NRL: Golden try an option for NRL finals games

Johnathan Thurston of the Cowboys celebrates with teammates after kicking a field goal in golden point extra time to win the 2015 NRL grand final. Photo/Getty.

The NRL are considering adopting an NFL rule for finals matches that will require teams to score a try to win a match, with games to continue for another set after a field goal to allow the other team to win or draw level.

The Sydney Morning Herald report the NFL's overtime rule was considered as an alternative to golden point at an NRL competition committee meeting last Friday, and will be discussed further at today's meeting of head coaches.

The issue of how to decide a drawn match was debated after Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett and others were critical of how this year's dramatic grand final was decided by a field goal in golden point extra time.

The committee agreed that golden point will remain in place for regular season matches but discussions are ongoing on how to adjust the rule for finals games.

The NFL model is being considered as it ensures both teams will have possession of the football at least once in extra time unless the team that receives the kickoff manages to score a touchdown on its first possession.

Another proposed option was to follow the lead of the National Hockey League, which sees the number of players reduced from five to three during extra time.

NRL head of football Todd Greenberg told the Sydney Morning Herald that those two options would be discussed further at today's meeting.

"The competition committee were very strong on golden point staying as it is for the regular season, so we are only talking about looking at it potentially for the finals and the grand final," Greenberg said.

"We gave the competition committee a whole heap of information about golden point, we sort of benchmarked ourselves compared to lots of other sports both here and abroad and it was good for us to analyse what other sports do.

"We looked at what the NFL do, and it would be like one of our teams catching the ball from the kickoff in golden point and kicking a field goal in that first set. The other team would get their right of reply but if the team scored a try off the first set the game would be over.

"There won't be any recommendation to the commission about golden point at this stage but it's good to see that we are exploring all the other options."

Other issues due to be discussed include the shot clock to be introduced next season, and a proposed time limit on forming scrums and taking a goal line dropout.

The Australian Rugby League Commission will reportedly be sent a recommendation next month, with a 30 second limit on dropouts, and a 35 second limit on scrums.

The shot clock is being brought in in conjunction with a reduction in the number of interchanges from 10 to eight to make fatigue more of a factor in games, and Greenberg confirmed coaches will further discuss other options to prevent time wasting by players.

"There will be a rule which will go to the commission in December for approval and we will take the coaches through it tomorrow to get their views on it," Greenberg said.

"The competition committee spent two hours on Friday pressure testing all of the information we gave them from the trials at the end of the season. We have got all the analysis we have done so there will be a fair bit of talk about that and the rules where players try to rort it and what we will do in return."