The golden point model is under discussion at League Central and may not return next season, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
The extra time system will be reviewed by the competition committee when they meet in November.
NRL head of football Graham Annesley has revealed that the golden point system is under serious discussion at League Central and will be reviewed by the competition committee in November
"The NRL has actually given this some thought recently and will further discuss golden point variations with the competition committee when it meets early in November,' Annesley told The Sydney Morning Herald.
"Over the years, there have been a number of alternatives floated, such as golden try, minimum time periods and even scrapping it all together. None of these have generated much traction, however, I do think both teams should get at least one possession each before a match is decided."
There is a growing feeling that the golden point system awards a win based more on luck than skill, and doesn't do justice to the 80 minutes preceding it, especially after tightly contested matches and towards the end of the season when finals places are on the line.
Round 24 had two matches that caused concern. On Friday night the Eels lost to the Broncos in extra time without even touching the ball. At the end of the first set of tackles the Broncos kicked a field goal, giving Parramatta no chance to score.
Paul Gallen's last game at PointsBet Stadium ended with the Raiders kicking a one pointer in extra time. The Sharks did get an opportunity to score first, receiving the ball from the kick-off but after seven sets they came out with nothing.
Champion Data took a look back at golden point games since 2014.
In six seasons there have been 50 games that have gone down to golden point.
Of these:
- Five were won in the opening set with an average time of one minute
- Ten were decided in two sets
- Nine were decided in three sets
- Six were decided in four sets
- Only three games were left tied at the end of extra time
The rule was introduced by Annesley after a trip tot he United States when he was the NRL's chief operating officer. While it may have been inspired by the NFL and the American college football (NCAA) systems it does differ.
"I do think the NCAA model is quite a good option as it ensured both teams get at least one possession before the match is decided," said Annesley.
The NCAA model gives each team a chance from the opponent's twenty-five-yard line and the team leading at the end of both possessions wins, if it is still tied they go again, alternating possession. After the third period teams are forced to attempt two-point conversions after a touchdown.
In the NFL system if the team with first possession only manages a field goal the other team receives the ball and can either score a field goal, continuing the overtime to sudden death, or scoring a touchdown and winning the game.
Spencer Kassimir, last year's Tom Brock Scholar, has recommended that the NRL adopt a variation of the American models.
"The NRL can learn a lot from both the NFL and NCAA overtime rules but it is crucial to understand that the NCAA games never end in a tie, whereas the NFL still can," said Kassimir.
Kassimir, like man long-term league figures, is not opposed to draws, he believes that odd-numbered points on the ladder are a superior way to decide the top eight as opposed to points differential.
"I am OK with a draw but if the goal is to ensure there are none, we need a blend of the two American systems," he said.
"I am not OK with golden point as it trivialises the 80 minutes of play into a random coin toss due to the 10-metre retreat of tired players to the defensive line making a charge down so difficult. NFL, NCAA and rugby union have no retreat and Canadian football has a one-yard retreat."
Kassimir has suggested a hybrid American system to make NRL extra time results more equitable.
"The ball would be placed 20 metres from the try line, with possession going to the team which won the coin toss at the beginning of the match, or having a second coin toss to determine who receives first use of the ball," he said.
"The team in possession will be given one set of six tackles to score. If that team scores a try, they will be given the opportunity to convert it. The opponent would then be given the ball and re-start play 20 metres from their try line. The same scoring options would apply."
"The team with the second possession would be given the opportunity to tie, or win the game, or not score at all. If the game is tied by the second team scoring the same number of points, the process would be repeated two more times."
"At this point, the NRL needs to decide how desperately they want to not have a drawn game. If they feel, ‘enough is enough’, which should be the case – given player safety – then follow the NFL lead in this respect and accept a tied game."
The fairest way to decide this is to have a draw at the end of 80 minutes. Simple.
Golden point is crap and needs to go especially when players like Dawius Boyd cheat and the refs allow it.
Play extra time and if there is no clear winner then it’s a tie and each team gets a point.
Much fairer system than this ridiculous golden point set up.
If both teams bust their gut for 80 mins and scores are tied then each team gets a point. This will change the way coaches approach the last quarter of a match.
Shame the same can’t be said about certain refs.
I lived in the UK for a while and at that time, a draw was a draw – 1 point each. I always thought that was a much better system than our Golden Point. The only reason to keep it would be to annoy Fox/Nine as it is a big disruption to their scheduling.
I don’t see anything wrong with a a draw at the end of 80 minutes. Golden point is our version of penalty shootout, only worse. It is grossly unfair that you can lose without having any opportunity to score when the receiving side scores in the first set from the kickoff.
The only time that Golden Point has any relevance is in the finals series where we have to have a winner. For the regular season, a draw will do.
This is a stupid and convoluted proposal. All that will happen is more field goals being kicked with each possession since teams will choose the lowest risk option to winning or staying in the game. Just make it golden try and be done with it.
I never liked golden point for home and away games from day one. Simply not fair to the team that doesn’t win. We’re still happy with a draw after 90 minutes, so why not accept it after 80 minutes? If the NRL wish to continue with playing longer than 80 minutes, then assign 3 competition points to each game. If you win in 80 minutes, 3 points; if scores are tied, play golden point (or preferably 5 minutes each way). 2 points for the winner, 1 point for the loser. At least the ‘losing’ team gets some reward for the first 80 minutes where they weren’t defeated.