THE RFL Board has approved a series of Law amendments for the 2026 season, following recommendations from the RFL Laws Committee at its meeting on October 29.
1. Goal Kick Shot Clock
A 60-second time limit will be applied to all penalties and conversions. The countdown will begin once the video referee has confirmed a ‘try’. The kick must be taken before the shot clock expires.
If the kicking process is disrupted — for example, if the ball falls from the tee — the shot clock will be stopped and will not restart, with the kicker permitted to continue the attempt without penalty.
2. Live Review – Video Referee Process
For live ‘no try’ decisions: If the on-field officials signal ‘no try’ and request a review, time will be stopped and the decision referred to the video referee for adjudication.
For live ‘try’ decisions: The referee will award the try immediately and the video referee will conduct their review while the game clock continues to run. A conversion attempt cannot proceed until the video referee confirms that the on-field decision should stand.
If the video referee has not completed their review within 80 seconds of the try being awarded — or before the kicker begins their run-up — the referee will call time off.
Should the video referee determine that the ‘try’ call was incorrect, the referee will overturn the decision and reset the game clock to the moment the try was originally awarded.
These amendments apply only to fixtures where a video referee and timekeeper are appointed.
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