In the World Club Challenge match in the UK,the Panthers ran the ball on the last tackle,particularly in the first half – although the short in-goals at Wigan was probably the main reason. Cleary feared his kicks would go dead,gifting the Super League champions possession on the quarter line and a seven-tackle set.

Nevertheless,the Panthers ran the ball on the last tackle in 2023 more than any other NRL team.

If the Panthers are already ahead of their rivals tactically,it’s not the first time. In 2021,they gamed the six again rule by deliberately conceding infringements on the first and second tackle,confining the opposition attack to its own quarter. The NRL was eventually forced to change the rule,awarding a penalty for offences early in the tackle count.

The NRL’s 2024 amendment to the downtown rule,empowering the back three,is clearly designed to produce more tries. Fullback is the code’s glamour position,evidenced by the four superstar No.1s on display in Las Vegas.

More tries mean more commercial breaks on TV,which leads to richer broadcast deals for the code and more money in the pockets of players.

But rugby league has a dogged capacity to find tactics to counter to even the most innovative rule. Las Vegas offered a preview. We saw cloud-high kicks with enough hang time to rival Qantas,all designed for centres,wingers and edge forwards to be onside and sprint downfield to monster the receiver before he can link with another attacker. It’s as if the ball was a “smart bomb” and the receiver the vulnerable target. Teams were launching these short,high bombs last year,but the downtown rule will encourage more of them.

At a time our officials are seeking to woo Americans to NRL,it’s ironic the US’s major football code is moving in the opposite direction regarding rewarding back field players returning the ball. The NFL,fearing injury from kick-off returns,is providing more incentive for the receiving team to allow the ball to go dead. The receiving team is gifted the ball on the quarter line,similar to the NRL rule with kicks in general play going dead.

However,the biggest challenge to the new downtown rule won’t come from confused Americans. As the Las Vegas games showed,players will initially stay onside because position in the modern game is now as important as possession.

But the referee/bunker has to watch up to ten players to determine they haven’t moved past the ruck the moment the ball is kicked. Compare that with contact on the kicker where they only have to watch one player. Penalise a downtown breach at one point and coaches will point to a myriad of times when the same offence was allowed.

Accusations of inconsistency could turn referees into Shakespeare’s Hamlet where the downtown rule “is more honoured in the breach than the observance.”

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