:

If there has been a 41% increase in short dropouts since 2021 then this change is simply not needed. The contest and variation is already there. A change that needs caveats and increased referees discretion just adds needless complication:

The NRL’s latest rule change – aimed at reviving a contest for the ball that many previous shifts have eliminated – will come with a short restart caveat aimed at stopping cynical coaches from exploiting it.

Wednesday’s announcement that short kick-offs and dropouts will no longer result in a penalty if they go wrong is the 20th rule change or amendment in the past five years.

With the NRL tracking a 44 per cent increase in short dropouts being attempted since 2021, the new rule will see a play-the-ball, not a penalty, awarded if a team sends the ball out on the full or into touch without travelling the required 10 metres.

Head of football Graham Annesley points to the game’s desire for more contested ball – typically by the game’s aerial specialists – given there are now few instances in scrums or rucks where a team can challenge for the ball.

Cynics point to the potential for the change to reduce forced dropout attempts (why bother when the defending team now faces less risk for a short restart), or negative tactics, like drilling a ball straight over the sideline.

“But we always try to think through the unintended consequences of new rules,” Annesley said.

“So the new rule will only apply to kicks where it’s intended to have a contest for the ball.

“It doesn’t allow for teams to kick [a kick-off] over the dead ball on the full, or into touch on the full, 20 or 30 metres out from the goal line just to concede a play-the-ball rather than a penalty. It has to be a kick that is capable of being contested.

“And we all know what that looks like - from short kick-offs or dropouts - chasers are immediately out there to contest for the ball.

“Some people will say that puts more discretion in the hands of the referees, but every decision comes with discretion.”

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/the-warning-about-the-nrl-s-latest-rule-change-the-20th-tweak-in-five-years-20240118-p5ey5m.html

 

I'm glad the NRL issued an unclarification.

[Dunbar]

2 hours ago, Irish Saint said:

With no penalty now can see the defending team just hoofing the ball into touch and relying on their defence.

Why would they boot the ball directly into touch and start a defensive set on their own line rather than go for distance and start the defensive set 30/40 metres away?

[fighting irish]

37 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

Why would they boot the ball directly into touch and start a defensive set on their own line rather than go for distance and start the defensive set 30/40 metres away?

Not all Irishmen are the same, I'll have you know.

[Dunbar]

13 minutes ago, fighting irish said:

Not all Irishmen are the same, I'll have you know.

Yes, some are fighters, and some are Saints.

[Sports Prophet]

16 hours ago, unapologetic pedant said:

No problem. You provide an opportunity to restate a point I've sometimes made on threads with an international flavour.

Namely, it's a challenge for those of us steeped in RL to keep up with the minutiae of our rulebook. So heaven help officials and players in developing countries where English is a second language. Imagine having to digest the rule tweak in the OP and translate it into Greek, Serbian, Dutch, etc.

Quite. After a penalty kick to touch and a ball would be thrown or kicked onto the field for the restart. Serbian players would then collect the ball, walk over to the touch line where the touchie was, touch the ball to the floor and then walk ten metres in or pass the ball to a team mate to restart the match. It was one of those tiny things that shouldn’t have but did, absolutely infuriate me  

[Sports Prophet]

5 hours ago, Irish Saint said:

With no penalty now can see the defending team just hoofing the ball into touch and relying on their defence.

 

3 hours ago, Dunbar said:

Why would they boot the ball directly into touch and start a defensive set on their own line rather than go for distance and start the defensive set 30/40 metres away?

I was, and subsequently am, going to question the exact same thing.

[unapologetic pedant]

Error

Edited January 19, 2024 by unapologetic pedant

[unapologetic pedant]

2 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

Quite. After a penalty kick to touch and a ball would be thrown or kicked onto the field for the restart. Serbian players would then collect the ball, walk over to the touch line where the touchie was, touch the ball to the floor and then walk ten metres in or pass the ball to a team mate to restart the match. It was one of those tiny things that shouldn’t have but did, absolutely infuriate me  

In that scenario, the quaint variation I see most often in developing nations is where the defensive line flies up as the winger passes the ball off the touch-line. Thus the player taking the tap has defenders right in his face. On occasion, even seen the tap taken on the touch-line.

Odd part is that despite clarification from the ref, the same players keep making the same mistake later in the game and in subsequent games. Clearly something is being lost or added in translation.

On reflection, maybe not all that odd. There's a fair chance these new players have been informed that the rules of RL are "Run Hard, Tackle Hard".