Super League VI

Rule changes

• 20 metre restarts should be allowed to happen quickly and not be delayed by referees.
• The first and second halves will now end the moment that the hooter sounds, in the past referees could use their discretion to let play continue if they felt the siren had sounded in during play.

  Refereeing focus

• Penalising those teams that attempt to delay or interfere with the tackled player. Following a pre-season meeting with coaches the RFL's director of rugby, Greg McCallum, identified the following delaying tactics that would be monitored for:
• * "Flopping" onto the player tackled or pushing them down in a "second effort".
• * Straddling the tackled player.
• * Pulling at the tackled player's leg as they get to their feet.
• * Making contact with the ball in the tackled player's arms.
• * Putting a hand on the shoulders or head of the tackled player.
• * Deliberately knocking into ball-carriers at play-the-ball.
• Team-mates of tackled players should not attempt to manhandle tacklers off the player in possession.
• Attacking players must make at least an attempt to play the ball correctly with the foot.
• Players "milking" penalties would be punished.

  Rule deviation

• The Rugby Football League opted to retain their existing substitution system of six changes from four available substitutes but allowing unlimited use of the blood bin. This put British rugby league at odds with international interchange rules and impacted preparation for international competitions.

  Operational rules

• Match commissioners were introduced by the League as a first point of contact for clubs that wish to raise and issue resulting from a match. The introduction of this system follows a successful trial during the 2000 World Cup.

  Table

Play-offs

Grand Final