Peter V’landys won’t back down from the NRL’s controversial kick-off rule change ahead of a showdown with the game’s 17 clubs in his bid to deliver the code a record multi-billion dollar broadcast bonanza.
NRL chief Andrew Abdo is expected to meet with clubs on Wednesday to discuss feedback on a number of proposed rule changes set to be implemented in the 2026 Premiership.
The clubs have unitedly rejected the NRL’s proposal to change the traditional restart of play, giving the team that concedes a try the option to either kick off or receive the ball.
While ARL Commission chairman V’landys has the backing of super coach Wayne Bennett, the clubs have broadly rejected the mooted change.
However V’landys isn’t about to back down without a fight, insisting the commission will do what it believes is in the best interests of the game on the back of a record-breaking season.
“We are in the consultation period so we’re listening to everybody’s views and once we consider it all we’ll make the decision,” he said.
“We review every season and get feedback from all different aspects – fans, players, and we also had a meeting with six coaches – Wayne Bennett (Rabbitohs), Ivan Cleary (Panthers), Craig Fitzgibbon (Sharks), Ricky Stuart (Raiders), Craig Bellamy (Storm) and Michael Maguire (Broncos).
“They came up with some ideas, we came up with some other ideas, and that’s how it was formulated.
“What people have to understand is that we have to make the game exciting for the fans.
“We had 137 million viewers (in 2019) before we changed the rules (six-again set restarts). Now we’ve got 224 million viewers.
“Our attendances and viewership have increased dramatically because the game is faster and more exciting.”
V’landys and Abdo are in the midst of critical negotiations over the game’s next broadcast deal.
The current agreement expires at the end of this year and V’landys is determined to deliver the NRL its biggest ever contract in excess of $5 billion.
To do that, he believes the NRL must continue to evolve and changing the traditional restart of play – where the team that concedes a try kicks off to the team that scored – will help make the game more exciting.
“If we didn’t make the rule changes we’ve made so far, we wouldn’t be where we are,” he said.
“Sometimes leadership means that you’ve got to make the tough decisions.
“You listen to people but at the end, as custodians, you make the decisions that you believe are in the best interest of the game as a whole.
“Who is to say we can’t increase it by another 30 or 40 million viewers? It might be at its peak, but there’s a lot of good minds that say it isn’t.
“You don’t rest on your laurels just because you’ve had success. That doesn’t mean you become complacent.
“Without the fans, you don’t get the broadcast (revenue). The more fans you have, the more money the game gets.
“You have to continue to look at the game, review the game and make sure that we’ve got it at its best.
“Any business that doesn’t do that has failed, or will fail. You’ve got to accommodate your audience.”
V’landys’ commission made huge changes to the game in 2020 after Covid forced the competition to be suspended, introducing the six-again rule for set restarts in a bid to speed up play.
The two-point field goal has been another successful change, but V’landys stressed he hadn’t already made his mind up with the kick-off shake-up.
“No, no, no,” he said.
“One thing you have to respect about consultation is that it gives someone an opportunity to make you change your mind. We’re giving them (clubs) the opportunity.
“We haven’t made a final decision. That’s what consultation is about. If we’ve already made a decision, why are we consulting?
“The purpose of consultation is to listen to people’s views and see if they have a strong enough argument not to do it.”
The NRL has some concerns about momentum being hard to turn in games, which has prompted the discussion around changing the restart of play after a try.
V’landys said it would bring a new dimension to the NRL.
“The fact that you can choose to kick off or receive is tactical, which makes it more interesting and brings un predictability to the game,” he said.
“We wanted to make sure that a team doesn’t get momentum and then you can’t reverse it. The other end of the argument is that anyone can make a comeback.
“That’s the sort of thing we’re weighing up at the moment.
“Every single one of the coaches wanted to make (the game) more attractive. They understand the economics of the game.
“If you have a game that nobody watches then you’re not going to get the revenue. The reason we’re going to get record broadcast revenue is because the game is so much more popular now than it was three or four years ago.
“We’re prepared to make changes to satisfy the fans and attract more fans.
“The proof’s in the pudding. The game has never been more popular, ever. We’ve broken all records in the last two years.”
Pretty sure it was also Wayne Bennett who supported the idea of six again after it was trailed in an all stars game
