The NRL will run the first trial of its controversial kick-off rule change on Thursday night in the match between Brisbane and Melbourne.
In what could be a precursor to the permanent introduction of the rule for the 2027 season, the team that concedes a try will have the option to re-start by either kicking off or receiving the football. The NRL was keen to introduce the initiative at the start of this season, but backed down after a backlash from clubs.
However, head office is keen to road-test the rule tweak in NRL and NRLW matches that have no finals implications, starting with Thursday night’s Broncos-Storm clash. It will add a point of interest to a match that is effectively a dead rubber in the run home to September.
If implemented on a full-time basis, the rule change will be one of the biggest the game has undergone.
There has been fierce debate about the merits of the modification ever since this masthead first flagged it last November. It passed its first test, at a committee meeting of top coaches Wayne Bennett, Ivan Cleary, Craig Bellamy, Ricky Stuart and Craig Fitzgibbon in the off-season.
Ultimately, it was put on hold after resistance from the clubs, who felt the game was being tampered with unnecessarily. However, all stakeholders will now get to watch how it works in practice under first-grade match conditions.
Some consideration was given to trialling it in the round 24 match between the Dragons and Tigers, but at that point Benji Marshall’s side still had a mathematical chance of qualifying for the play-offs. Not wanting to compromise the integrity of the competition, the NRL opted to wait until a match involving two teams totally out of the running, as is the case on Thursday night.
There will be another chance to trial the change in the final-round clash between the Eels and the Dragons, while other opportunities may arise before then pending results.
Proponents of the change feel it could reduce blowout scorelines. Currently, the team that has just scored regains possession from the kick-off, making momentum difficult to stop. Giving the team that has just conceded a try the choice of either kicking or receiving the ball from the restart will add a new tactical element to the game.
Bennett has been the most vocal advocate of the rule change, previously telling this masthead: “If you like the old rule, and you don’t like the new rule, stick with the old rule … If you listen to some of these guys [complaining], we’d still be playing with unlimited tackles, and players would still be wearing black boots with white laces.”
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary provided a counterpoint, previously stating that the change could stop epic comebacks like the one his side mounted to beat Brisbane in the 2023 grand final.
The NRL has been unapologetic about tweaking the game to attract fans. In a recent interview, NRL executive chair Peter V’landys said the game wouldn’t have been able to broker a $5.3 billion broadcast deal if it didn’t introduce rule changes – like the six-again rule, captain’s challenge, the two-point field-goal and the short line drop-out – to make the product more entertaining.
“All of those things are about unpredictability. You can’t predict what is going to happen in the game,” V’landys told Mark Bouris’ Straight Talk podcast.
“And we got rid of the wrestle, which the fans hated. That’s why we’ve increased the [league] audience from 1.2 [million] to 2.4 [million]. We made it what the fan wants; not what the player wants, not what the coaches want, not what the club administrators or what the NRL want.
“Who is your customer? It’s the fan. The record broadcast deal has been done because we worked for five years to get our game to a point where it was an entertainment product that can be sold at the highest price.”
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