TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 27: Kalyn Ponga and Mitchell Pearce of the Knights looks on during the round seven NRL match between the North Queensland Cowboys and the Newcastle Knights at QCB Stadium on June 27, 2020 in Townsville, Australia. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

Well, colour me surprised. NRL coaches have worked out a flaw in the rule book yet again.

It’s been happening for generations. Teams game the system in whatever way they possibly can. Every coach is guilty of it, every team is guilty of it, and it’s why the NRL have had to make so many snap changes to the rules in past seasons.

But one which simply seems to never be penalised is “The Wall”.

Let’s get this in the simplest terms possible. It’s where players act as a blocker for one of their teammates to take a shot at a field goal.

It appeared to happen last night in the closing stages of the Newcastle Knights’ narrow one-point victory over the Gold Coast Titans, with Mitchell Pearce able to have plenty of time and space to slot the game-winning one-pointer.

This isn’t designed to attack Sausaso Sue and Kalyn Ponga in any way shape or form, because they are most certainly not the first players to do it.

NRL Elimination Final - Rabbitohs v Knights

But Titans’ lock Sam McIntyre, in attempting to shut down Ponga, was first tagged by Sue who played the ball, and then was grabbed at by Ponga who had stood next to the play the ball, but not directly in line with either Sue.

Now, the grab from Ponga it could be argued is a penalty as well, but a simple fix of the rule book will see players attempting to form a wall at all.

And it needs to happen, because the wall is a black eye on the game. We might as well be playing gridiron if it’s allowed to continue.

The current rule for this situation can be found on Page 19 of the NRL rules and interpretations book, which reads as follows.

“If two or more players form a wall (side by side) next to the play the ball and don’t allow the opportunity for a defending player to move directly towards the player in possession, the referee will penalise for obstruction.”

While the Titans had burnt their captain’s challenge on a mindless play earlier in the game, even a challenge wouldn’t have helped them had the bunker ruled as per the book, which is backed up by former NRL official Luke Phillips.

That’s because where Ponga was standing wasn’t directly in line with Sue. While it could be argued he was just about in line with dummy-half Jayden Brailey as the play occurred, it was inconclusive at best based on the footage presented.

As mentioned though, this isn’t the first time it’s happened this year, and it isn’t the first time it’s happened in general. It’s happened at every field goal attempt for years, and it’s an absolute blight on the game which can quite literally be fixed by a simple change of wording.

Instead of stipulating the player blocking must be side by side with the play the ball, it should simply be changed to alongside the play the ball, anywhere between the man playing the ball and the dummy half.

It would give referees and the bunker far greater power to stop the NRL looking more like the NFL, and would also allow defenders a fair shot at attempting to stop field goals in the dying moments of games, which, in last night’s result, may well have cost the Titans their season.

The rules surrounding obstruction should also be clarified so that any attempt to stop a player from reaching a player in possession, no matter how light, is treated in the same way we seen Grade 1 actors being treated on escort plays or obstructions near the try-line.

Simply put, if obstructions can be called at the frequency they are, and escort plays the same, then there is absolutely no reason shenanigans like what Ponga came up with last night should ever be allowed to proceed.

Ponga took a step to his right and threw an arm into the path of McIntyre. It may not have impacted him all that much, but that isn’t what should matter here.

It’s that Ponga used what should be an illegal manoeuvre in an attempt to buy Pearce extra time, even if that was only a split second. In circumstances like these, a split second can make all the difference.

No doubt the NRL’s head of football Graham Annesley will attempt to clarify the situation in his Monday footy briefing, but the only fix to this mess is for a subtle change to the 2022 rule book, which will fix up a rarely used, but extremely important, part of the game.

1 COMMENT

  1. I think changing that rule should be the way to go but the real blight on field-goal attempts is the lack of officiating the 10m rule.
    Every field goal attempt that has a wall forming around the play the ball always has at least 1 of the defenders leaving their mark early or just completely in front of the 10m mark when they rush to challenge the kicker.

Comments are closed.