Adam Reynolds sidelined for Lang Park farewell against Storm

The NRL is taking its chance in some of these dead rubber games between non-finals teams to trial a new kick-off rule. The new rule gives the a team that concedes a try the option to kick off or receive after their opponents score. This rule, which brings the game closer to American football, was initially floated before the season and roundly pilloried as somewhere between pointless and a terrible idea, prompting the league to pull out. But now they get their chance to see it in action, and I look forward to seeing both teams choose to receive the ball after being scored on all night, until the last moment of the match where one team chooses to kick off because why not at that point. Literally the only scenario I can imagine where a team who's just conceded a try would choose to kick off rather than receive would be if there's only seconds on the clock and they're down by one or two, so they want to try a short kick-off to hopefully regather and rapidly kick a field goal.

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