Rugby league great Phil Gould says if there was one rule in the NRL he could eradicate, it would be the seven-tackle set ruling.
The rule, which was introduced in 2014, means kicks that roll dead in-goal, as well as mistakes made in the in-goal by the attacking team, all result in a seven-tackle set from the 20-metre line for the defending team.
Speaking on his weekly Six Tackles With Gus Podcast, Gould vented his frustration over the rule when asked what rule he could eradicate if given the choice.
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“Seven-tackle sets. They have no place in our game,” he said.
“It’s created far more problems than it’s worth. The problems should’ve been perceived at the time, but weren’t.
“It was a knee-jerk reaction to a tactic a team was using at the time against a certain fullback, but was never going to stand the test of time. There were other remedies for that which could’ve been taken.
“As they usually do, they apply a blanket coverage of the same rule to other aspects of the game, and it’s led to the fact that no one can score from 10 metres out from the line.
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“Fullbacks are in the line, the markers don’t have to be square so they stand alongside, they’ve got 14/15 defenders plus the bunker to help them save tries.
“That’s why people are struggling to score points from close to the line, simply because of this stupid seven-tackle rule.”
Gould said what frustrated him most was seeing teams get punished for errors out of their control.
“Some of the offences you get penalised seven tackles in 20 metres for are totally unfair,” he added.
“You’re trying to put the ball down over the line and you lose it in-goal, and you get penalised 20 metres and seven tackles.
“You have a shot at a field goal and it moves a little bit to the left and doesn’t go through the posts – you deserve to be penalised 20 metres and seven tackles? How ridiculous.
“That’s not what the rule was for. That’s not why the rule was brought in. Then why does the rule cover that? Seven tackle sets, zero sets, all these sorts of things – this again is coaches interfering with the rules for the benefit of their own team, and those in charge making the rules, not seeing it coming.”
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