CLUBS can name an 18th player in their teams this season following approval from the RFL’s Laws Committee.
Since 2021, a fifth interchange can be brought onto the field in the NRL if three of the club’s players have failed a head injury assessment during the game.
This system was used in England for the first time during last autumn’s World Cup, and will now be used in the domestic game.
The introduction of an 18th player is one of three changes to the laws approved on the eve of the 2023 season.
The Laws Committee has also reinforced the protocols around the green card, which was introduced last year to deter time wasting and gamesmanship.
If the referee calls time off for a player to receive medical treatment, the player will have to leave the field for two minutes of the game before re-joining.
The final law change will see penalties awarded at scrums no longer being differential penalties, so they can now be kicked for goal.
Meanwhile, two new people have joined the Match Review Panel, which will again meet each Monday to discuss Super League disciplinary issues and on Thursday to review the Championship, League One and Women’s Super League.
Former France forward Jerome Guisset and ex-referee Steve Presley join Paul Dixon, Nathan McAvoy, Phil Veivers and Chairman Paul Cullen in the group, from which the panel will be drawn each week.
And Rebecca Stevens, a barrister specialising in criminal defence and a former Great Britain Lioness, will be available to sit on the Operational Rules Tribunal.
Previously-announced disciplinary changes, including new sentencing guidelines that will see fewer bans and more fines for offences, have been approved by the Rugby League Council.
The RFL’s Clinical Advisory Group has also increased to twelve days the minimum amount of time a player must sit out following a head injury.
Last season the shortest possible time through the return-to-play protocols was eleven days, but the figure is now in line with the timescale in rugby union.
CLUBS can name an 18th player in their teams this season following approval from the RFL’s Laws Committee.
Since 2021, a fifth interchange can be brought onto the field in the NRL if three of the club’s players have failed a head injury assessment during the game.
This system was used in England for the first time during last autumn’s World Cup, and will now be used in the domestic game.
The introduction of an 18th player is one of three changes to the laws approved on the eve of the 2023 season.
The Laws Committee has also reinforced the protocols around the green card, which was introduced last year to deter time wasting and gamesmanship.
If the referee calls time off for a player to receive medical treatment, the player will have to leave the field for two minutes of the game before re-joining.
The final law change will see penalties awarded at scrums no longer being differential penalties, so they can now be kicked for goal.
Meanwhile, two new people have joined the Match Review Panel, which will again meet each Monday to discuss Super League disciplinary issues and on Thursday to review the Championship, League One and Women’s Super League.
Former France forward Jerome Guisset and ex-referee Steve Presley join Paul Dixon, Nathan McAvoy, Phil Veivers and Chairman Paul Cullen in the group, from which the panel will be drawn each week.
And Rebecca Stevens, a barrister specialising in criminal defence and a former Great Britain Lioness, will be available to sit on the Operational Rules Tribunal.
Previously-announced disciplinary changes, including new sentencing guidelines that will see fewer bans and more fines for offences, have been approved by the Rugby League Council.
The RFL’s Clinical Advisory Group has also increased to twelve days the minimum amount of time a player must sit out following a head injury.
Last season the shortest possible time through the return-to-play protocols was eleven days, but the figure is now in line with the timescale in rugby union.
