September 9, 2026 — 10:59am
ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys has conceded rare ground on potentially reviewing the NRL’s expanded set restart remit after RLPA chief executive Clint Newton took him to task for questioning the integrity of players who have criticised the controversial rule changes.
Newton and V’landys cleared the air on Tuesday after the NRL boss’s comments were the biggest talking point out of Monday’s finals launch.
Decorated club captains James Tedesco and Harry Grant led a chorus of players reiterating the concerns of stakeholders that set-restarts are not being properly explained by referees or awarded inconsistently given the faster ruck and game-speed they can generate.
V’landys, who is also acting NRL chief executive, told this masthead and AAP in response that: “I think [players] are not telling the truth if they believe [that] when they’re given a six-again, they didn’t know what it was for. I mean, I think it’s pretty obvious.”
