Downtown Penalty

[Waerea-Beast!]

Can someone explain to me why JWH was penalised for being downtown?

I know the rule, but JWH wasn’t in front of the play the ball when it was played, in fact, he was well behind it.

[ChookMaster]

Why wasn’t he binned? That’s the bigger question.

[Rooster_6]

You can't be past the play the ball at the time the ball is kicked. If you partake in the kick chase then you will be penalised.

What you are referring to would be an 'out of play' penalty, slightly different.

The NRL's new focus on the “downtown rule”, penalising players from running downfield before the ball leaves the kicker's boot, requires all players standing between the dummy half and the kicker to remain behind the ruck until the ball is kicked.

[Waerea-Beast!]

Rooster_6 fair enough. Had no idea they had changed that rule. Typical NRL, change rules that aren’t broken. I don’t think I have seen that enforced at all this year.

[Rooster_6]

Rooster_6 fair enough. Had no idea they had changed that rule. Typical NRL, change rules that aren’t broken. I don’t think I have seen that enforced at all this year.

I agree with you in general about too many rule changes but in this case it was a rule that already existed they just never applied it, this year they have ‘focussed’ on it.

[Bates]

I agree with you in general about too many rule changes but in this case it was a rule that already existed they just never applied it, this year they have ‘focussed’ on it.

You could be in front of the kicker and as long as you stayed 10 metres away from the opposition player that has retrieved the ball from the kick. He then has to run 10 metres before you could get involved in the play where as now you can't be in front of the kicker. This is new!

[Danish]

You can't be past the play the ball at the time the ball is kicked. If you partake in the kick chase then you will be penalised.

What you are referring to would be an 'out of play' penalty, slightly different.

How does the down town rule work if the kicker thenselves are also in front of where the ball is played, as Keary was?

down town rule can’t apply in that case, surely

[Rooster_6]

You could be in front of the kicker and as long as you stayed 10 metres away from the opposition player that has retrieved the ball from the kick. He then has to run 10 metres before you could get involved in the play where as now you can't be in front of the kicker. This is new!

https://www.nine.com.au/sport/nrl/gr...23-p5iuu1.html

Definitely not new, just rarely ever implemented. Kind of like the deliberate forward pass or voluntary tackle, both exist in the rule book but you rarely ever see either called.

[Rooster_6]

How does the down town rule work if the kicker thenselves are also in front of where the ball is played, as Keary was?

down town rule can’t apply in that case, surely

My understanding is once the ball progresses past the play the ball you can no longer be considered down town. In this play IMO both Brandon Smith & Sam Walker went beyond the point of the play the ball so I’m not actually sure it should have been a penalty. It certainly wasn’t an example of what they’ve been trying to cut out of the game where defenders would be a good 10-20 metres in front of the play the ball by the time a half had kicked it long.

[Nathan Aboud]

But JWH was behind the kicker when it happened, and you need to be Infront of the kicker only if the defender has to change their run to get to the kicker in which no defender was near JWH. Everyone on the commentary thought it was a joke as they even thought it was a Sutton made up classic just trying to make himself look good to get into Origin..

[weplayforprems]

I love how they picked this up instantly when it was so marginal.

I’m not saying it wasn’t a penalty. But as of this doesn’t happen 15 times a weekend.

[Kelby]

Has anyone else been penalised this season thou?

Or is Sutton the first?

His love of Jarred is well known!

[King Salvo]

Contrary to the Petula Clark song, things won't be great when you're "downtown."

[Rooster_6]

Has anyone else been penalised this season thou?

Or is Sutton the first?

His love of Jarred is well known!

There was quite a few earlier in the season but they died off pretty quickly as it was an easy adjustment for teams. Seems to be one pulled up at random each round now.

[Danish]

My understanding is once the ball progresses past the play the ball you can no longer be considered down town. In this play IMO both Brandon Smith & Sam Walker went beyond the point of the play the ball so I’m not actually sure it should have been a penalty. It certainly wasn’t an example of what they’ve been trying to cut out of the game where defenders would be a good 10-20 metres in front of the play the ball by the time a half had kicked it long.

that would be my understanding too, otherwise a player offside from a kick on a linebreak or similar would all be considered “downtown”.

either way it was a very finicky application of the rule, which was only brought in primarily to combat the likes of Weyman and other fat props trundling down field in the 2009-2011 era so they could more easily be set for tackle 1.