ARL Commission approves 18th man to bolster benches for concussed players
By Ben GloverAn 18th player will be added to NRL game day squads from Round 5 after the ARL Commission this afternoon approved of the change in playing conditions.
The 18th man will be used as a concussion substitute but will only be allowed to come into the game if three of his teammates fail HIAs (head injury assessments).
In a twist to the new addition to the benches, the 18th man must be an 'emerging player', with the definition of an 'emerging player' still to be determined by the NRL.
Before introducing the new measure, the ARLC will consult with the RLPA, clubs and coaches, with the 'emerging player' definition to be crafted within this consultation process.
The NRL will meet the travel costs of the 18th player.
As he unveiled the new playing condition in a media statement, ARL Commission boss Peter V'landys made no apologies for adding the new system with the season already well underway.
"This is a dynamic environment. As a Commission we have always said we would be agile in changing rules when it is in the best interests of the game and this is one of those examples," he said.
"We see this as an opportunity to give an emerging player a taste of first grade rugby league in their team's time of need. The 18th player will also have to be rotated weekly so you don't have a young player missing out on playing lower grades every week.
"All fans agree we don't want to see a situation where a club is left with one player on the bench and this rule change will provide insurance for all clubs. It will also only be activated in the most dire of circumstances for a club, so we don't see it having a material impact on games every week."
Replies
Last weekend was a one off for so many head knocks, might happen once or twice for the rest of the season,
hate to see Dunster or Penisini sitting on the bench not playing when they could be getting valuable game time in reserves. The panic button has been pushed here IMO..
Unless the tNRL use the 18th man for foul play I don't see it's worth.
I find it strange they make such an announcement without defining what an emerging player is and whether that player gets to play reserves as well as being 18th man. Looks like they're making things up as they go.
Why not just extend the bench and be done with it otherwise it could a player sitting around for 80 minutes wasting his time. What happens in a scenario where a front rower is the 3rd HIA off or if they're all forwards and the 18th man is a midget number 7 ?
I think you would select a forward as the 18, as you would likely have someone already on the bench covering the backs. It might work to give the player more experience being close to the team, but as others have said, are very unlikely to ever get game time.
Which would defeat the purpose, because whenever you see a team decimated by injuries in game, what positions are usually stretched to breaking point ?
The backs.
The Sharks had middles playing on the edges, edges playing in the centres, & centres playing on the wing.
If they going to go down this path, then why limit it to one extra player ?
Why can't teams name 3 or 4 or hell, 20 reserves, but they can only use a total of say 5 players outside of the starters ?
I've long advocated for an 8 man bench, but you can only use 4 of them.
One person on the bench not being used is bad enough let alone 4.
Why ?
It happens in soccer all the time, in the EPL they have a 7 man bench but can only make 3 substitutions.
Besides, why can't they play NSW Cup and then sit on the bench ?
Why couldn't they play NSW Cup ?
There's no reason they have to be all fresh reserves. You telling me that a guy like Haze Dunster would object to playing NSW Cup and then sitting on the bench with the possibility he might get to play ?
The benefits would be tremendous.
1) You can then carry specialist backups for your key positions, without having to necessarily play them.
2) If you have a blowout game, you can give your key position guys an ealy shower and give a couple of young players some valuable game time. You're preserving your stars, which is good, and giving young players game time, which is good.
3) You'll see more tactical use of the bench, as opposed to just predetermined changes, which will require teams to save their changes till later in the game.
In order to cover most positions , our 18th man would have to be either Cartwright or Rankin
Outrunna, the 18th man must be a development player as stipulated by the NRL. So a Hollis or Penisini would be the choices
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