Penrith and Melbourne certainly seem to be coping with the new interpretations anyway. The Panthers’ combined scoreline this year is 52-6, while the Storm have scored 98 points and conceded just 24.
Their spines seem to be enjoying the extra space, and as a game, we should be aiming to encourage our best players to do exactly that, find the extra space and create.
We’ve got more ball movement when teams are coming out of trouble, too – Alex Johnston’s record-breaking try last weekend was set up by David Fifita and Latrell from deep in their own half, and Kalyn Ponga’s try a few days later started in similar fashion.
How the game is going to evolve next
For mine, these games with fast, open footy being rewarded feels very similar to mid and late-1990s and how rugby league was played back then.
So for young halves and playmakers, if you want my advice and a blueprint for how to attack and play this style of footy, then find a VCR and watch how Allan Langer and Ricky Stuart used to play.
The real question is whether you’d rather watch and play in a 10-8 defensive slog, or a 40-30 attacking shootout?
I think the way the game is being officiated will evolve some positions as well, and bring smaller, mobile middle forwards like Cameron Murray and Reuben Cotter into the game more.
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But there’s still a place for the big boys, too, despite fears they would die out when the six agains were first introduced in 2020. Just look at the way guys like Viliame Kikau and Junior Paulo have adapted their games.
And beyond the NRL and the top level, I think we need to look at weight divisions at junior levels if we’re speeding up the game and bringing more fatigue in, to ensure it’s still safe when players are learning their craft.
In the past few years TV ratings and crowds have kept rising, so you have to think the younger generations like the way the game is played.
Maybe instead of listening to 50-year-old fossils like me, we should be asking people in the 10-to-30 age bracket what they think of the rules and tactics. We’ve got too many set restarts right now, but we’ll get the balance right soon enough.
Why the Raiders should run rampant with new ruck rules
In Canberra on Thursday night, with clear, cool weather on the forecast, we’ll see the Raiders take on Canterbury, and the home side is a team I think should really thrive with the new ruck interpretations.
They love playing around the ruck and rolling on the back of offloads from their forwards. Around the play-the-ball, guys with pace and footwork like Tom Starling, Ethan Strange and Kaeo Weekes are lethal.
Kaeo Weekes is a danger man around the ruck.Credit: Getty Images
But across the first two weeks I think Canberra have only been slightly above average. Their errors and discipline have let them down, and I think Manly’s underwhelming form (and the Raiders needed golden point to beat them) proves that.
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This is Canberra’s first game at home this season and they welcome Josh Papalii back from concussion – he’s a key figure with experience, size and plays that can lift his teammates.
The Bulldogs haven’t played for 18 days since Las Vegas, so I do wonder if we might see some rust in their play early on. There’s also the Bronson Xerri saga this week and whether that has any impact on them, particularly given he was lining up on the right edge.
But Canterbury are still one of the toughest, fittest teams in the NRL, and they don’t beat themselves. The question I have about them still is the same as always: where do their points come from – because with this year’s ruck officiating I think they’ll need at least 24 points to win this game.
When the Blues back row collides
Canberra’s Hudson Young will line up opposite fellow Ashes tourist Jacob Preston, and it’s going to be a fantastic clash between two elite edge runners.
Xerri’s axing puts even more focus on young Lachie Galvin and his combination with Enari Tuala. Hudson will go after Galvin; he’ll try and agitate him, rough him up and run over the top of him.
But Lachie also has Preston right there beside him and I think we could easily see Preston and Young lining up together for NSW in Origin sooner rather than later. I love the way they both play.
Very rarely do you see Preston run a decoy line. Galvin loves hitting him with a short ball and you can’t blame him, given the way Preston can angle and bend the line with pace and footwork.
And Hudson, he’s just a match-winner. Just ask yourself how many back-rowers could pop up on their opposite edge and set up a try with a chip kick like he did against Manly in round one.
I think Canberra have a stronger middle rotation and their speed around the ruck means they have Canterbury covered in this one.
Joey’s tip: Raiders by eight
First try-scorer: Xavier Savage
Man of the match: Joe Tapine
‘The big three’ and their big Broncos target
And on Friday night we have the grand final rematch between two teams that couldn’t have started 2026 in any more different fashion.
As soon as pressure is applied to Brisbane, they fold and leak points – Parramatta piled on 40 after Penrith clocked up 26 in round one.
Why? Honestly, I have no idea. I think they’ll still make the top eight but whether Adam Reynolds’ body can hold up for the full season is a big worry.
He’s been ruled out with a rib issue and Ben Hunt will play halfback, which completely changes the Broncos’ attack.
Hunt is a tough, running No.7 and his threat is down the right edge with a dummy and show and go that has served him so well in more than 350 games.
But he’s not in the same league as Reynolds in terms of his kicking and ball-playing, so expect Reece Walsh to take on more kicking duties.
Ben Hunt’s move to halfback will shift Brisbane’s attack.Credit: Getty Images
This could bring the best out of Reece as he lines up opposite Sua Fa’alogo. They are two of the game’s great entertainers.
As for Melbourne, they’re absolutely flying with 98 points in two games and their playmakers are in great touch early.
The “big three” will always be Cooper Cronk, Cameron Smith and Billy Slater. But right behind them now are Jahrome Hughes, Harry Grant and Cameron Munster.
All three are champion players as individuals, but when they’re in combination they improve each other and go to another level again.
Brisbane have a new left edge defensive combination with Deine Mariner defending at centre, which I haven’t seen him do much at NRL level.
He’s got Grant Anderson outside him and Ezra Mam, who was targeted by Parramatta, along with a new back-rower in Xavier Willison, so Melbourne will be asking plenty of questions out wide.
I think the Storm win this one and they win very well.
Joey’s tip: Storm by 13-plus points
First try-scorer: Will Warbrick
Man of the match: Harry Grant
