NRL is inching closer to implementing a rule that will change the competition’s landscape forever

Fifteen seconds to save a season.

That’s the precious thinking time Boyd Cordner, Cameron Smith, Wade Graham and every other NRL club captain will get for the NRL’s new captain’s challenge rule.

If a captain wants to challenge a knock-on, illegal steal or obstruction in 2020, he will have a ticking clock of just 15 seconds from the moment the incident occurs to lodge an official challenge.

Any longer than 15 seconds and the opportunity is lost. Play on.

The NRL is inching closer to implementing the rule, which they believe could be a game changer for rugby league and an exciting new addition for fans, who for too long have gone home from matches feeling empty after a refereeing howler.



This rule puts the onus — not all, but a large percentage — back on the team’s captain, as opposed to the referee.

Captains will need to rely heavily on the honesty of their teammates in deciding whether to challenge a call. A wrong call could prove monumental.

A premiership could be decided on the back of a captain’s ability to challenge a call, such is the power that every on-field leader could soon possess to review a refereeing decision.

In the heat of battle, imagine the pressure on Cordner coming from pumped-up Roosters enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves for his skipper to challenge a call.

Imagine the pressure on Cordner being hurled from fans with the Roosters and Raiders locked-up at 10-10 with only minutes to play.

Imagine Storm coach Craig Bellamy thumping the glass of his coaches box, demanding Cameron Smith challenge the call after Josh Addo-Carr was ruled to have put his boot over the sideline.



And then imagine Bellamy’s face when he realises Smith can’t challenge the decision because he wasted the Storm’s one and only challenge on a referee’s decision in the first-half that replays prove was correct.

The entire strategy and implementation plan for the captain’s challenge rule — including how, when and where captains can use the rule during every match of the 2020 season — is set to be unveiled to the ARL Commission at a crucial meeting in Sydney on Thursday.

The Sunday Telegraph has learned the NRL are leaning towards giving captains 15 seconds — possibly less, but certainly no more — to use their challenge.

What we can also tell you is that after deep consultation and analysis by the NRL football department to ensure the game continues to flow, captains will be given just one challenge per game.

If a captain successfully challenges a call by the referee and the decision is overturned, the captain will keep his one challenge.

But if a challenge is lodged and the replays show the referee’s original call was correct, the captain loses his challenge for the remainder of the match.

Under the current proposal set to be outlined to the Commission, there are limitations on what captains can and can’t challenge during play.

They will be allowed to challenge a decision by the referee to ignore going to the video review bunker for a possible try.

They can also challenge penalties for illegal player strips, obstruction calls, knock-ons, or if a fullback is deemed to have touched a ball rolling dead in-goal.

Captains won’t be allowed to yell “challenge, challenge” at the referee the moment that the opposition is racing away for a runaway try.

ARL chairman Peter V’landys has made no secret of his desire to win back fans and sponsors and increase participation, sponsorship and TV numbers. Which means he isn’t afraid to look outside the square.

When the majority of a surveyed 18,000 fans declared a captain’s challenge was the No.1 rule change they would like to see, NRL head football Graham Annesley revealed in October the code would spend summer preparing for its implementation for the 2020 season.

On Thursday the ARL Commission will decide whether to give the rule change the green light.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...k/news-story/80c85f899a404f5316ed4c2c5260b950

 

Fuck no.

 

Dumb idea captains will challenge to break momentum

 

I hate the challenge rule in cricket, and I reckon this will be just as shit.

1. So the captain challenges a decision, the bunker looks at it, and decides evidence is inconclusive due to camera angles. Th n the controversy will switch to the captain losing his challenge on an inconclusive call, saying “it wasn’t inconclusive, you could see it clear as day”. Controversy remains.

2. Two minutes to go, team leading by 4 has been defending for 10min and are gassed. The captain makes a frivolous challenge to give his team a breather.

3. Sutton No1 makes a bad call, Jacko challenges decision. Sutton No2 in the bunker prefer to back his brother’s decision to giving the dogs a fair go.

There’s likely others, but all this will do is add more game delays, and have different (not less) controversies

 

Hate this rule personally.

 

Another year, another Micky Mouse rule.

We should be removing rules, not adding them.

 

Was involved in a meeting last week with a bloke who’s currently contracted by the NRL as a consultant in implementing all rule changes for this season. Based on what he told me I’d say there’s a very slim chance that this one gets the green light. There have been flaws in all tests and trials to date.

 

Just another thing to slow up the game. I hope it doesn't happen.

 

This is gonna get ugly

 

Sounds like it's ready for the NRL then!

 

The cunts will still get rulings wrong despite challenges and it will just cause further contraversy

 

Who the fuck comes up with this shit. The game is slowly eroding away.

 

just another rule to exploit

watch the smart teams teams take advantage of it

 

I'm on the fence with it in cricket, but at least is doesn't slow the game that much. We can all see it being exploited in league. I'd also rather Jacko get on with captaining the team than be looking out for things to challenge.

 

They sure do know how to overcomplicate and ruin a simple game.

This will just slow the game down more and lead to more controversies, not less.

We need less stoppages and video ref reviews, not more. The NBA, EPL and NFL have expanded their video reviews and challenges with disastrous results.

90% of the time in the NBA or NFL they end up upholding the original decision, even if the video clearly proves that they got the original call wrong. Because they don't want to show up the refs for how incompetent and blind they really are. According to refs, two wrongs make a right. Expect the exact same to happen in the NRL with this absurd rule.

 

Keep making a shit game more shit. Keep doing it until you run it into the ground.

PLEASE!

 

IF they introduce it, it's only to help the nrlol manipulate/rig games easier.

 

FFS what a load of horse shit. Another reason to slow down the game. Why not piss off golden point ? It’s a blight on the NRL as anything goes in extra time.

 

When will you learn Todd you useless twat! Change the rules all you like but as long as the same clowns are held up in the bunker and prancing around on the pitch it will be the same mistakes.

Remember when they introduced the bunker and talked about it speeding up the decision process? Well now it's just as slow as the old video ref, they look at things 50x in slow-mo and still get it wrong.