Golden point extra time set to be scrapped for NRL finals and grand final
Date
April 18, 2016 - 8:30PM
Brad Walter
Sports Reporter
Golden point may be scrapped for this year's finals series and grand final, with the NRL Competition Committee to consider alternatives for deciding sudden-death matches including adopting the NFL's overtime policy so a field goal doesn't immediately end the game.
While Johnathan Thurston's 83rd-minute field goal to win last year's grand final for North Queensland is considered an iconic moment in the game's history, there are many who believe it is not the way a premiership should be decided and a meeting of NRL coaches late last year agreed further discussion was needed about golden point in finals matches.
The NRL Competition Committee will meet next month for the first time since then and the main issue on the agenda is how finals and grand finals should be decided if the scores are tied at full-time.
Among the options to be discussed are:
extra time of either five or 10 minutes each way followed by golden point if the scores are still level;
golden try; and,
the NFL model in which the opposition is given an opportunity to respond if a team kicks a field goal in extra time.
The 2015 grand final was the first to go to extra time since the introduction of golden point for NRL matches in 2003 and Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett led criticism after his side's 21-20 loss by saying they did not deserve to lose to a field goal after Cowboys winger Kyle Feldt had scored in the 80th minute and Thurston converted from the sideline to level the scores.
Bennett, who has been an outspoken opponent of golden point since its introduction by former NRL chief executive David Gallop, was also critical of the concept after the Broncos turned the tables to beat North Queensland 21-20 via an Anthony Milford field goal in extra time of their round-four clash at Suncorp Stadium earlier this year.
According to Champion Data, there have been three other golden-point matches this season Newcastle v Canberra in round three, Sydney Roosters v Warriors in round five and Wests Tigers v Melbourne in round seven.
An 82nd-minute try by Warriors fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to secure a 24-20 win over the Roosters prompted calls for the introduction of golden try to decide all matches but there are no plans to change the golden-point rule for regular-season games.
However, the NRL Competition Committee will consider golden try for finals matches and grand finals, along with the model used in the NFL, which ensures both teams are given the opportunity to have the ball at least once in extra time unless the team that receives the kick-off scores a touchdown on their first possession.
In the NRL, that would mean a team getting a set of tackles to either win or keep the game alive if their opponent kicked a field goal.
The other option under consideration is to play out five or 10 minutes each way of extra time before going to golden point if the scores are still tied as happened in the 1997 Super League Tri-Series final, which ended with Noel Goldthorpe kicking a 104th-minute field to claim victory for NSW over Queensland.
"There was support for alternatives to golden point in finals series matches and grand finals in the meeting of the NRL coaches last November," an NRL spokesman said. "The subject will be on the agenda in the Competition Committee meeting next month."
The Competition Committee comprises of NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg, ARLC chairman John Grant, referees boss Tony Archer, Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson, South Sydney mentor Michael Maguire, former Cronulla, Penrith and Rabbitohs coach John Lang, former Brisbane, Queensland and Australia captain Darren Lockyer, Kangaroos captain Cameron Smith, Jillaroos captain Steph Hancock, RLPA president Clint Newton and Greenberg's yet to be appointed replacement as NRL head of football.
