NRL 2024 Rule Amendment - Contested Restarts
17th January 2023
The NRL has confirmed a change to Law and Interpretations ahead of the 2024 NRL Pre-Season and Premiership. The change is designed to incentivise more contests for the ball from set restarts.
Contested Restarts
If a team kicks the ball out on the full over the touch line, or the ball fails to travel at least 10 metres forward in an attempt to contest a restart from the goal-line, 20m line, or half-way line, play will now restart with a play-the-ball 10 metres out from the line of the kick and 10 metres in from touch, rather than with a penalty kick. The change will give more incentive for teams to attempt short kick-offs or drop-outs.
"While relatively minor, this change will add to the unpredictability of the game," NRL Executive General Manager – Elite Football Graham Annesley said. "Teams will no longer risk conceding significant territory as well as a penalty for attempting to regain possession from restarts of play. We undertook a thorough review of the 2023 season, including consultation with the NRL Clubs, the RLPA and other stakeholders, and while there was a strong desire to keep changes to a minimum, this minor change will incentivise short kick-offs and drop-outs. This will strongly accompany the Commission’s direction to enhance the existing rules, leading to a faster, more free-flowing and unpredictable game."
The change has been approved by the Commission and was communicated today to the NRL Clubs and Coaches.
Ref - NRL [Viewed 28 Jan 2024] / FN-2