NRL to keep ‘Six Again’ rule described as a “bonus for referees” by Head of Football

Despite three well documented errors in Canberra’s game against St George at the weekend which have been dissected again and again, the NRL is set to keep the divisive Six Again rule.

The rule came into play in 2020 after lockdown designed to quicken up the game and replaced ruck penalties.

There have been drawbacks such as teams using it on the first tackle to slow their opponents down.

The rule was also adopted in Super League in 2020 once the competition returned after its own pandemic enforced absence and has remained in both competitions since picking up slight tweaks since its creation.

However, even now the rule is not perfect and is often one of the most scrutinised areas week to week in both hemispheres perhaps because of how vague the criteria of the rule are.

However, the NRL has stated they won’t ditch the rule according to the Rugby Pass with the NRL’s Head of Football Graham Annesley defending the rule but conceding that St George’s Ben Hunt could have been penalised three times in a matter of moments in their clash against Canberra.

He even described the rule as a “bonus” for referees: “The six-again has been a bonus for the referees in allowing them to try and get a level of compliance with stopping the game.”

His comments have done little to stifle the criticism with fans still very much divided on the rule both in the NRL and in Super League.