Former NSW Blues centre Josh Morris has voiced his worries about the increased speed of the NRL in 2026.
The era of 'six agains' and fewer stoppages in play has allowed for further fatigue to be introduced into the contests, resulting in blowout scores upwards of totalling 80-points.
The largest contribution to this change is the tweak of where 'six-agains' are being activated, pushed from the 40-metre line back to the 20-metre line.
It is spiking the number of additional tackles players have to make without a stoppage, therefore fatiguing defensive lines and breaking the game open.
Morris, who represented NSW on 15 occasions between 2009 and 2020, has raised apprehensions over how the new rules will affect the quality of the pinnacle of our game, State of Origin.
When speaking on The Continuous Call Team's Offload podcast, Morris fears that the Origin product will be diluted if there are high-scoring matches and point blowouts during the three-game series.
"I have genuine fears for Origin," Morris said.
"I do not want this to turn into a score fest and be like the majority of NRL games, because that is not what Origin is about.
"It is the toughest arena I would like to see the teams build pressure, stay down there for a period of time. Come up with a try. It may be the only try of the half, but that's what Origin is. It is a grind.
"It shouldn't be this free flowing, fast, almost touch football game where we're going to see blowout points because I, as a purist and a lover of the game, I do not want to see origin lose its mantle."
The high-octane gladiator arena that Origin has built up for forty years has been the headline stage for rugby league since its inception.
The best athletes from Australia, going toe-to-toe representing their upbringing, have always produced classics over the years, and forcing players to go an extra mile for their teammates.
It saw Morris, who went down with a suspected serious knee injury, hobble back onto the field and tackle a rampaging Greg Inglis to save a try in 2014.
It is a call-out from Morris for the NRL to pull back on the rules and let it play out traditionally, like we've seen in so many Origin classics.
Selection for Origin squads is just under two weeks away as we creep over one quarter of the NRL season.
The NSW Blues will host the QLD Maroons in Sydney for Game 1 on May 27.
