Former NRL referee Gavin Badger has slammed the constant rule tinkering in rugby league, with the recent kicking issue dividing opinion greatly.
The NRL are set to consider punishing teams who kick into touch by rewarding the opposing team with a seven-tackle set.
ARL commissioner Wayne Pearce said the rule change would be discussed at a meeting in the near future, with the potential for it to be trialled before the end of the season.
It would mean that every kick into touch – with the exception of the 40-20 and the much-lesser used 20-40 – would lead to a seven-tackle set for the opposition.
“At the moment, when a ball gets kicked into touch, there’s a turnover and the team can have it in the middle of the field or wherever they want to have it,” Pearce told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“My view is that there’s a difference between a player running into touch – whether it be trying to score a try or whatever – and a player deliberately kicking into touch to slow the play down.”
But, Badger has criticised the decision.
Can we please leave the game alone. The game is supposed to be a battle of attrition, a battle for field position and a battle to win the arm wrestle. That’s the game I love, two teams grinding it out, backing their defence and praying on an error, then we see the attacking flair https://t.co/bLQ7zNx1WS
— Gavin Badger (@Thebadge72) August 27, 2021
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