Bill Harrigan may be on rugby league's sidelines these days, but the former No 1 referee is still taking a forward-thinking approach to the game.
Harrigan never strayed far from controversy during his colourful NRL career, but he looks to have pushed the boundaries out even further with his idea to bring more excitement into the sport.
To make the spectacle less predictable, Harrigan has floated the bizarre notion that players be allowed to throw the ball forward on certain plays.
Cynics would suggest it already happens but through Harrigan's vision, wingers could morph into gridiron-style wide receivers for a couple of plays a half.
Under Harrigan's grand plan to replace the "five tackle and kick on the last" mantra, each team would be allowed to deliberately throw the ball forward - twice in each half.
The pass must cover a distance of 10m and can be thrown normally or overarm as in American football.
The ball must be caught on the full, and if so, play continues but the tackle count restarts.
If the attacking side drop the ball they return to the point where it was thrown and play the ball. If the ball is dropped on the last tackle there is a changeover where it was released.
Harrigan, who explained his theory in Rugby League Week magazine, said the territorial gain was an incentive to the attacking team to use the forward pass.
If the ball was dropped early in the tackle count the team retained possession and if it was caught, the count restarted.
He admitted his idea could be construed as insane but it should be food for thought for administrators.
"Some have suggested rugby league has become too predictable with teams locking the ball up in their own red zone, [using] one-off passes to a forward until the kicker moves in on the last tackle to kick the ball deep into the opposition half," Harrigan said.
"This rule would add a whole new dimension to the game. We must always strive to improve the game by introducing new rules and re-defining old ones.
"If we don't, the game doesn't develop - it gets left behind."
- NZPA
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