Fair dinkum, the NRL's new set restart rule is causing some real headaches after Round 1. The competition has warned clubs to brace themselves for an even stricter crackdown on ruck infringements as the season unfolds, and it's because referees believe they actually let a heap of penalties slip through in the opening weekend.
Look, the numbers tell the story. For certain infringements beyond the 20-metre line, the tackle count will now restart, replacing the current 40-metre threshold, allowing set restarts to be awarded from the attacking side's 20-metre line. The result? A 35 per cent increase in set restarts, with 64 "six-agains" across eight games compared to last year's average of 5.9 set restarts per game.
The outcome of Round 1 was the highest average gap between two teams since the 2016 season, with an average of 20 points between both teams for the opening games of 2026. When you're seeing score margins like that, mate, the game gets lopsided pretty quick. The average for Round 1 was 8.5 set restarts this round, compared to 4.6 in Round 1 last year and 2024, 5.4 in 2023, and 7.3 in the utterly cooked 2021 season.
But here's where it gets spicy. David Fairleigh, the NRL's club relationship manager of elite officiating, sent a memo to coaches basically saying they didn't blow enough penalties. "The referees have reviewed several slow rucks in R1 that, upon reflection, should have been a penalty or Set Restart depending on field position," he wrote. "You can expect a high focus in this area." Translation: strap in, there are more coming in Round 2.
The game's great minds aren't happy about the direction things are heading. Andrew Johns, Laurie Daley, and Brad Fittler all raised concerns about the influx of six-agains and how they're changing the flow and outcome of matches. These blokes know the game inside out, and when they start questioning a rule, people listen.
Now, Queensland Origin coach Billy Slater offered a different take. He reckons the issue isn't the rule itself but how teams are adapting to it. "Some teams, they practice a certain way the whole off-season, then they get to round one and those interpretations are different to what they'd been practicing," he said on The Sunday Footy Show. "They've got to move to the standard of the game. If you're holding [ball carriers] down longer than that, it's easy to give a six again against you." Fair point. In Las Vegas, both games saw a total of 12 set restarts called, but since then domestic games have seen 14, 11, 10, 4, 10 and 7 in the following six games.
At the end of the day, here's the thing about rule changes in footy: they take time to bed in. Coaches need to work their way through what works and what doesn't. Referees need to find consistency. Players need to adjust their technique. But when you're awarding set restarts at nearly double the rate of recent seasons, you're fundamentally changing how the game plays out week to week. The question isn't just whether the rule is right or wrong; it's whether the game itself can handle the consequences.
The NRL's 2026 rule changes were implemented following extensive consultation with clubs and stakeholders. Whether Round 2 and beyond prove this one was worth the fuss remains to be seen.