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Why Wigan Warriors coach Adrian Lam would back 20/40 rule in Super League

Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 9:14 am
by josie andrews
Adrian Lam says he would welcome the introduction of a 20/40 in Super League.

The NRL will bring in the new rule as part of a range of changes for next season.

And given Super League’s history of emulating the professional competition Down Under, it has inevitably led some to speculate whether a 20/40 could be brought in here down the track.

Like a 40/20, it allows an attacking team to retain possession if they kick the ball from inside their own 20m and it bounces over the touchline beyond the opposition’s 40m mark.

Lam recently saw the 20/40 in action for himself at the Nines World Cup, where he was assistant coach of Australia.

And the Wigan coach said: “I’m a supporter of that rule.

“I don’t think it’ll happen too often in a game, and if you do it’s probably when your side is behind and you’re looking to change the game.”

Critics to the rule question whether it is fair for a side to have a release valve if they’re being pressed inside their own 20m by a dominant defence.

“If you're under the cosh and you can kick a ball from your own 20m over the opposition 40, I think you deserve the ball back - it’s ridiculously hard to do,” added Lam.

Super League brought in some rule changes last year, including the Golden Point, but has none for 2020 other than a small adjustment to the ‘shot clock’.

Clubs must now also declare a 21-man squad, rather than 19, two days before a game and will lose an interchange if they field a player from outside the squad.

https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/why-wi ... 1-10154990