THE Six Again rule will look vastly different during the 2024 rugby league season as opposed to what it has done in recent years.
Now, if a defensive team infringes within the 40-metre area of the team in possession, the referee will award a penalty, rather than restarting the tackle count.
Thats down to the fact that the rule was being exploited by some teams, in that they would deliberately concede a Six Again early in the tackle count in a bid to gain a tactical advantage.
For example, a team would feel comfortable in conceding an extra tackle after losing the ball in order to reset the defensive line – something which now will not occur without conceding a penalty.
As part of this, Match Officials will now put a greater emphasis on cleaning up the ruck area. Players, coaches and match officials have agreed to see greater sanction for flops, hands on the ball-by-ball carriers and to ensure that ball carriers regain their feet on the mark and make a genuine attempt to play the ball with the foot.
Ahead of the season work will take place to improve these areas and in matches, match officials will be expected to sanction these infringements more firmly.
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