Game-changing sin bin rule to be trialled in NRL with Super League on alert

The NRL is set to implement a major sin bin rule change in their trials with the results possibly set to affect Super League.

In recent years, Super League and the NRL have taken rule changes from one another with the most recent being the implementation of a Captain’s Challenge in Super League for the 2025 season.

That has come after years of yearning for the rule change following its successful implementation in the NRL. Other examples that have been implemented on one half of the world before being adopted on the other side include the Six Again rule.

Now, the NRL are set to trial a new way on how sin bins are awarded with the competition using their pre-season games, or trials, as the perfect testing ground for the rule change.

Per a report from Fox Sports in Australia, three rules will be tested at this weekend’s upcoming trial games with both the play-the-ball and obstructions rules to be more open to referee interpretation. The third and final change relates to how sin bins will be dished out.

NRL set to trial huge sin bin change that could impact Super League

Whilst players will be required to make a genuine attempt to play the ball with their foot and attacking teams will be given the benefit of the doubt when it comes to obstruction and players potentially ‘milking’ penalties, the sin bin change is far more hard-hitting.

Players will be sin binned retrospectively if the player that they tackled illegally was forced to leave the field and in turn failed a Head Injury Assessment.

For example, if a player leaves the field for a HIA following an illegal tackle and then fails that HIA, the defending player will then be sent for ten minutes in the sin bin.

Of course, given the fact that the process of diagnosing a HIA takes time, players could be sin binned for an offence that they committed over ten minutes ago.

There are also concerns about manipulation with players and teams deliberately failing their HIA in order to force a rival player to be sin binned. Of course, the player who fails a HIA would then miss games as they go through the return to play protocol but in a Grand Final where there is no second chances or future games,  teams could effectively force a sin bin for an opponent with no huge deterrent.

We’ll see how all three rules are implemented during the upcoming NRL trial games with Super League certain to keep a keen eye on proceedings given the trend of each competition adopting the new initiatives of the other.