The NRL could be set to abandon the competition’s golden point system in favour of a revised extra-time concept, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The system has been under much scrutiny of late, with fans claiming games can be decided at ‘the toss of a coin’.
Last week, for example, Parramatta were defeated in extra time by Brisbane without even touching the ball, with the Broncos kicking a drop goal with their first possession.
NRL head of football says that, among with a number of other issues, golden point has been the subject of serious discussion within the NRL and will be reviewed by the competition committee in November.
“The NRL has actually given this some thought recently and will further discuss golden point variations with the competition committee when it meets early in November.
Parramatta Eels lost to Brisbane in golden point without even touching the ball.
“Over the years, there have been a number of alternatives floated, such as golden try, minimum time periods and even scrapping it all together.
“None of these have generated much traction, however, I do think both teams should get at least one possession each before a match is decided.”
One potential alternative is a hybrid system that would be similar to the overtime formats used in the NFL and American College Football.
As last year’s Tom Brock Scholar for rugby league research, Spencer Kassimir, outlines: “The ball would be placed 20 metres from the try line, with possession going to the team which won the coin toss at the beginning of the match, or having a second coin toss to determine who receives first use of the ball.
Spencer Kassimir has suggested an alternative based on the American Football system.
“The team in possession will be given one set of six tackles to score. If that team scores a try, they will be given the opportunity to convert it. The opponent would then be given the ball and re-start play 20 metres from their try line. The same scoring options would apply.
“The team with the second possession would be given the opportunity to tie, or win the game, or not score at all. If the game is tied by the second team scoring the same number of points, the process would be repeated two more times.
“At this point, the NRL needs to decide how desperately they want to not have a drawn game. If they feel, ‘enough is enough’, which should be the case – given player safety – then follow the NFL lead in this respect and accept a tied game.”
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