Evolution of the bench

[roofromoz]

I am curious as to when the bench as it is now (i.e. generally naming players 14 to 17 on a Tuesday) was introduced from the older system of naming just a starting 13 and then having replacement players, if needed or chosen who previously played reserve grade earlier in the day.

I am looking at team lists on Rugby League Project it looks like it may have happened maybe in the early/mid 1990s? I make this assumption based on that at that time, that's when 3-4 players started appearing on the team lists.

Thanks in advance.

 

[bazza]

From memory, in the late 80s or early 90s they started with 1 or 2 designated reserves (players who had not played reserve grade)
You could have 4 replacements per game - once you went off you couldn't come back on

 

[phantom eel]

This site says that from 1981 four replacements were allowed, compared to the rule from 1973 that two replacements could be made, provided that the players had played half of the preceding reserve grade match.

1988 was when two fresh reserves were allowed to be named and made among those four replacements, preceded by the 1987 rule for temporary "head bin" replacements that wouldn't count in the quota of four. Then it became interchange of various formats from 1991.

http://dazrl.awardspace.info/h_rules.htm

 

[Twatface Magee]

It was definitely in place before 1989 because it possibly cost Balmain the grand final.

 

[bazza]

It was definitely in place before 1989 because it possibly cost Balmain the grand final.

I was thinking that too - but in finals you could name a fresh reserve bench if you didn't have a team in reserve grade playing

 

[duck]

You could have 4 replacements per game - once you went off you couldn't come back on

Them were the days. But the game has evolved. We couldn't go back to that.