This statement is intended to provide an understanding of the RLPA’s position and process in response to the ongoing public discussion about the new rule changes for the 2026 NRL season and their impact on player welfare.
As has been stated previously, the RLPA was disappointed to learn of the proposed rule changes through the media before any confidential consultation process had taken place with the NRL.
This confidential consultation process is a right afforded to players under the CBA.
Following consultation with the RLPA’s player leaders, the RLPA warned the NRL that fast-tracked rule changes could have unintended consequences for both the game and player welfare. We believe players and clubs should have more time to train under new rules that fundamentally change the physical demands of the game and its speed, and that those rules should be trialled before being implemented in the elite competition.
To clarify, there are some minor rule tweaks that the NRL has introduced that do not need to be trialled, such as the changes to seven tackle sets this year.
It is important that the RLPA does not comment on speculation about the impacts of the rule changes and instead continues to work through its process of gathering and providing further player feedback to the NRL.
That process includes requesting a data pack from the NRL, which we did last week, and the timing is consistent with previous years at this point of the season. This data pack will include key statistics relating to the speed of the game, play-the-balls, injuries and more.
We will analyse this data pack with the RLPA’s player leaders, overlaid with their experience of playing the game, and provide the NRL with formal player feedback on the impact of the rule changes for the 2026 season. This reinforces the RLPA’s commitment to providing the NRL with player feedback that is well informed and data-led and the result of a rigorous process.
We have also updated our players on where we are up to in this process.
For several years, the RLPA has been firm in its position that new rules should not be introduced to fix problems created by other new rules. The impact that rule changes can have on player welfare is too significant for this process not to be treated as seriously as possible.
