NRL stars fear set restarts could decide a final. V’landys says they’re ‘not telling the truth’

ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys says players are “not telling the truth” amid a renewed spate of criticism for the NRL’s expanded set restart rules, with Roosters skipper James Tedesco warning that contentious ruck interpretations could decide a club’s season.

Tedesco and Cowboys counterpart Tom Dearden were among the finals captains to most strongly echo Harry Grant’s criticism after Melbourne’s win over Cronulla on Saturday night.

That match featured 24 infringements and 26 errors. Grant, the Storm, Maroons and Kangaroos hooker, then said the NRL needs to work out “do we want to play touch football or rugby league?”

The governing body’s widened six-again remit – which sees a new set called for ruck infringements or offsides beyond the 20-metre line – has been a talking point all year.

The RLPA has been especially vocal regarding fluctuations in the rules’ enforcement. Data collated by independent statistician The Rugby League Eye Test indicates that set restarts in the final four rounds have increased to an average of 8.4 per game. That is a rise of almost 30 per cent from the 6.5 set restarts averaged per game between rounds 14-23.

V’landys came out swinging in response to critiques from the players at the NRL’s finals launch on Monday morning, all but declaring the rules will remain as they are for 2027 despite the game’s long-held policy of reviewing all on-field matters at the end of each season.

As Tedesco reiterated the concerns of numerous players, coaches and fans that set-restarts are awarded on the run and ruck infringements are not properly explained by officials, V’landys offered a blunt dismissal.

“I don’t buy that,” he said.

“The two six-again [infringements] are 10-metre compliance, and this year we have 98 per cent compliance on the 10-metre [zone]. So it’s proven that if you have a deterrent there on a six-again, players will abide by the rule … And the fans did not like wrestling. The players know when they’re trying to control the ruck speed.

“I think that they’re not telling the truth if they believe (that) when they’re given a six again, they didn’t know what it was for. I mean, I think it’s pretty obvious.”

Tedesco said he was less certain than ever on why some set restarts were awarded while he has been out injured and watching Roosters games from the sidelines.

“And I understand the referees are working hard, but when I’m on the field it’s hard to get a clarification of why we’re getting pinged at the ruck, so we don’t know what we need to clean up,” he said.

“I understand Peter is very focused on getting the ruck speed right, but personally, there’s a lot of times I’m not sure why a six-again is called.

“I don’t really know how we get things more consistent either, but it probably is something we need to be aware of in the final series. You can’t let the games be decided by like six-again or set restarts, but you worry that could happen.”

Dearden’s Cowboys side have been involved in as many wild, high-scoring shoot-outs as any side this season, with the Queensland and Australian Test player pointing to the new six-again rules as a key influence.

“Personally, I’m old school, and I think we had the balance of the rules right last year,” he said.

“I’m not a fan of changing the rules every year. I don’t really see the need to keep adjusting or making these significant changes; I’d like a bit more stability in the game.”

Asked about the potential of set-restarts being reviewed or potentially wound back in response to widespread player feedback, V’landys said: “I always look at raw figures and raw facts. You can’t base things on gut feeling, or you’ve got to base it on the facts.

And at the moment, the facts do not support us changing that rule.”

Speaking specifically to Grant’s comments that “you don’t know what constitutes a quick play-the-ball or what constitutes a slow play-the-ball”, V’landys said he has the utmost respect for the Storm captain.

“But he’s got this one wrong,” V’landys said.

“I let facts speak for themselves, and when you look at the facts, the ruck speed is still the same as it was last year.

“It’s around 3.5 seconds, and it remains that way. And look, some teams try to take advantage of the ruck and slow the ruck down, and at the moment the referees aren’t allowing them to do that.

“Some teams try to get the ruck speed up at over 4 seconds, and it doesn’t sound much, but .5 seconds is a lot, and it does slow the game down.

“So we make no apology that we’re going to keep the ruck speed the same for both teams. So no team gets an advantage any more.

“And the referees, in my view, have done a terrific job… the raw numbers don’t back up what Harry’s saying.”

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Dan Walsh is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.AdvertisementAdvertisement