Since the contentious ‘captain’s challenge’ rule was greenlighted for the 2020 NRL season, rugby league experts and fans have been in a debate on the new initiative. On the other hand, the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) stands by their claim that the rule tweak will add ‘excitement, unpredictability and tactics’ to the season.
The newly approved rule allows NRL captains on the field to challenge a referee’s call in a set of situations using the game’s existing video referee system. It was first practised in the Charity Shield between South Sydney and St-George Illawarra. The NRL All-Stars match also had the advantage of using the system.
Some fans argue that the ‘captain’s challenge’ will slow the game down even more.
They further pointed out that it wouldn’t get rid of squabbles such as the ‘six again’ debacle that left the Canberra Raiders fuming in the 2019 Grand Final. This is for the reason that didn’t fit into a ‘structured restart of play’.
NRL fans may be divided but the very reason the new rule tweak was even proposed is due to a fan survey showing that incorrect refereeing judgment is one of the biggest problems in the game.
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Nevertheless, it’s the club captains who can make the call. Get to know what some NRL skippers think of the new system:
Mitchell Pearce, Newcastle Knights
The Knights skipper expressed his excitement over the new NRL rule, likening it to a golden egg for the club in the right moment.
‘I’ve been putting a little bit of thought into it’, Pearce said in an interview. ‘You know, if you’re four-nil down with 10 minutes to go and you get a penalty, you can argue the point, win some momentum and get the golden egg, that will be positive out of it’.
He also recalled how Canberra could have taken advantage of the system during their controversial 2019 Grand Final loss to the Sydney Roosters.
‘I’ve been thinking about it a fair bit and talking to coach a little bit about it’, Pearce added. ‘I want to be one of the better ones to use that and it’s something that will benefit our team’.
Adam Reynolds, South Sydney Rabbitohs
In contrast, the South Sydney Rabbitohs skipper has no plans to use the ‘captain’s challenge’ in the future, pointing out that he will get help from his teammates.
‘It’s not in my plans’, Reynolds answered a question in regards to the system. ‘Just get out there and do what you feel. If we think it’s right and we can overturn it, then sure. Later on the match, we can give it a crack’.
‘We’ve worked on a game plan and we know what it takes to win 40 games’, he further said. ‘We’ll just go out there and do it’.
James Tamou, Penrith Panthers
Upon revealing that he will keep the Panthers captaincy for 2020, Tamou also reacted to the news of the ‘captain’s challenge’. The skipper joked that he will catch his breath most of the time in the game to think about the new rule.
‘I guess it’s one of those things where the game sort of evolving and we have to go with it’, Tamou said. ‘I’m going to have to get my head on and get ready for that wherever that play may be on the field’.
‘Obviously, sometimes the referees don’t get it right and no one is perfect’, the incumbent captain further commented on the matter. ‘Having that challenge, I think we’ll take the game to the next level’.
‘I wasn’t there at the Nines but I was screaming at my TV loud enough’, he recalled the last controversy of the Panthers. ‘I guess it’s one of those things where I have to make a decision and you know, they went with that choice’.