Dave Craven - There is enough kicking in the game without the two-point drop goal too

It can be any time of year when they get announced. And increasingly it seems to be every year, too.

Admittedly, things are at least normally altered at the end of the season ahead of the new campaign although even that did not occur this year when various adaptations were made mid-season in Super League to help, in part, reduce the risk of spreading Covid.

The NRL has been at it again now, though.

They announced a raft of changes for the 2021 campaign yesterday with the biggest headline-grabbing alteration being the introduction of a two-point drop goal for shots outside of 40 metres.

It is intended to help encourage more attacking play but quite how I am still not altogether sure.

At first glance, my initial reaction is ‘is it really worth it?’

Don’t get me wrong, successfully executing a drop-goal is a fine skill and, to do it from that sort of distance, is especially impressive and difficult.

But making it worth two points seems excessive.

There is already arguably too much kicking in the sport as it is with so many tries – in Super League and in the NRL – stemming from mundane crossfield chips.

This takes it a step closer to the world of rugby union where drop goals are worth three points – the same as a penalty goal and only two less than a try – and does anyone truly want to see more attempts being made?

Admittedly, in Australia, players might deem it is too much of a long shot – literally and metaphorically – and the tactic may only be used sparingly.

But, with that in mind, why actually bother changing the rule; if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Peter V’landys, the Australian Rugby League Commission chairman, hopes it will accelerate play.

“Providing the opportunity for a two-point play will give teams incentive to make attacking plays to get into field goal range at the end of a half,” he said.

“It will also ensure teams who are down by one or two points in the dying moments of a match have a better opportunity to win a game or go to golden point.”

In that scenario you can understand it but there could be a danger of sides trying the tactic more often knowing just two such drop-goals would equal the same points as a try.

In Super League, there have been some monster long-range efforts in recent times.

Jacob Miller’s Magic Weekend effort that gave Wakefield Trinity a dramatic late victory over Catalans Dragons in 2016 springs to mind.

Indeed, that was measured at around 50m and will be remembered as one of the finest yet.

Ironically, Catalans’ Tony Gigot struck one against them from 41m out at Magic in 2019.

Brad Dwyer, of course, memorably hit an unlikely drop-goal (the hooker is not even a kicker) from 41m to deliver Leeds Rhinos a famous Golden Point win over Castleford Tigers last year.

That will have offered plenty of others hope that they, too, can repeat the feat. Hopefully, though, Super League does not follow suit and adopt the rule change, as is so often the case.

There is a certain beauty about a solitary point being able to decide contests and that should remain.

Moreover, given the 2021 World Cup is looming large, how nice would it be if the sport as a whole could decide on one set of rules and just stick with it?