Following a contentious incident in Saturday’s game between the Raiders and Sea Eagles, NRL head of football elite competitions Graham Annesley confirmed the ARL Commission will have a look at changing the rules.
The Canberra captain successfully challenged, overturning the on-field knock-on ruling and allowing the Raiders to keep possession of the ball.
The decision followed a break by Hudson Young, but the Raiders had to restart play 40 meters back at the previous play because teammate Adam Cook had not been tackled when referee Grant Atkins blew his whistle.
Although the mutual infringement rule was applied correctly, Annesley stated in his weekly football briefing that the regulation would be reviewed in the off-season to see if there is a better method to restart the game to prevent clubs from being at a disadvantage.
“The rules can always be reviewed at the end of the year and will always be reviewed,” he stated. “They will not necessarily be modified but they’ll constantly be examined.
Reviews are typically the result of events that have occurred during the season; this kind of situation will undoubtedly be examined.
Is it possible to modify the rules of the game to accommodate this in a different manner? Naturally, because we made a few years ago’s modification. The side with the largest territorial advantage utilized to get the ball. That was altered to let’s go back and replay the point because, at least, the team in control keeps possession and it didn’t come down to territory since it was thought to be unjust in some situations.”
The conversation started when Annesley talked about several contentious incidents from Round 23 of the NRL season.
The official upheld the choice to give Penrith the game-winning try in their comeback victory against Parramatta on Friday night, in spite of concerns over an obstruction in the lead-up to the try
In Sunday’s loss against the Dolphins, Mitch Barnett was hauled back while pursuing a grubber in the in goal, and Annesley said the bunker got it right by giving the Warriors a penalty try.
Later on Sunday, this event was contrasted to a similar circumstance with Tyson Frizell of Newcastle.
Although Tigers hooker Api Koroisau made contact with the forward, Annesley immediately drew his arm away, preventing Frizell from obstructing his futile pursuit of a loose ball. Consequently, he claimed that the choice to impose no punishment was the right one.