Among four proposed rule changes for the 2026 NRL season, two of them will come just a few months too late for the Melbourne Storm. The Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday that the NRL is considering four rule tweaks for next season – around kick-offs, seven-tackle sets and the interchange bench – and will discuss them with clubs and the players’ association.
The first proposed change is that teams will have the choice to kick off or receive after conceding a try. Under the current rules, the scoring team receives the ball from the kick-off. But teams will now have a choice after conceding a try, and it’s hoped it’ll prevent blow-out score-lines.
The Melbourne Storm had to use Tyran Wishart (R) out of position for the majority of the NRL grand final. Image: Getty/Channel 9
The second change is that a set restart will now be awarded anywhere outside the attacking team’s 20m defensive zone, rather than the 40m. A full penalty will only be blown when a team is still inside its own 20m, rather than their 40m as it currently stands.
The third is that a team will no longer be pinged with a seven-tackle set if they drop the ball over the line in the act of scoring a try. The ensuing 20m restart will only be a regular six-tackle set.
And the fourth is a change to the size of match-day squads, with a proposal to extend the interchange bench to six players rather than four. Teams will still only be allowed to use four players off the bench, but will have a choice of who to use out of six available.
Melbourne Storm were dudded by two of those rules
The changes to the 20m restart and interchange rules would have been very handy for the Melbourne Storm in their loss to the Brisbane Broncos in the 2025 grand final. Craig Bellamy’s side were arguably dudded by both rules, and the result might have been different had the changes been made earlier.
Tui Kamikamica infamously dropped the ball over the try-line in the second half, bombing a try that would have given the Storm a commanding 16-point lead. The Broncos were given a seven-tackle set on the ensuing restart, and used the extra tackle to score at the other end through Gehamat Shibasaki. Had it only been a six-tackle set, the Broncos try might not have come.
The Broncos scored (R) on the back of a seven-tackle set after Tui Kamikamica (L) dropped the ball in the act of scoring. Image: Channel 9/Getty
The Storm were also hampered by the stringent nature of the interchange bench, with Tyran Wishart having to play out of position in the centres when Jack Howarth did his groin after just 14 minutes. Had someone like Grant Anderson or Sua Faalogo been available as the 18th or 19th players, the Storm could have used a like-for-like replacement and covered the loss of Howarth much better.
The Broncos were in the same boat when Adam Reynolds went down injured, but luckily they had Ezra Mam on the bench to slot in. Speaking back in October, former NRL player Joel Caine floated the idea of having bigger benches and more players to choose from, while still limiting teams to selecting four players off the pine.