We already have a rule where a player can be offside and give the catching player the 10, if a player touches the ball then they only have to be 10metres away. All I am proposing is that instead of requiring a catching player make a mess of it and touch it to allow the offside player to become involved again, we allow them to become involved when the ball bounces.

The fact is that most of the issues you bring up would simply be gotten around by A) the difficulty in predicting a bouncing ball, and B) the dimensions of the pitch. A mid range dink would need to travel at least 10 metres further than the offside play, and would need to bounce when 10 metres away from them. This area would always be in mid-field the Full Backs domain where they would be favourite it to control it, and if kicked to wings, very difficult to actually do, what would stop a play bunting a ball in to the ground would be the fact it would be either a drop kick and it wouldn’t count as the ball bouncing, or if it wasn’t a drop kick, it would A) be very difficult to control and B) irrelevant as the bounce would be within 10 metres of the chasing player so they would be offside anyway in the same way they are now. The same reason why it wouldn’t make a difference in short grubber kicks.

If the player was stood 50 metres offside, the ball would need to be kicked at least 60 metres before bouncing if he stood still. If he is running then its going to need to be another 20-30metres. So that’s a 90 metre kick (without bouncing) The pitch is what 110-120metres long.

A low flat kick that bounced at 35 metres aimed directly towards the player would suffice. The player has to be 10 yards away not 10 yards goalside of the ball.

Well it wouldn’t because if you are 50 metres away and it is only kicked 35 metres you would A) be offside as you hadn’t been placed onside by the bounce, and B) miles away from the ball.

Have you seen Sinfields low kicks to touch. They don't stop where they bounce the move forwards after the bounce by at least 15-20 yards. Hence directed towards a payer said player would be onside given the interpretation we are discussing as the ball would have travelled more than 10 yards after it bounced. Other players such as
Briers and Brough would be even more proficient at that type of kick.

But they would be offside anyway as they wouldn’t have been 10 metres behind the ball (I have made up this rule so I can make up that it is 10 metres goal side rather than 10 metres away )

And you seriously think this and the above explanations you've offered would

A - Improve the spectacle

and more importantly

B - be easy for the fans to follow

and perhaps even more importantly

C - be easy for Steve Ganson to adjudge?

(Edit - Sorry that I keep repeating finglas' thoughts but these are genuine coincidences.)

I do. I think it is pretty simple, just be 10 metres behind the ball when it bounces, I think it would improve the spectacle as it would actually be easier for the fans to judge the onside/offside and if a clever halfback does find a way of exploiting it, more power to them, and I think it would be just as simple for the ref to judge.

Despite the explanation of tracking the wrong man I still suspect Ganson is already using your hypothetical rule - which is a worry.

You're perhaps moving closer to a germ of an idea now that you're stipulating the 10 metres has to be behind where the ball bounces, previously it was only stated as being 10 metres away from - those metres could have been in any direction including in line with the bounce which would have been particularly difficult to assess on the run as it were.

Still prefer what we have got now as it requires a disciplined onside chase or an extra effort from the kicker to play them onside, then it's game on. I repeat that IMO a player starting from an offside position hasn't earned the right to be involved in that play irrespective of whether the opposition make a mistake or not.

Put simply, The worst issue of it is

Catcher makes a mess of catch, gets a fingertip to it offside player (ten metres away from catcher) picks up ball and scores a try ruling, Try to attacking side.

Catcher makes mess of catch completely misses it offside player (ten metres away from catcher) picks up ball and scores a try, penalty to defending team

There is a huge disconnect there.

Just out of interest, does anyone if the 10m needed for an offside attacking player bearing down on a defensive player have to be in front of the defensive player?

i.e. could an attacking player run 10m past the defensive player? Just out of interest.

IIRC - and it's a while since I've had to look it up, an offside defender cannot encroach within ten metres of the catcher.

So providing he stays outside an imaginary circle with a ten metre radius and the catcher at the centre, he can be at the side, in front or behind.

If he runs behind of course, that makes it harder for the kicker to subsequently put him onside, and takes him out of the game in terms of making a tackle if the ball is caught.

That's the point 10 metres of the catcher, not the place where the catcher should have been if he'd touched the ball.
he'd also need to arc his run right if he was to go 10 metres past the catcher.

"Within ten metres of an opponent waiting to receive the ball" is the wording according to the laws on the RFL website.

Also "any offside player who remains within ten metres of an opponent who is set to catch a kick upfield shall be deemed to be interfering with the catcher".