{"id":409388,"date":"2026-01-13T02:58:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T02:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/409388\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T02:58:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T02:58:17","slug":"wayne-bennett-takes-aim-at-critics-of-new-kick-off-rule-nrl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/409388\/","title":{"rendered":"Wayne Bennett takes aim at critics of new kick-off rule &#8211; NRL News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\/coaches\/wayne-bennett\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Wayne Bennett<\/a> has delivered a blunt response to clubs pushing back against the NRL&#8217;s proposed kick-off rule changes, urging critics to \u201cstop whingeing\u201d and embrace what he believes is a logical evolution of the game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\/nrl\/teams\/south-sydney-rabbitohs\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">South Sydney Rabbitohs<\/a> coach has long been a supporter of allowing teams that concede a try the option to either kick off or receive possession, a shift away from the long-standing rule that automatically forces the conceding side to restart play.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-47096\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"Rabbitohs to block Bennett interest in Maroons job\" width=\"1024\" height=\"729\" data-lazy- data-lazy- data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-1152530259-1.jpg.webp.webp\"\/>SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA &#8211; MAY 30: Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett talks to media during a South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL training session at Redfern Oval on May 30, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Under the proposal, teams could still choose to kick long and play for field position, but Bennett argues the flexibility is exactly the point.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cYou&#8217;ve got an option, so if it offends you and you don&#8217;t like it, do what you&#8217;ve always done and kick off,\u201d Bennett told the Sydney Morning Herald.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cIt doesn&#8217;t change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The comments come as several clubs voice concerns that the change could alter the \u201cfabric of the game,\u201d with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\/nrl\/teams\/brisbane-broncos\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Brisbane Broncos<\/a> chief executive Dave Donaghy reportedly urging the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NRL<\/a> to slow the process and trial the rule in lower grades before fast-tracking it into the premiership season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Bennett, however, was unmoved by the criticism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThis is a new rule of the game where you can determine whether you want the ball back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cWho is to stop the team kicking off to you going short? Nobody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The Rabbitohs coach believes the change would promote fairness and reduce lopsided contests by evening up possession, particularly during periods of momentum.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThe key to the game is possession,\u201d Bennett said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cStop whingeing about it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wayne Bennett has delivered a blunt response to clubs pushing back against the NRL&#8217;s proposed kick-off rule changes,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409389,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-409388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}