Wigan Warriors boss Adrian Lam wants 'six again' rethink

Just weeks before the start of the new campaign, the Warriors boss would like the RFL’s laws committee to consider the way the rule is policed.

A number of changes have been brought in for the 2021 season – including a reward for 20-40 kicks and a handover of possession for an incorrect play-the-ball.

But Lam would have preferred the attention to be on learning lessons from last year, which saw the introduction of the ‘six again’ – in which referees restart the tackle count rather than award penalties for infringements around the play-the-ball.

The ‘six again’ was widely praised for keeping games flowing but Lam thinks it has its flaws, denying a side a penalty when they are in striking range of attempting a goal.

He even floated the idea of a captain’s challenge or limiting its use to the middle of the pitch. Lam said: “My focus would be on the ‘six again’, if it’s in kicking range there maybe should be the option of a challenge from the captain to say, ‘No, we don’t want the ‘six again’, we want the penalty’.

“If you’re down by one or two or drawing, you don’t want a ‘six again’, you want what the law of the game says you should have – a penalty – and that’s what the focus should be on, applying some game sense to the ‘six again’.

“It’s an area I’d like there to be a discussion on at least, maybe the ‘six again’ should be used between the 30 metre lines and anything else, if the team is ill-disciplined, it should be a penalty.”

One rule change which was knocked back was the introduction of a ‘two point’ drop-goal from 40m or further away, something which is being brought into the NRL.

“I’m exceptionally pleased we’ve not gone down that route,” added Lam.

“I think the game is pretty perfect as it and I don’t really want to see it go down the path of rugby union. There’s nothing worse than when a game goes to golden point and it just becomes a field-goal-athon.”