Tackles banned, competitive games canned: Biggest junior league shake-up in decades

In the biggest shake-up to junior sport in decades, the NRL and NSWRL have signed off on a plan to abolish competitive rugby league until the age of 13, while also banning tackling until midway through the under 7s.

The Herald can reveal the NSWRL plans to announce the new policy within the next fortnight.

The game will change for young kids playing junior rugby league.Credit:Sydney Morning Herald

The roll-out will be implemented across the state for the 2023 season in a significant shift aimed at increasing junior participation numbers and protecting children from external pressure.

The NSWRL was meant to unveil the changes this week but has delayed the announcement to work on a strategy to combat the expected backlash, with some of the sport's biggest names being sounded out to support the move.

Under the recommendations that were put forward and last week signed off on, no players will be able to participate in tackle rugby league until midway through the under 7s season.

It’s in line with the NRL’s player development framework that the governing body has been working on during the past five years and the changes have begun to be implemented in Queensland.

Young players in action in the Canterbury Junior League.Credit:NRL Photos

Children who are not eligible to play in tackle competitions will be required to play League Tag – a non-contact version of the game where participants grab tags attached with velcro to a player’s shorts which indicates they have been “tackled”.

"TackleReady is our program that teaches correct and safe tackle techniques, preparing participants for tackle versions of rugby league," an NRL spokesperson said.

"The program aims to provide participants with a systematic introduction to tackling and being tackled, leading to a greater level of enjoyment. TackleReady is based on research, trials and feedback, the results of which found 85% reported increased confidence and 86 per cent increased competence.

"It also provides entry-level club coaches with the necessary skills and gives parents peace of mind by highlighting the game's commitment to offering a safe, inclusive environment."

A group of young Panthers fans throw the footy around.Credit:Wolter Peeters

The other significant component of the NRL and NSWRL’s major shake-up is the staged phase-out of competitive matches for children prior to their teenage years.

As it stands in NSW, teams in the under 6s, 7s and 8s do not play for competition points and do not have a finals series.

The emphasis is placed on learning and fun, while also reducing the pressure from parents on their children that exists when teams are playing for points.

The age barrier will change next year when the NSWRL increases the competitive age from under 9s to under 10s.

Bondi United players during a COVID-19 impacted 2020 season. The Sydney Roosters Junior Rugby League is the smallest in Sydney.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

It’s part of a four-year staggered plan to increase the non-competitive age from nine to 13 by 2026. In 2023 competitive rugby league competitions will begin at under 10s. It will rise to under 11s in 2024, under 12s in 2025 and under 13s in 2026.

“In NSW we have taken a staged approach to phasing in the changes across our state which ultimately aims to further increase the enjoyment for all participants, especially children in the early stages of their rugby league experience,” NSWRL Community Rugby League manager Peter Clarke said.

“We’ve already witnessed great results from the ‘Rugby League Ready’ program last season and the initiatives in 2023 will assist children with their confidence and add to their enjoyment.”

Sport and exercise psychologist Shayne Hanks, who says his main clientele is children aged around 13, is concerned removing the score from the game will have little to no impact on participation rates in junior rugby league.

Bondi United junior rugby league teams train Waverley Oval.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Hanks – who said most parents bring their kids to him to help with their child’s personal anxieties around playing sport – said most kids know when a team wins or loses at the end of a match regardless of whether the score is officially counted.

He also said whether kids continue a sport or not is usually based on the child's perception of how they perform individually, rather than as a team.

"Regardless of the score, kids know when they score a try, they know when they are playing well, and they know when they are making tackles. These are the underpinning foundations of what good performance is," he said.

“Whether there’s a final scoreline kept, I’m not sure what difference that makes in terms of their individual anxieties around making mistakes or disappointing people. That’s their primary concern.”

Hanks also said the rule change may have the opposite effect and actually deter children from playing.

"When parents bring their children to me, I always ask why do you play? Most of them say, well I like winning," he said.

"Kids intrinsically like winning. I don't know if there's an impact there if you just delay that."

Regarding the delaying of tackling, the NSWRL signalled its intention last year when it moved to ban contact until midway through the under 6s.

That will now increase by another year, with young boys and girls to be given additional time to learn correct tackling techniques before they are introduced to the contact version of the sport.

Former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and ex-Minister for Sport, Stuart Ayres during a visit to Penrith Brothers JRL club in 2019.Credit:Janie Barrett

NSW is the final state to adopt the Rugby League Ready model, which was recommended in the player development framework drawn up by Ivan Cleary, Ben Ikin and others in consultation with the NRL.

The model was first introduced in south-east Queensland in 2019, with the region experiencing significant increases in numbers. It was then extended across all of Queensland.

The governing body is desperate to try and overcome the stigma that junior rugby league is a reflection of the brutality of the senior game, and therefore unsafe for children to play.

While there has been a significant increase in junior female participation, the Herald last year revealed the greatest concern for the NRL is the loss of nearly 12,000 male tackling participants in Australia since 2015 (an 8 per cent drop).

Concussion experts have been pushing for a total ban on contact sports for primary school children, in line with the US where children play tag football until the age of 14.

Dr Adrian Cohen, emergency medicine and trauma expert, and director of Headsafe, supports the “Stop Hitting Kids in the Head” campaign led by the Concussion Legacy Foundation and neuroscientist Dr Chris Nowinski, which is leading the charge against contact sport across all codes for under 14s.

Dr Cohen said brain injury was “a dose-related disease”.

“If a player starts playing full contact at age six, that’s a lot of impact by the time they get to NRL level. So why not start them at age 14?

"They don’t lose anything in terms of skills and basic strategy and their brains are certainly more developed and they are better able to protect themselves because their hand-eye-coordination is better and they are better able to control their bodies.”

Dr Cohen said it was wrong to assume a player needed to be knocked out to damage their brains. “We know that lots of large impacts cause concussion symptoms without the person being knocked out,” he said.

“Even if you’re not being knocked unconscious or showing physical signs [of concussion] every single impact does damage.”

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