'downtown' rule

[wain]

Meanwhile, the form of NRL superstars Jarryd Hayne and Billy Slater is behind the move to devise a new ''downtown'' rule, designed to give every fullback more room from kick returns.
Referees boss Robert Finch yesterday made no secret of the fact that the success of the leading fullbacks in the competition last season - and the resultant tactics by coaches to counteract them - prompted the crackdown on opposition players being offside when chasing kicks.
Under the new rule, players who stray in front of the play-the-ball before the ball has passed over their heads from a kick will be called offside by the referees, and penalised if they continue to advance. Finch admitted the purpose of the rule change was to give the likes of Parramatta's Hayne, Melbourne's Slater and the Cowboys' Matt Bowen more time than they have had before to take kicks from general play - not attacking chips, bombs or grubbers.
''If you give them an inch, they'll take a mile,'' Finch said, referring to the players who head ''downtown''. ''If they stop and don't continue to run, we're comfortable with that, but when the kick goes, those fullbacks and wingers should get the space that they deserve.''
Finch believes some coaches have identified the impact of dynamic fullbacks running from the back, and have attempted to nullify them through the tactic.
''Coaches are not silly, and they look at the attacking options of the side they're playing,'' Finch said. ''They look to try and minimise the opportunity for those players to show their wares.
''I'm not expecting them [fullbacks and wingers] to get anything other than what they deserve. If it's a kick and they're onside chasers, that's what they deserve. But what they don't deserve is these players who are downtown and offside cutting down their options - not only ringing them but also cutting down their ability to attack from that position.
''I'm sure most of the people who go to watch would like to see these blokes play footy.
''The thing is, if we kept going down that path, the next minute there's more blokes downtown, and the next minute they've got no room, or they've got all these faces in front of them, and they don't know who's onside and who's offside.
''We're just being proactive about ensuring that we don't go any further with it.''

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...lubs-gaining-vote-majority-20100224-p3jy.html

Ive got to say, i think Im a fan...will really open up some broken field play...and also stop some teams from sapping good quality exciting attack out of the game by being flaunting the rules and making the game more defensive.

Rugby Union must be kicking itself with how easy RL finds it to tweak something and make it even more of a spectacle.

 

[***MH***]

ummm..... This is not a new rule, this was in the 2008 rule book on the bottom of page 36.

2008 rule book - http://admin.nrl.sportal.net.au/site/_content/document/00000682-source.pdf

Section 14 'Offside' - Notes

“Down town”​

​

​

​

​

Any player who is in front of the kicker in general play is not
permitted to advance beyond the point of the previous playthe-
ball until the ball has gone past the off side players. This
rule delays the movement of the off side players downfield in​

an attempt to encircle the ball receiver as he collects the ball.

 

[RedAndWhiteThommo]

This renewed interpretation was used during the Saints Dogs trial last Saturday with a penalty blown in the first set. Lot's of mutterings and head scratching. So long as the refs are consistent I don't have a problem with it.

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

Not a fan I have to admit.

 

[Paullyboy]

I don't particularly like the idea of it, which is ironic considering I love seeing fullbacks/wingers attacking from the back. I think the best ones will always find a way, and this is just going to make our game more confusing.

 

[petetheileet]

hmmm

more things to add controversy

just what the league needs

i thought the previous rule was simple, has it changed at all or are they just gna enforce it?

 

[adamkungl]

So, when a ball is kicked in general play, other players can be in front of the kicker but behind the play the ball. Any players that were in front of the kicker must be 10m away from where the ball lands.

Is that understanding correct?

 

[RL1908]

So, when a ball is kicked in general play, other players can be in front of the kicker but behind the play the ball. Any players that were in front of the kicker must be 10m away from where the ball lands.

Is that understanding correct?

Not the last part. The 10m isn't from where the ball lands.

It is 10m from a player waiting to receive (catch) the ball, or 10m from the first opponent who picks up the ball.

If the catcher drops the ball, or player trying to pick it up just touches it, then the off-side player is on-side (so long as he gave the original 10m pocket).

 

[RL1908]

An earlier report seemed clearer...

Robert Finch announces crackdown on 'down town' tactics
By Ben Horne
February 03, 2010 03:40pm

NRL referees are preparing to crack down on players chasing down kick receivers from offside positions in 2010.

Referees boss Robert Finch told a coaches conference on Wednesday the move will aim to prevent the "dark old days" when kick returners were targeted by players crossing the advantage line before the ball had been kicked.

Finch says a "down town" play - where a chaser moves past the play-the-ball and charges down the field before a kick has been taken - will not be tolerated by referees with heavier penalties to be enforced.

Players who are simply in front of the kicker will still be penalised as being offside, however if a player is "down town", they will be penalised as being out of play.

Penalties for this infringement will be blown where the ball was kicked, as opposed to offside penalties, which are awarded where the ball lands.

"The technicality is that in a yardage kick, the offside players cannot intentionally progress past the play the ball until the ball has gone over their head," Finch said at the conference.

"So if they've gone and the ball isn't kicked, they're out of play. We would then penalise that action back at the play the ball. It's a very big penalty."

"Our issues are that it's becoming more and more prevalent ... there's no problem putting pressure on a fullback and winger as long as you're on onside and doing it legally.

"We're very keen to make sure the great attacking fullbacks and wingers we have in our game are given the space that they should have and we'll be coming down heavily on what we call 'down town' runners. That means players who have gone before the kick has gone."

 

[skeepe]

My understanding is it's just a re-interpretation of an existing rule.

It's the way it should have always been. The last couple of years, how many times have we seen players advance deliberately to be standing in front of the kicker and, despite never being put onside by the kicker of the ball, being able to cut down options for the receiver?

A much fairer rule where they can't move until they are put onside, however that may occur. Should give more space at the back - the space that the rules always intended to be there.

 

[TimmyB]

God I hate these crackdowns that disappear late in the season. I really don't like rule. A penalty at the play the ball? That is excessively harsh.

 

[Borat.]

Its gunna be a massive balls up- 2 pens were blown at the rooters tigers match and the penalised player was 30 meters away!

 

[***MH***]

I think the Crack Down heading helps with the confusion. It was always previously a rule but never really enforced. Referees are usually satisfied that players maintain their 10 metres when defending a receiver.

It was interesting to see the ruling in play on the weekend in Wollongong, as the penalty was immediately given where the offense took place (where the players were offside down town in front of the play the ball). A normal offside chase penalty would be given further down field, this gives a huge advantage to the non offending team.

 

[RL1908]

My understanding is it's just a re-interpretation of an existing rule.

I agree - they appear to be flagging that the penalty will be imposed now in observable every case, and it will be imposed at the point of the initial infringement at/near the play-the-ball, not upfield where the off-side player comes within the 10m of the receiver.

 

[babyg]

I like the rule. Nothing better than a fullback carving through an unstructured line and at the moment there are way too many brick walls waiting for fullbacks on kick returns. It very likely that the defenders are starting in an offside position.

 

[chunk]

I like the rule.

Its a great thing seeing a fullback or winger making good ground from a kick very exciting.

If you have ver watched the NFL after the punt, watching the kick returner make ground is awesome.

 

[Dragonwest]

Seriously how hard is it to not advance past the play the ball before the ball is kicked? It ain't rocket science people ..... and is better for the receiving team.

 

[RL1908]

I like the rule. Nothing better than a fullback carving through an unstructured line and at the moment there are way too many brick walls waiting for fullbacks on kick returns. It very likely that the defenders are starting in an offside position.

Yep - I'm with you on this one.

My view on this:
"Off-side players have rights too, don’t you know!"

 

[Talanexor]

I think this rule change will actually have the opposite effect. Coaches will just instruct their kickers to deliberately kick it dead instead. This tactic was used a lot last season against Slater in particular.

It means waiting for another minute or so to pack the scrum, and another forward standing at pivot to take the hitup. Making the game slower and less interesting, instead of giving fullbacks more room to run in a broken field.

Besides, kickers who chase their own kicks (Thurston, Kimmorley etc) will just bring everyone back onside anyway won't they? Or are the offending plays considered offside until the defending fullback catches the ball?

 

[Danish]

I like this rule.

a player on the attacking side has no business advancing past the play the ball unless he has the ball in hand.

Considering the amount of kick chases that an old codger like Kimmorley leads each and every game, its really only sheer laziness that sees players committing this offence.