Only the RFL could suddenly bring new rules in mid-way through the season. 

Agent Briers

I think Robertson should be playing more in the spine, he might get more opportunity now that Welsby is injured but I fear that role will go to Sailor. However, I do agree that youth is the way to go particularly given the availability of Good SL talent and with Perth and PNG likely to hoover up any spare NRL talent.

They need sacking. Not only could this rule impact clubs but it could have a bearing on international selection. 

The more i think about this rule, the more ludicrous it feels

Can you imagine Alex Ferguson telling Rooney he couldnt play in a champions league final cos he'd played too many games or a Liverpool manager telling Michael Owen he couldnt play for England in the world cup cos he'd played too many club games for Liverpool


i appreciate there is a player welfare thought behind it, but surely that must be on the club / coaching team to recognise when a player is fatigued etc. They have so much information available to them now, that they are in such a good place.


I train for triathlons, and I / coaches can see everything about me via an online app with data from my watch. Every session i complete has relevant information about Heart Rate / Fatigue etc ,and that along with my feedback can allow training sessions to be changed especially if my data is showing i am fatigued. Surely if i can do that as a rank amateur, then professional organisations will have far more data available to them from every weights session, training session and match to be able to make a judgement on a player. Very often when a young player is introduced, they are drip fed, with the odd exception, but as fans we can see the drop in performance if they have played too much, and the scenario is often a game or 2 on the sidelines. That part isnt rocket science, so surely with everything available this ruling / proposed ruling needs to be pushed back on by the clubs

Legally, I'm not sure how the rule would be enforceable. Do players still get match fees/bonuses etc? Limiting a guys ability to earn money via that method seems some sort of restraint of trade. A set rule on players under 22 doesn't seem fit for purpose either. Not all 19/20/21 year olds are built the same or as developed as each other. Look at Nesemba compared to somebody like Cain Robb at Cas. One is 6ft 4 and 17 stone and at 21 is bigger/stronger than lads who've been playing a full career in Superleague and the other weighs 12 stone and is about 5ft 7, yet they're around the same age. It feels as though rules would need to be more bespoke than just 'you're under/over 22 and you're a back/forward' so you're sitting down for these games. 


It all feels a bit like them trying to be seen to be doing something/anything, so they can take it to the lawyers in these concussion cases. In fairness, I do have a lot of sympathy for them in that regard. 

Jukesy on the the forum said the rules aren't in place this season anyway and you'd tend to think that is the case when you consider Nsemba was played at Salford. I don't think we do that if we think he'll be sat down later in the season. 

**Edit** Just reading on all out rugby league that the RFL are writing to the clubs 'suggesting' they stick to these rules this season but the clubs are going to ignore them, on the basis that they were not given any confirmation of them prior to the season starting. 


Total and utter RFL incompetence again. 

Not that it needs highlighting, but it just shows how incompetent the RFL are. It's absolutely typical of them and completely embarrassing for game. These minutes rules should be abandoned anyway IMO but if they have evidence that it will be beneficial for players and are hell bent on introducing them then just abandon it for this season, put clear legislation and guidance together so its ready to be rolled out to the clubs when they all report back for preseason in November/December so everyone knows where they stand before the 2026 season kicks off.

Am i missing something? It seriously cannot be that difficult to make that decision and do the right thing for the clubs and players.

Does this potential new rule have salary cap implications? If the RFL are determining how many minutes players can play then that would suggest clubs need bigger squads to cope with players missing games...

Cant remember if it was on here or Warriors fans but someone had suggested increasing the subs bench, which is a reasonable suggestion, but that would clearly benefit Wigan for example who run a bigger squad than most, and thats not necessarily including the young talent we could bring through

however, if running a bigger bench / squad, that would surely lead to calls for the cap to be increased or other clubs saying its not a level playing field as they cant afford it


all in all, a farce, and for me stick with how it is now, and let the clubs manage it

I mentioned a larger bench from four to eight. In that clubs have to name a squad of 21 reduced to 17 an hour before KO. It may benefit Wigan in the larger picture but each of the 12 SL clubs has to name 21 for a game. In soccer they have a bench of around eight Union the same. Our bench of 4 in out of date, needs modifying and this is the opportunity.


Clubs like us Saints and Leeds will have the advantage due to current work in the youth sector. All three clubs have the four tier set up with Scholarship, Academy, Reserves and First Team. Other teams are now going along with the four tier but it needs to be a requirement in the new 14 team Super League.