But as we’ve seen, after a captains challenge the law must be followed, and the law states nobody can encroach within the 10.
The defensive players have far less control in this situation.
The kicker has the ability to not kick/tap the ball if he has offside players. It's to his advantage to try to restart play while defenders are offside. The onus is completely on the kicker.
Think about it this way:
- The kicking teams players must be behind when the ball is kicked
- Defensive players aren't offside until the ball is kicked
One penalty is determined at the point of the kick, the other after the kick is taken.
Also, keep in mind that these rules were written when there was to be 'no advantage from restarts of play'. Eg. All players must be onside and ready before each kick-off, drop-out and 20m restart.
Gotta say though, it was a great play from Melbourne. And once again highlights that the current Captains Challenge model is broken.
Penrith challenge because they believed the first Storm player tapped the ball and then passed to Papenhuyzen. That should be the basis of the challenge. If you think the ref got it wrong, call your shot - tell him exactly what happened.
Checking "everything" is ridiculous.