The NRL has undergone a mountain of rule changes over the years, some of them for the better and some for the worst.
Rugby league originally started out with three-point tries and unlimited tackle sets, and while those rules have been changed for a long time, the NRL has also undergone plenty of minor tweaks in the last couple of years, with Australian Rugby League Commission Chairman Peter VโLandys and his crew chopping and changing at the heart of the game, although one of his changes has altered the very fabric of the game.
Here are the biggest five rule changes that have shaped the sport that we know and love today.
- Six tackles in a set
Once upon a time, the NRL didnโt have six-tackle sets. Instead, it was a free for all which allowed teams to hold onto the ball for as long as they could.
While rugby league - as what was essentially a breakaway sport from rugby union - had managed to differ itself by removing the reliance on scrums, introducing play the balls and reducing the number of players on the field to 13, it had never strayed away from the idea that once you had the ball, the only way the other team were getting it was via an error.
The urge to address that became apparent though as the St George Dragons dominated everyone through the 1950s and 1960s on their way to 11 premierships in a row. The team had figured out the rules better than anyone else and, combined with some of the best players to ever play the game being on the same field at the same time - this is a team with four Immortals - the NSWRFL at the time decided to make a big change.
For the first time from 1967, teams would be limited to four tackles per set, and it had the immediate impact rule makers at the time were chasing, with the Dragons dethroned that year.
The four-tackle set would ultimately be revised to six in 1971 after four years of use, which is how the game has been played ever since and still is today, albeit with some more tweaks to the system, including seven-tackle sets for kicks over the dead ball line and for taking possession of the ball with an advantage after an error from the opposition team.
- Set restarts instead of penalties for ruck and offside infringements
When the game was paused for the coronavirus early in the 2020 season, no one would have foreseen the changes that were about to sweep over the game. Minor changes in season has never been shied away from before by the NRL, but changes that alter the very fabric and style of the game itself have been rare enough out of season, let alone two rounds into one.
As the game looked to cut costs and speed up the pace of play after returning from a months-long pause, the answer according to those in charge was to cut the second referee and remove as many penalties and stoppages as possible.
So, instead of a penalty for every ruck infringement, the NRL altered the game to provide a six-again for teams after a ruck infringement where they kept possession of the football. This meant hands on the ball, holding down too long in tackles and other assorted offences to do with the ruck.
The interpretation of when a six again would be awarded was increased in 2021 to include offside penalties, although it created a loophole where teams would do it intentionally coming out of their own end, or hold down opposition players to create breathing space without giving up a penalty.
That loophole was slammed shut though when the NRL decided that penalties would once again be awarded for infringements within a teamโs own 40-metre zone, while six agains would apply to the remainder of the field.
The rules have sped the game up, and had the desired impact, although not all fans are convinced they are for the better, particularly with a lack of consistency from referees, not just game to game, but seemingly half to half, plaguing the effectiveness of the six again calls.
- Making stripping the ball not a free for all
Once upon a time, possession was a far more contested thing in the NRL, which slowed the game down and created what we now know as โthe wrestle.โ
Itโs something plenty of teams have perfected in the modern game, but the early iterations of it - before 1991 that is - was all centres around stripping the ball.
In 1991, the ARL decided they had enough of the free for all and would penalise all players who were guilty of raking the ball out of the opposition's grasp in an attempt to have the emphasis less on ball security and more on dazzling plays.
In 1997, the rule was amended to allow the ball to be stripped in one-on-one tackles, and finally, the modern-day idea that a second player can be in the tackle, but must drop off before the ball is raked in what is a one-on-one scenario at the time.
It has ultimately become a tactic in the modern-day NRL, and there are few better at pulling the manoeuvre off than star Melbourne Storm, Queensland Maroons and Australian half Cameron Munster.
- The 40/20 (and now the 20/40)
The 40/20 kick may not see all that much airtime, but when it comes off, itโs a play which has the ability flip a game on its head.
The 40/20 kick is now complemented by a 20/40 kick, allowing teams to get out of their own end and have a fresh set of six much further down the field.
It forces wingers to defend out of the line earlier in the set, creating more attacking opportunities, and encourages risk taking from a team under the pump.
Introduced in 1998, this is one rule which has improved the game and wonโt be going anywhere anytime soon.
- The modern day scoring system
Moving the sport away from rugby union and encouraging more attacking play has long been a key aim of rule makers.
When rugby league first broke away from union in 1895, a try was only worth three points - the same as a penalty goal - while a field goal was worth four.
Even in the first set of changes which lasted until 1971, a try was only worth three points, while a penalty goal and field goal were both worth two points.
1971 saw a field goal revised to one point, which took them further out of the game, but it was the increase of a try to four points in 1983 which took the game to the next level, creating a seriously tangible difference between scoring a try, and kicking either a penalty or drop goal.
Penalty goals still have their place in the game, as do field goals, but that place is exactly as it should be - minimised.
