‘Lost the fabric of the game’: Ricky Stuart’s six again reality check for NRL

Ricky Stuart was initially a fan of the NRL’s new six again interpretations, but the veteran Raiders coach says “we’ve lost the fabric of the game” as a result of the rule change, and that higher scores don’t mean we’re seeing a better product.

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The NRL made a significant change in the off-season, allowing referees to award the attacking team a set restart rather than a traditional penalty for ruck infringements or offside calls from outside the 20-metre line.

The change has increased the pace of play and removed stoppages from the contest, but it’s resulted in lopsided scores and some teams having 20 tackles in a row, leading to fatigue later in the game.

“I was a fan of the six again, but I think we’ve lost the fabric of the game,” Stuart said, echoing the sentiments of several fans on social media.

“Six agains are just given now willy-nilly. There’s a free six again wave of the arm because there’s no repercussion on the decision right at the time.

“For me, a six again is something that has got to be penalty worthy, but I don’t think it is at the moment which is why we’re getting so much criticism with the speed of the game.

“Making the game faster doesn’t necessarily make it more attractive. Just because the scoreline is 50-30, I don’t believe it’s more attractive.”

Some sides have thrived under the new rules, while the Raiders are stuck on just two wins along with the Storm who have lost four on the trot and travel to Canberra for a Friday night blockbuster.

Winger Savelio Tamale won’t be part of the team this week, with the 21-year-old requesting to play reserve grade instead where he’s hoping to regain his confidence.

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Tamale is in his second full season in the NRL and was involved in a strange moment last week in Perth where he appeared to stop just as he was about to score a try, before he eventually put the ball down.

“He’s just down on confidence,” Stuart said.

“We don’t need to make it too big a story internally, because for us, we’ve just got to look after a young player who is lacking a bit of confidence.

“The same thing happened to him last year when he came back from injury. He’ll get through it. Outside of him being a talented footballer, he’s a really good bloke so he’ll get through it because he’s got good people around him and we’ll take care of him.”

The move has forced a reshuffle with Seb Kris going to left wing which sees Matt Timoko return to the starting side at centre for the first time this year.

An injury plagued him in the off-season, with a stint in reserve grade leading to speculation that he could leave Canberra before his contract expires.

But Stuart insists that’s not the case, with Timoko one of the best attacking centres in the NRL but needing to work on his defence.

“Matty has been amazing how he’s sat back and just kept working hard because he knows how well Simi (centre Simi Sasagi) has been playing,” the coach said.

“Even Matty said to me two weeks ago when I sat down and had a chat with him, ‘Mate, it’s hard at the moment because we’ve got Simi playing so well’, and he was fine with it and totally got it.

“He went back and kept working hard on his football (and now he’s in the team). He’s a club person so I know he’s excited and he’s ready to play.

“He’s here next year. That happens at any club when a first-grader comes back from injury and isn’t playing first grade or is put back to Cup to fix his game. All of a sudden there’s innuendo about the player being disgruntled or wants out.

“Matty’s not disgruntled and he doesn’t want out, and he hasn’t come and seen me. I’ve had good conversations with his manager so everything is OK from our point of view.”