They should stay because it allows a team to stop the clock which towards the end of a game can be vital. What we have now are teams winding down the shot clock by refusing to play the ball.
The captain’s challenge requires the game to be televised which is fine in the NRL but not for us because going forward we won’t.

I thought that would be obvious.....

Think the Video Ref and Captains Challenge should go hand-in-hand, as obviously you can't have the latter without the former, so, if the game is being televised then the Captain's Challenge would apply too ??
Regarding try-scoring, why not just do as the oonion lot do and ask the Video Ref - "Try or no try ??"

I'd like to see competitive scrums return but that's not happening. Even in the other code they aren't what they were. As others have stated its a real chance for the sport to stand out on its own.

I like 6 again but it still needs some work around consistency but then what doesn't it RL? Near impossible game to officiate

on field decision needs to be scrapped and a one minute time limit put on the video review.

If we do get rid of scrums we should also get rid of the shock clock that goes with it as clubs just resort to kicking out of play for a rest, with the ridiculous spectacle that follows of 26 players all set to resume play but having to wait for the clock to tick down.

Re. 6 again, it is a cop out for refs not wanting to give pens, with teams using it to keep pressure on when defending in opponents 20m areas - they'd rather give 6 again early in the tackle count in the hope of forcing a mistake or poor kick than a pressure-relieving penalty with the break in play, kick to touch and 6 again that follows. It's very subjective and leads to all sorts of calls against the refs being impartial or not...we've all seen instances where it's been inconsistently applied, which ends up being another stick to beat the ref with

I would keep them, it gives us a different scenario in the game, taking the forwards out of the play although we do not often see scrum plays anymore in our game. There will be a stop clock of 30 seconds to restart the game anyway, I would rather see players forming a scrum than just standing at the side of the play the ball with there hands on there hips.

I cant see the NRL taking scrums out of the play, teams create some fantastic plays off scrums, and it would be a massive shame for them to lose that.

No scrums mind as well play touch and pass Aussies have em dosent slow it down at all do like the captain's challenged

No scrums mind as well play touch and pass Aussies have em dosent slow it down at all do like the captain's challenged

We’ve all grown up watching contested scrums at some time and the fisty cuffs that followed, which I must say I enjoyed in a sadist way

but having watched the present day game with the restart rule introduced and no scrums it has grown on me, maybe if the scrums were contested then maybe but the speed of game today the athletic players of today need to get into attack and defence as soon as possible and don’t want to hang around in a huddle . So I’m happy to carry on as we are.

It was but you still thought it necessary to raise the issue as an option you would like to see in SL.

What are you on about?

If we can't bring back the old "contested" scrum why don't we adopt a "miniature" scrum and enforce proper heeled ptbs (as they should be), and allow the player marking to strike for the ball as they used to be allowed to do. This would do away with the time wasting time of the full scrum yet allow a little bit of skilful competition. If not I reluctantly would have to do away with the scrum altogether.
The only reason the contested scrum became obsolete was because referees were not strict enough with offending players, hence all the penalties

What I find strange is that teams must be able to actually contest at the scrum, just no one does it that often, you see the opposition team pushing and winning the ball back on the odd occasion.

Tell you what. If those on here are just interested in speeding the game up more and more why don't we do away with ten players and just have a left wing and a right wing with a "scrum half" in the middle. No scrums, no knock ons, no tackles (they slow the game down), no tactical kicks for touch. That should really bring the crowds in.

They tried something similar years ago, reduced the number of players on the pitch from 30 to 26, how did that work out. I’m sure the 30 players game is bigger than our game, both domestically and globally.

Personally I want to keep scrums.
It is a traditional part of the game. It gives the players a break on an already fast game.
Still keep the shot clock and I'd add that if you want to stop the clock by forming the scrum, the platers in the scrum when clock is stopped must stay in when play starts

In reply, you scoff but to be fair RL has been changing the rules consistently since it began. If we hadn’t you’d be watching RU, is that what you want? Yes we get it wrong at times and in recent years it’s been a bit to often but all the same it drives the game.



To me RU is a game for nerds who love rules and regulation, RL is for those who wish to be entertained. With that comes an element of dumbing down or simplification depending how you see it but it’s still way better than kick and clap.

Not sure if anyone has mentioned speeding up the game, most comments are around scrums not really being missed and how not having them, may help RL with its own identity.
I think there is work to be done on how to allow some breaks in play. The current situation with the "shot clock" counting down while the markers deliberately wait doesn't look great but, lets face it, scrums have been a joke in all of the 40+ years that I've been watching.
EVERY scrum is "fed" (in both League and Union) so, what's the point.

I don't share your view on Union. Its a great game to play steeped in history with a great social scene attached to it. It is marketed perfectly and has a massive international following.
And rugby has Laws not Rules.

It's just different to League. I far prefer league to watch but Union is enjoyable too.
Having more complex rules doesn't make it for nerds.

I think scrums should go but shot clock time reduced too

Agree with both paragraphs, particularly the second, up to a point, but it seems to me that there appears to be a rule change at the start of every season with particular emphasis on "speeding up the game". At what point does rugby league become not rugby league anymore.. I've been watching rl since the mid-fifties and ,yes, the game has speeded up a hell of a lot but in my eye it does not make it any more of an exciting spectacle than it was 65 years ago. The winning of the scrum was an integral part of the procedure of the game; we still had the speed and excitement of a winger going full tilt for the line, and the ducking and weaving of the no. 6 and no.7. I think possibly one of the the biggest differences between the game of today and yesteryear is the fitness of the players. The game today just seems to be a case of what the Aussies do today we have to (try and) do tomorrow.

People bang on about player welfare and yet we are just doing everything that we can to speed the game up even more, I understand that they are professional athletes but the game is fast enough as it is without many breaks. It`s funny how quickly agendas change, it was only a few years back they the RFL introduced water breaks every 15/20 minutes in a game after the tragic death of Danny Jones, that quickly went out of the window.

For me, we can go too far on speeding the game up, along with this; wrestling (I understand you can argue that goes against the pace of the game comment) that has come in in the last 7/8 years - I understand the game has developed and the wrestle is probably here to stay but it is certainly becoming a bigger part of the game, some clubs are even looking at floor work (Training BJJ) and how they incorporate that into there defence, when you watch the Oli Holmes/Myler situation a couple of weeks ago, this is a prime example. I sometimes watch games from 10 years ago and think it was so much more enjoyable to watch.

I will be honest, I have stopped watching any rugby union at all on the basis I just don`t understand the rules, especially when it comes to the ruck and what is and isn't allowed.

Just a point on the wrestling as well, the clubs aren't at fault, it is effective but I think somewhere along the line RFL need to draw a line just like the NRL should have done years ago with Melbourne, now it seems too late for them to bring in any restrictions on there wrestle as every club in the league is at that level.

Laws.

I was captain of a team and had to check with the ref what my options were when there was an infringement at the lineout. I got some dirty looks from the life long Union boys