Queensland Maroons and Australian Kangaroos champion Cameron Smith has called for set restarts to be removed from the game.
Originally brought into the sport as a way to speed up the game, set restarts have become part of the fabric at NRL level, with referees able to use them instead of blowing penalties.
It has stopped teams from being able to slow the game down on their own defensive try line by giving away penalties, and ensured they would wind up making more tackles without time for a rest if indiscretions are committed in the ruck.
But Smith, speaking on SEN Radio, said the subjective nature of six agains, and the fact they aren't called consistently, should see their removal from the game.
“I don't particularly like them if I'm being honest,” Smith told SENQ.
“Set restarts are all up to the interpretation of the referees.
“The consecutive set restarts that referee Ashley Klein gave in State of Origin Game II, if they didn't have a direct defensive impact in that moment (to Queensland) then they will impact down the track.
“Queensland were forced to make an interchange because of the sheer amount of work they were made to do.
“They had 15 consecutive tackles on their own try line and no one knows (what the penalty is for) so there's no accountability for the referee.
“You can't tell me that in Game II where there's a ruck infringement or slow play the ball ruled by the ref in the first 15 minutes that there's something similar that they let go after 60 minutes.
“It's so crucial with the timings of when the refs give the set restart.
“We need to scrap them because then there's an emphasis placed on refs giving a whistle on things that are blatant penalties.
“That way, everyone knows what is going on.”
Penalties would likely be brought back in as a replacement, although fans have often questioned the consistency of when they have been awarded by NRL referees too.
The NRL are yet to confirm whether Ashley Klein will remain in charge of Origin 3.
