LeagueNews.co | Cooper McEnroe
Former NRL player James Graham has raised concerns about a potential loophole in the rules that some teams may be exploiting to gain an advantage.
Graham pointed out instances in recent games where teams defending close to their tryline deliberately took too long to pack the scrum, resulting in a time violation penalty.
This tactic denies the attacking team the opportunity to re-pack the scrum and launch a set-piece attack, potentially depriving them of a scoring opportunity.
Graham highlighted a specific incident in the North Queensland Cowboys' game against the Penrith Panthers, where the Cowboys' deliberate delay in packing the scrum led to a time violation penalty.
This denied the Panthers the chance to capitalize on the attacking position they had gained and potentially level the game.
A similar situation occurred in the Parramatta Eels' golden point win over the St.
George Illawarra Dragons.
"The best opportunity to score points is from the base of a scrum, where it's seven on seven," Graham explained on The Bye Round podcast.
He noted that in these specific cases, the shot-clock violation penalty prevented the attacking team from requesting a re-pack of the scrum, unlike other scrum infringements where teams have that option.
Graham expressed his concern that this tactic could be a deliberate ploy by teams to exploit a grey area in the rules.
He stressed that while teams are penalized for other scrum infringements like being offside, the shot-clock violation penalty limits the attacking team's options and potentially tilts the advantage in favor of the defending team.
By calling attention to these incidents, Graham hopes that officials and the league will address this potential loophole and ensure a fair competition where teams cannot gain an unfair advantage through strategic rule-bending.