Change to the kickoff rule 2026

[siv]

Bullshit, it will 100% costs clubs more to send more players to away games if they had to travel interstate. The NRL does not pay for travel at all bud

If it made no difference it would be a thing already. There is a reason clubs are against a national RG

The state cup system works and shouldn't be messed with

And the NRL clubs continue to have grants grow and grow with every TV deal

It used to be $4 mil its now over $12 mil per club and will increase again in the next CBA

Why should NRL clubs want to be working with clubs that still only invest $1mil annually in part time mode

Stare Cup system in Qld can survive without their 2 to 4 NRL players. They do already every year during SOO

 

[The Axe of Druss]

And the NRL clubs continue to have grants grow and grow with every TV deal

It used to be $4 mil its now over $12 mil per club and will increase again in the next CBA

Why should NRL clubs want to be working with clubs that still only invest $1mil annually in part time mode

Stare Cup system in Qld can survive without their 2 to 4 NRL players. They do already every year during SOO

Nothing you have said here is a reason to change from the State Cup 2nd tier system to a national RG. There is nothing to gain from it. No extra money, no extra crowds, no extra game time for players not in the top 18. It only means more work and more cost for clubs.

Again, there's a reason why we moved away from a national RG and have never looked back. It's pointless

 

[siv]

Nothing you have said here is a reason to change from the State Cup 2nd tier system to a national RG. There is nothing to gain from it. No extra money, no extra crowds, no extra game time for players not in the top 18. It only means more work and more cost for clubs.

Again, there's a reason why we moved away from a national RG and have never looked back. It's pointless

The biggest difference is professional v partime structures, facilities and develipment

NRL are a professional competition who hire 30+6 players plus 25 U21 players. All train full time and are paid accordingly

What you call state cups or Qld Cup and RM Cup, Auckland RL or PNG Cup are part-time leagues where the bulk of players also work. And it is designed to support that structure

In case you haven't noticed ALL NRL clubs are moving towards National RG. In 2027 Brisbane, Nth Qld and Gold Coast will stop sending 2-4 players to Qld Cup teams and run their own team, after they stopped doing the same with U20 players last year with NRLQ.

The standard difference will be very obvious then in Qld. NSW Cup have been winning by 50 points in the State Cup finals for almost ever year in the last decade as NRL money continues dominate recruitment and playing as a professional group of 18-30+6 domonates the part time playing group

 

[The Axe of Druss]

The biggest difference is professional v partime structures, facilities and develipment

NRL are a professional competition who hire 30+6 players plus 25 U21 players. All train full time and are paid accordingly

What you call state cups or Qld Cup and RM Cup, Auckland RL or PNG Cup are part-time leagues where the bulk of players also work. And it is designed to support that structure

In case you haven't noticed ALL NRL clubs are moving towards National RG. In 2027 Brisbane, Nth Qld and Gold Coast will stop sending 2-4 players to Qld Cup teams and run their own team, after they stopped doing the same with U20 players last year with NRLQ.

The standard difference will be very obvious then in Qld. NSW Cup have been winning by 50 points in the State Cup finals for almost ever year in the last decade as NRL money continues dominate recruitment and playing as a professional group of 18-30+6 domonates the part time playing group

The NRL clubs are moving towards having their own teams in the state cups, not moving to a National RG. There is a very big difference. Again, nothing you have said is evidence a NRG will be superior to the state cup system nor is it going to replace it. There is simply no appetite from the clubs or the RL supporter base to have a NRG. No extra money or support will be gained. It's utterly pointless

 

[siv]

The NRL clubs are moving towards having their own teams in the state cups, not moving to a National RG. There is a very big difference. Again, nothing you have said is evidence a NRG will be superior to the state cup system nor is it going to replace it. There is simply no appetite from the clubs or the RL supporter base to have a NRG. No extra money or support will be gained. It's utterly pointless

No one said that NRG would replace Qld Cup. Both should exist

But professional clubs want their teams playing together against the best opposition.

The divide between a $12 mil operation and a kess than $1mil part time operation is too big and it will grow again with the next TV deal

With no U20 structure in Qld Cup it wont be long before the 4 Qld teams look to join their NSW counterparts to play a better standard

Warriors, Storm, Parranatta, Easts, Manly, Penrith, Canberra, Souths, St Georgs-Illawarra, Canterbury ALL abandoned the model you propose at Senior levels.

Broncos, Nth Qld and Titans will also bring all their squad together in a professional operation too

State Cup has its place but its not reserve grade. Its better to call it a state second division

 

[Dogs Of War]

The NRL clubs are moving towards having their own teams in the state cups, not moving to a National RG. There is a very big difference. Again, nothing you have said is evidence a NRG will be superior to the state cup system nor is it going to replace it. There is simply no appetite from the clubs or the RL supporter base to have a NRG. No extra money or support will be gained. It's utterly pointless

Not to mention the guys at that level don't really get paid enough to be flying around the country and be without family etc. State cups work well at this level as it drives expenses down, allows people to be closer to their families more often. QLD clubs don't need half their games requiring a flight to NSW.

 

[Chimp]

Extending the bench to cover more positions does feel like the right thing to do (I’d still limit use to only 4 of those bench players unless there’s a Cat 1/HIA fail), but it does bring extra cost and the bigger issue is game time for those players - if you increased bench to 8, basically squad men 18-22 are hardly ever going to play an actual game, unless a way can be found for reserve grade and first grade match days to align properly (so the extended 4 play reserve grade too thst weekend), then they’re gonna spend the vast majority of season training and not playing.

 

[The Axe of Druss]

No one said that NRG would replace Qld Cup. Both should exist

But professional clubs want their teams playing together against the best opposition.

The divide between a $12 mil operation and a kess than $1mil part time operation is too big and it will grow again with the next TV deal

With no U20 structure in Qld Cup it wont be long before the 4 Qld teams look to join their NSW counterparts to play a better standard

Warriors, Storm, Parranatta, Easts, Manly, Penrith, Canberra, Souths, St Georgs-Illawarra, Canterbury ALL abandoned the model you propose at Senior levels.

Broncos, Nth Qld and Titans will also bring all their squad together in a professional operation too

State Cup has its place but its not reserve grade. Its better to call it a state second division

f**k me you excel at missing the point

 

[Captain Apollo]

The main reason a national reserve grade competition, and a national under 21s comp were all axed was cost, mainly in travel and accomodation costs. Unless revenue grows markedly for the NRL without it going direct to the players via increases in the salary cap, which would be highly unlikely for a number of reasons, I can't see that situtaion chaging anytime soon.

 

[Dogs Of War]

The main reason a national reserve grade competition, and a national under 21s comp were all axed was cost, mainly in travel and accomodation costs. Unless revenue grows markedly for the NRL without it going direct to the players via increases in the salary cap, which would be highly unlikely for a number of reasons, I can't see that situtaion chaging anytime soon.

And even if revenue did grow, investing into that level for the returns is stupid. No one is paying much to see that level of footy. It's much better if you were doing something with reggies is leaving it as state cup, and move some of those games around country areas from time to time to provide something to these areas.

 

[Wb1234]

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/kickoff-decision-extended-squads-nrl-proposes-four-rule-changes-for-2026-season/news-story/f3d85e9834274f0687134bba0994ff17

NRL are planning a radical change to the century old kick-off rule among other tweaks which could also see teams carry squads of 19 on game days.

It is understood the NRL have pieced together four potential rule changes which will now be discussed by clubs and the RLPA with the view of implementing them as soon as next season.

The NRL had been toying with potential changes in recent months but that has now come to a head.

It is understood the four alterations include:

KICK OFF

A drastic change to the kick-off rule which could see the scoring team kick-off.

Teams will have the option to kick or receive after being scored against.

The team that has been scored against will now have the option to kick-off or receive the ball to restart play. As it stands, the team which concedes a try or goal restarts play by kicking off.

It means momentum is hard to stop and can result in lopsided scorelines. In the 1997 Super League breakaway competition the scoring teams had to kick-off.

EXTENDED MATCH DAY SQUADS

Coaches will now be able to carry benches of six players but will still be only able to play four per game. It means game day squad sizes will increase from 17 to 19 but interchanges will remain capped at eight. This idea came out of a meeting with coaches, including Wayne Bennett, Ivan Cleary, Craig Bellamy, Ricky Stuart, Michael Maguire and Craig Fitzgibbon at the end of last season.

The plan was originally to have 21 players available but that has now been scaled back. It would allow clubs to carry specialist players on the interchange bench just in case they lose a starter. The NRL introduced an 18th man to help cover for headknocks or acts of foul play in 2021.

ACT OF SCORING

If an attacking player drops the ball in the act of attempting to score a try over the tryline they will not be penalised by a seven tackle set. Instead the defending team will receive the ball for an ordinary six-tackle set from the 20 metre mark to restart play.

PENALTY ZONE

Set restarts instead of penalties will be awarded from outside the 20-metre line of the attacking team. This is designed to speed play up. Full penalties will still be awarded inside the 20-metre mark. This season, penalties were awarded inside the 40 metres. Set restarts were introduced in 2020 but tweaked in 2022 where penalties were awarded inside the 40-metre zone of the team in possession.

The NRL will now engage with stakeholders to see if all – or some – are introduced in time for the NRL to launch at the double header in Las Vegas on March 1. Pre-season trials begin on February 7 with the Bulldogs taking on the Cowboys and the Dragons playing Newcastle in a double header at Kogarah Oval. Those four teams will then travel to Las Vegas.

The NRL made no new rule changes in 2025.

------

Giving teams the choice to kick or receive after they had a try scored on them breaks up the monotony and increases the unpredictability which I don’t mind

Increasing the bench to six is also a great move so games will be less impactes by a key player baring injured

 

[Vic Mackey]

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/kickoff-decision-extended-squads-nrl-proposes-four-rule-changes-for-2026-season/news-story/f3d85e9834274f0687134bba0994ff17

NRL are planning a radical change to the century old kick-off rule among other tweaks which could also see teams carry squads of 19 on game days.

It is understood the NRL have pieced together four potential rule changes which will now be discussed by clubs and the RLPA with the view of implementing them as soon as next season.

The NRL had been toying with potential changes in recent months but that has now come to a head.

It is understood the four alterations include:

KICK OFF

A drastic change to the kick-off rule which could see the scoring team kick-off.

Teams will have the option to kick or receive after being scored against.

The team that has been scored against will now have the option to kick-off or receive the ball to restart play. As it stands, the team which concedes a try or goal restarts play by kicking off.

It means momentum is hard to stop and can result in lopsided scorelines. In the 1997 Super League breakaway competition the scoring teams had to kick-off.

EXTENDED MATCH DAY SQUADS

Coaches will now be able to carry benches of six players but will still be only able to play four per game. It means game day squad sizes will increase from 17 to 19 but interchanges will remain capped at eight. This idea came out of a meeting with coaches, including Wayne Bennett, Ivan Cleary, Craig Bellamy, Ricky Stuart, Michael Maguire and Craig Fitzgibbon at the end of last season.

The plan was originally to have 21 players available but that has now been scaled back. It would allow clubs to carry specialist players on the interchange bench just in case they lose a starter. The NRL introduced an 18th man to help cover for headknocks or acts of foul play in 2021.

ACT OF SCORING

If an attacking player drops the ball in the act of attempting to score a try over the tryline they will not be penalised by a seven tackle set. Instead the defending team will receive the ball for an ordinary six-tackle set from the 20 metre mark to restart play.

PENALTY ZONE

Set restarts instead of penalties will be awarded from outside the 20-metre line of the attacking team. This is designed to speed play up. Full penalties will still be awarded inside the 20-metre mark. This season, penalties were awarded inside the 40 metres. Set restarts were introduced in 2020 but tweaked in 2022 where penalties were awarded inside the 40-metre zone of the team in possession.

The NRL will now engage with stakeholders to see if all – or some – are introduced in time for the NRL to launch at the double header in Las Vegas on March 1. Pre-season trials begin on February 7 with the Bulldogs taking on the Cowboys and the Dragons playing Newcastle in a double header at Kogarah Oval. Those four teams will then travel to Las Vegas.

The NRL made no new rule changes in 2025.

------

Giving teams the choice to kick or receive after they had a try scored on them breaks up the monotony and increases the unpredictability which I don’t mind

Increasing the bench to six is also a great move so games will be less impactes by a key player baring injured

The extended bench is a brilliant one and over due. It will help clubs with HIAs/injuries etc. also becomes very tactical, a lot of clubs will have a small explosive style player like a Trai Fuller etc on there and can bring on if they’re chasing points. In the past you lose a half in the first 10 mins and it’s basically game over, now you can have cover for them.

Hate the kick off one. I get why they’re doing it. In a game against NQ last year I think we went 15 mins without touching the ball, really that’s on us to be better. How many exciting come backs have we seen where teams are 12 behind with 2 mins to go and score twice in 2 sets? It will effectively rule out come backs.

 

[Fangs]

Extended bench is a long overdue rule change. Will make a big difference.

Not a fan of messing around with the kick off. But making it optional is a tad better than just forcing the try scoring team to kick.

 

[Craigshark]

Change for the sake of it as usual

 

[beave]

Change for the sake of it as usual

The bench tweak is 100% needed though.

They should not have made the head knock rule harder/more strict for players and then not have a bench rule tweak in sympathy to allow a more even games, lose a back early in the game to an innocuous head knock and it's very hard to come back from that, even losing a hooker early in a game is catastrophic.

 

[Nutz]

Stop with the friggin rule changes. One year its "let's change the rules to make it faster" then it's "change it so we stop points".

Why change the rules if teams are so poor at defending?

Sounds like a great rule change for my tigers

 

[Nutz]

I swear the Nrl never thinks about the consequences of every stupid rule change they come up with. Think about it. If the scoring team kicks off they might pin the receiving team into their own half for the next 10 minutes. Wave after wave of good field position.

Also what happens if your down by 10 with 3 minutes to go. You score one try and then instead of having the chance to immediately score another you have to kick off to the leading team who will just wind the clock down for the final 60 seconds.

Absolute stupidity

Don't be down by 10 with 3 minutes to go I guess

 

[yobbo84]

From past experience I can 100% guarantee "Act of Scoring" has not been clearly defined and will be based purely off vibes

 

[Nutz]

I agree, but only on Fridays and Sundays at grounds that start with a vowel.

I count 6 that begin with a vowel.
I'd prefer any day ending in Y to give my tigers a chance.

 

[Nutz]

About 90 words too many. Otherwise I absolutely agree.

Incorrect word count