A no-try decision against Penrith in last yearโs preliminary final win against Cronulla angered Ivan Cleary, who claimed the decision was โterribleโ and that officials had โno understandingโ of what his team was trying to achieve. After the interpretation tweak, the same play would result in a try in 2025.
In relation to play-the-balls, the NRL is calling for the tackled player โto make a genuine attempt to play the ball with the foot while maintaining balanceโ.
โIn 2025, if players do not meet the required standard, the referee will order a handover of possession as prescribed under the rules,โ the memo states.
To ensure defenders are back a genuine 10 metres, they will be required to have both feet in line with, or behind where the referee rules the line. Players wonโt be able to move forward until the whistleblower says โgoโ, rather than when the ball is placed on the ground or any other indicator.
The pre-season will also see a trial for the new sin-bin rules for high tackles, which are as follows:
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- If a victim of a high tackle is removed for a category-one head-injury assessment, or fails a category-two and canโt return to the field, the player who commits the offence will be sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes.
- If the victim of the high tackle remains on the field or passes the category-two assessment and is eligible to continue the game โ regardless of whether they come back on or not โ the player who committed the offence will not go to the sin bin.
The referee will still have the discretion to send players from the field for the rest of the game in the case of serious offences. The trial will be monitored by the ARL Commission and may be repeated later in the season in games that have no bearing on the finals.
NRL head of football Graham Annesley sent an email to clubs on Tuesday morning to inform them about the concussion trial.
Under the proposal put forward by a group of coaches, and revealed by this masthead on Monday, players will only face the sin bin for a high tackle if a player they tackle fails a head injury assessment. As it stands, fans have been confused by why a player is sent to the bin one week, but remains on the field the next.
Annelsey told this masthead: โItโs important to remember that anyone who is observed with category-one head injury signs, or who fails a HIA test, is automatically subject to the mandatory 11-day stand-down period.
โAs always, any player who commits a high tackle offence will still be subject to the oversight of the NRL match review and judiciary processes to maintain strong sanctions against tackles of this nature.โ
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