Rugby league is having a stellar season. But there’s alway room for improvement. Our league team drop their notes in the NRL Suggestion Box for Peter V’landys to peruse.

On-field

Andrew Webster: Of all the on-field changes I’d like to see for the great game of rugby league, from proper play-the-balls to less reliance on technology to referees allowing players to scream in their face, nothing does my head in more than voluntary tackles. If the ball-carrier flops on the ground waiting for a hand to touch him to affect a tackle, it should be a penalty, or a defender should be able to tackle him — and hard.

Michael Chammas: It’s time the NRL revisit the interchange and substitution rules. There are far too many games being decided by a team’s inability to cover for an injury in the halves/outside backs in the middle of a game. The solution is to allow six players to sit on the bench, still limiting coaches to the use of four players through their eight interchanges. This will allow coaches to bring players on to reflect their needs in each particular game, and provide cover in key positions. The strategic element will also provide greater intrigue when teams are chasing points and inject an x-factor into the game if the situation calls for it.

Adrian Proszenko: What happened to giving the benefit of the doubt? If it looks like a try, award it as a try. It’s excruciating watching endless bunker replays where the sole purpose appears to be finding an excuse to take four points off the attacking team. The bunker is there to stop the howlers. Unless there is an obvious drama, hit the green button. And do it quickly.

Billie Eder: Can we get rid of this disruptor rule, please? It’s difficult for the on-field referee to get the call right every time, and as long as the player contesting the ball isn’t completely taken out, does it really matter if someone jumps early to throw them off their game? Surely that’s all part of the contest?

Dan Walsh: Credit where it’s due, rugby league is incredibly easy on the eye right now, and I wouldn’t change much. Not least because we’ve changed plenty recently. Scrap the new short drop-out rule that takes away the advantage of having a good kicking game and forcing repeat sets. And I don’t know how, because sin-binning Liam Martin for rubbing Jaydn Su’A’s head ain’t the answer, but if we could stop players rushing in to push, shove and carry on like pelicans at least once a game, that’d be lovely.

Adam Pengilly: If Peter V’landys or Andrew Abdo or Graham Annesley read this, we don’t need many more changes. Please. But if there’s one thing we can fix overnight - and I know it’s not a big deal to most - is players actually playing the ball properly, with their foot. It’s rugby league, not tunnel ball. It’s speeding up the game against the rules. Looking at you, big Nelson.

Christian Nicolussi: Attack is king, so why not give teams the chance to press for extra points after scoring a try. Keep the two-point conversion, but what about three points for a conversion from 50m out, or four points if they can score from one play from 20m out, which is similar to what’s on offer in the NFL.

Emma Kemp: No more six-agains after charge-downs that aren’t regathered. It would be so much more interesting if the offensive kicker came under genuine, consistent pressure, but the rule penalises good defensive efforts instead of incentivising them. Often the attacking team regathers and is ultimately rewarded because their kicker could not get the ball away quickly enough.

Andrew Johns: The over reliance on video technology has stunted the game for many years now. There’s an easy solution: limit the bunker’s influence to try-scoring situations and send-offs. No words in a referee’s ear for a debatable penalty in back play or a contentious high tackle. Keep the game moving.

Roy Masters: No more changes, please. The game is aligned to attack but who’s complaining? The NRL and fans like tries. The biggest problem is consistency of adjudication by the officials, a direct result of the plethora of rule changes over the last five years. The six again was introduced in round 3, 2020 to stop wrestling and the Storm won the premiership and, after further rule amendments, Melbourne are back on top. There is always a delayed reaction with teams to rule changes but referees are exposed immediately.

Off-field change

Andrew Webster: When will someone at the NRL realise the contracting system is broken and hurting the game? The system, which allows players to join another club a year before they start with them disrupts clubs, annoys coaches, confuses fans and clogs the news cycle with stories fed by player managers. Oh, and it’s boring. Bring in transfer windows and work with the RLPA about implementing an internal draft.

Michael Chammas: I’m all about the wildcard weekend leading into the finals, especially as we head to a 20-team competition. Teams ranked 1st through to sixth get a week off leading into the finals, which would also stop the farcical final round of the regular season where half the competition is being rested to get players right for the finals. Team 7th takes on team 10th, while 8th takes on 9th during that weekend in an extra week of sudden death. The winners go through to the finals. It will also keep more teams interested for longer in the season as they push for a spot in the wildcard weekend instead of planning for Mad Monday. If we go to a two conference system, the top three from each conference should go through. Teams four and five in each conference then fight it out for the last spot in the conference finals.

Adrian Proszenko: Reverse the decision to ban grand finals for juniors under the age of 13. I understand the change was introduced to regulate the behaviour of overzealous parents as much as the kids, but players need to learn how to win and lose gracefully. The younger they learn, the better. And aspects of the NRL judiciary need to be overhauled to provide consistency. There’s a rule that states that, when you’re using a comparable tackle to mount a defence argument, the panel can exclude it because it may have been dealt with “too leniently or severely” in the past. Even if it’s by those same judiciary panel members themselves! It makes no sense.

Billie Eder: Get rid of financial punishments for on-field misconduct. Does a player who’s earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year (or sometimes more than $1 million), really care about a $1000 fine? On the other hand, players on minimum wage can’t always afford the fine. The NRL should give players a warning without a financial penalty, before moving to one-match, two-match, three-match bans etc.

Dan Walsh: Forget about the broadcasters’ demands - including the owners of this masthead - and shorten the regular season. Because in the depths of winter, in front of 3000 people at a soulless Accor Stadium, we just don’t need a 14-0 Souths-Manly snoozefest sans Origin players. The 20-team competition should translate to a shorter competition where everyone plays each other once, easing the physical strain on players when the game is harder and faster than ever. Quality over quantity, which probably means less money from broadcast deals. Which almost certainly means it won’t happen.

Adam Pengilly: You know it, I know it, everyone who watches rugby league knows it: the biggest threat to the code is the concussion crisis. The game has come a long way in the past decade, but I still can’t shake stories of former greats being a shadow of themselves in later life. It should be mandatory for every player who signs a contract with an NRL club - from the youngest junior in Harold Matthews to a 15-year veteran - to have yearly brain scans. And when they’re retired, even if they’re attending an Old Boys day, ensure there is the same service available to monitor them post career. It won’t be cheap, but it will enhance the code’s reputation of looking after its players.

Emma Kemp: Only let six teams qualify for the finals, and then heighten the stakes further by making all games sudden death. Week one would be 3rd v 6th and 4th v 5th, with the winners progressing to week two to play 1st and 2nd. The top two are rewarded with a week off and semi-final hosting rights, but don’t get a second chance by playing the extra match involved in the current finals format. It’s just as fair, but less drawn-out and convoluted.

Andrew Johns: I might be coming from a biased viewpoint here, but we have to protect our long-term future by introducing weight divisions for junior rugby league. Too many young and skilful kids are being forced out because they develop at a later physical age than other kids. We should be doing everything to encourage them to stay with rugby league longer.

Christian Nicolussi: I have always been a fan of overhauling the NRL ladder, with four points for a win, three points for a victory in golden point, two for a draw, one for a loss in extra time, and zero for a loss. Teams deserve something if nothing separates them after 80 minutes.

Roy Masters: The integrity of the competition needs fixing. Good teams play each other twice and bad teams once and the reverse applies. A 20-team competition will alleviate some of the unfairness, particularly with travel. In the interim, the NRL competition should be suspended in June for representative games – State of Origin, Tests involving NZ, England, Pacific Islands as well as U/19s State of Origin and the start of the NRLW. This will satisfy the broadcasters with plenty of content.

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