‘Stop whining’: Wayne Bennett reacts to clubs opposing early changes

Bennett of South Sydney has has long been a fan of changing the kickoff rule as this increases the teams’ chances of evenly distributing possession and reduces the prospect of losing scores. Warren Ryan, another respected figure in the game, was also a supporter of the team scoring the restart of the game.

Bennett was confused when told of the clubs’ concerns and said on Monday: “You have an option, so if it offends you and you don’t like it, do what you’ve always done and start… That’s not changing.

“I’m a fan of the flexibility even more because now you have the option to start or you don’t want to start.

“This is a new rule of the game where you can decide if you want the ball back. Who’s going to stop the team from kicking it to you? Nobody.”

“If you like the old rule and don’t like the new rule, stick to the old rule.

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“You have a choice, you can just say, ‘We’re going to start. We’ve started for the last 100 years and my team is starting again today’.”

“Stop whining about it. The key to the game is possession.

“When you listen to some of these guys. [complaining]We would still be playing with unlimited equipment and the players would still be wearing black shoes with white laces.”

Teams that concede tries will likely want to get the ball, but depending on the score and time remaining in the game, they may still choose to kick long and play for field position.

The Broncos staged three consecutive grand comebacks during the 2025 finals series, which would be difficult if they were forced to kick off after scoring, while the Panthers had all the momentum to sweep Brisbane in the 2023 grand final, which would also be difficult if they were forced to restart after every try.

Allowing teams to carry six players on the bench will also help keep games closer, especially if a quarterback is injured early in the game. Only four of the six players can be used, but if a half-back or five-eighth is injured early, fans may be caught off guard; a ready replacement could be on the bench.