EXCLUSIVE: Adam Reynolds and Nicho Hynes Praise NRL’s ‘Milking’ Crackdown, While Justin Olam Expresses Doubts

NRL playmakers Adam Reynolds and Nicho Hynes have praised the league’s revamped stance on obstruction as the new season approaches, a move aimed at addressing the prevalent issue of “milking” within the game.

Conversely, another standout in the competition, the formidable Wests Tigers centre Justin Olam, has expressed his reservations regarding this change. The new directive will empower officials to exercise discretion starting with the pre-season encounter between the Sharks and Warriors on Friday night.

Hynes has also called for the NRL to ensure clarity in its new interpretation, suggesting the use of video examples from the upcoming 2024 season for better understanding.

“We’ve established clearer guidelines regarding key principles for referring obstruction,” NRL head of football Graham Annesley stated this week, “along with the factors match officials should consider when applying these principles.”

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the 17 clubs have been informed: “A try will be granted if, in the match officials’ view, any contact between a lead runner and a defender would not have hindered the try being scored.”

Reynolds believes the interpretation change is a “fair call”.

“The NRL is continuously aiming to improve the product for fans, ensuring it is more enjoyable to watch. I’m pleased with the adjustments being made to enhance the game,” Reynolds shared with Wide World of Sports.

“Common sense needs to play a role here. Sometimes, as players, we can exaggerate an obstruction from 30 metres in-field which doesn’t impact the play. Those instances should be eliminated from the game.”

“Some of it needs to be clear-cut, I would say.”

Hynes is optimistic that officials will manage to apply the rules consistently with their newfound discretion.

“It’s fantastic. It’s just what we need. I trust the officials to discern whether a player genuinely had a chance to tackle or if someone is simply falling over,” Hynes remarked to WWOS.

“This should enhance the game; we don’t want to see players diving, and fans getting upset, nor teams losing because someone is trying to manipulate the rules. I genuinely believe this is a positive step.”

“Perhaps the NRL could showcase instances from last season to clarify what is and isn’t considered obstruction… just so fans can clearly understand what constitutes diving and what doesn’t.”

The NRL has oscillated between enforcing obstruction rules with discretion and establishing stricter criteria numerous times over the past ten years.

Hynes believes that the fans deserve this latest initiative against milking penalties as they invest their hard-earned money to witness “the best game in the world”.

“They demand to witness the highest calibre of play,” Hynes asserted.

“If we resort to taking the easy route and diving onto players to avoid conceding tries, it fails to honour the effort fans put into attending the matches. We need to fully commit to preventing tries and not simply rely on being obstructed.”

However, Olam remains doubtful.

“How can you tell if someone is genuinely milking a penalty? How can you be certain?” questioned the PNG Kumuls representative.

“Consistency is key in their rulings… but, as I mentioned, how does one establish whether a player is really milking a penalty? They could be sincerely injured.”