Watch Super League's restart live on Sky Sports this Sunday. St Helens face Catalans Dragons at 4.15pm followed by Leeds Rhinos taking on Huddersfield Giants at 6.30pm
Saturday 1 August 2020 16:57, UK
Sky Sports rugby league expert Phil Clarke looks ahead to Super League's restart and wonders what effect the new rules will have on the competition...
At last, some live rugby league action in this country to watch this weekend!
It seems like a lifetime ago since we had some games to talk about and I have been a frustrated 49-year-old feeling like a nine-year-old waiting for Christmas. It just cannot come soon enough.
I can't wait to come away from a game with that warm feeling of contentment inside; the internal smile that you get from the sport that you love, the rush of endorphins that a great game gives you - one with a debatable red card, an unforgettable try or a last-minute drop goal to win the match.
We've all had to wait patiently for the last 18 weeks and now - fingers crossed - have a new 16-week competition to the Grand Final, when the best 17 men will lift the trophy at the end of arguably the strangest rugby league season since the Second World War.
It will be strange because of this four-month hiatus that has occurred. It will be unprecedented because we only have 11 teams now and it will be different because we will be playing under new rules. This all adds up to make the remainder of 2020 even more unpredictable than ever before.
People have asked me who I think will be the team to beat. Well, that depends on how the games are played. The sport may not look like what it did prior to March 15 when Castleford Tigers took on St Helens.
There will be no scrums. They have been a major aspect of the sport for the last 125 years and without them I am not sure how it will look.
The other significant change is the rule that they call 'six again'. This is when a player on the defending team infringes in the ruck without it being foul play, such as holding down, hand on the ball or markers not square.
The referee will indicate that the tackle count has re-started and the team in possession will have another six tackles in which to attack. I am told that a buzzer will sound to let us all know.
It is accepted in the NRL that this rule has sped the game up and I am excited to see what impact this has on the game here.
It would be brilliant if 'six again' helps to provide more ball movement not less. Fans like to see variety in the tries scored in a match, so maybe this will help to do that by tipping the balance more towards the attacking team.
I hope it does not lead to more runs from dummy-half or one-out carries. It would be brilliant if it helps to provide more ball movement not less. Fans like to see variety in the tries scored in a match, so maybe this will help to do that by tipping the balance more towards the attacking team.
I am fascinated to see how the game looks without scrums. I have read with interest the theory behind this and hope that it is successful in reducing the spread of Covid-19, but we need to be prepared to act if the stoppages in play when a scrum would normally be found look a bit embarrassing to the game.
The recently introduced shot clock has accustomed all players now to the break that is available. I am worried that to a casual sports fan tuning in on Sky Sports this might look like a time out in American football.
If we had not mandated a shot clock the referee could have instructed a handover of possession and asked the other team to simply play the ball. Introducing one rule sometimes creates a problem somewhere else.
We need to ensure when we change the rules in rugby league we make the game simpler to officiate, not harder.
Take the decision regarding corner flags a few years ago. The referee does not need to worry about if the attacking player has touched it when he dives in the corner to score - a good decision and one which simplifies life for a referee.
The same cannot necessarily be said about 'six again'. We now have three types of penalties that a referee can give: A full fat one, a semi-skimmed one and a differential - the latter assuming that scrums will return at some stage.
If we are altering rules, then please replace the differential and upgrade it to a full penalty. It serves no purpose now and the evolution of the game means that it is advantageous to the team who concede it.
We need to ensure when we change the rules in rugby league we make the game simpler to officiate, not harder.
Just look at teams defending their own try-line at a scrum. They break almost before the ball has been fed into the scrum in the knowledge that the worst thing that can happen is they will be penalised and get another momentary rest to set their defensive line and spread their players across the field.
Their opponents cannot kick at goal from the penalty, so the defending team have nothing to lose.
If we don't have scrums, then do we also need to think of some new names for the positions? Do we need the term prop or hooker anymore?
Coaches use terms like "middles" and "pivots" and "strike" to describe some of their squad. Perhaps we need a rebrand of our names for rugby league version 2020?
It is too soon to say if the 'six again' rule will enhance the game. In theory, it will make life harder for the bigger players in the middle of the pitch and I would imagine that those big men have been doing all that they can to lose weight, get leaner and improve their footwork and mobility.
The RFL have also introduced another change they hope will reduce injuries in matches. On the principles of safety, the game has introduced this rule to help a player in possession who is tackled by three defenders.
If a player in possession is held by two defenders, any other defender must make initial contact to the player in possession above the knees.
Nobody can argue that this sounds sensible, but it again makes life more difficult for a referee to see exactly where the point of contact took place. Let's just hope that it acts as a deterrent to serious foul player or malicious tackling.
One of the most significant changes however is not a Law change but a game one. With no relegation at the end of the season there is no danger or fear for clubs.
How will this impact on the style of play we see? Are we likely to see teams take more risks? If we had a way of measuring which team was the most entertaining when we complete all the games, would it be either of the two who play in the Grand Final? Ultimately, we all need the sport to attract as many new fans and new players as possible.
Sometimes, the Christmas presents are exactly what you wished for, and sometimes you might feel a bit bemused by the strange, unexpected and unexplainable gift from a seldom-seen relative. Let's hope we all get what we want.
