Rumblings around the NRL of more rule changes for the 2022 season have clubs on edge, but head of football Graham Annesley has confirmed no more "official rule changes" will be made.
The only change the NRL has had so far for 2022 will see a tweak to the six-again rule.
Previously, teams would be awarded six-again from any point on the field for a ruck infringement or offside penalty. It had originally been brought in for ruck infringements following the competition shut down of 2020 in an effort to increase the pace of play.
Some teams found the solution to that was to stand offside intentionally, giving away a penalty, while others gave away infringements early in the set when the opposition was still in their own half.
The powers of the six-again being widened was in direct response to that, however, teams have still been found to give away infringements and offside's when an opposition team is short of halfway, conceding no real disadvantage.
The NRL have decided that penalties will now be awarded inside of a team's own 40-metre zone, rather than the six-again.
According to The Daily Telegraph, several coaches have demanded answers from NRL HQ with new ruling reportedly being worked on behind the scenes.
It's understood the downtown rule has been a topic of hot debate, however, Annesley has reportedly promised it will only be the interpretation of some contentious rules changing, and will not constitute actual rule changes.
He told the publication that further clarity will be provided "in the coming days."
“The Chairman has previously indicated the only intended change to the laws of the game relates to the awarding of a penalty rather than six-again when teams are inside their own 40-metre zone,” Annesley told the publication.
“In the coming days there will also be further clarity provided regarding a number of refereeing interpretations and operational issues that were identified during our comprehensive review with all stakeholders.”
Annesley also reportedly told the publication that coaches haven't been kept in the dark, with clarifications to be approved by the Australian Rugby League Commission this week.
“it will only be the interpretation of some contentious rules changing, and will not constitute actual rule changes.”
Technically, Graham Annesley may be correct. However, what he cannot understand, or will not admit, is that “changes in interpretation” can have exactly the same effect as changes in the rules themselves.
Cast your mind back to the changes in the interpretation of what constitutes a high-tackle not so many months ago. It may have been a change in the interpretation of an existing rule, but it had the impact of a change in the rules.
The same thing will happen if Mr Annesley brings in changes to the interpretation of when a referee is to restart the tackle-count and when (s)he is to award a penalty.
I can see why coaches get angry at this sort of behaviour. They have been devising ways of getting the best results from the existing interpretation of the existing rules, and working that approach into their pre-season training. Now, with just a couple of months left, coaching staff will have to change their plans and re-train their players.
If they want to show their displeasure at Mr Annesley’s behaviour, an obvious way would be to make all of their players unavailable for the All-Stars game, and proclaim that they need all available time to retrain their players, given the late announcement of the new rules/interpretations.