Super League has fixed its big issue with supporters left delighted
Super League is quicker than ever in 2026.
After three rounds of the Super League season, the promise that the game will be quicker has come to fruition.
After an unaesthetic 2025 campaign where slow and messy rucks topped the frustrations of coaches and spectators alike, a clear directive was set before the start of the season to make sure rucks were cleaner and the game flowed better.
And so far, that has been the case. Data collated from the opening three rounds of the season has shown a clear change in the tempo of the play the ball speeds, which will come as no surprise to people who have watched the competition so far.
Play the ball speeds are quicker by an average of one second, a considerable improvement on last year which has resulted in games being noticeably speedier around the rucks. It has also resulted in a marginal increase in points scored in the first three rounds of the season as well. 41 points have been scored per game this year, compared to 37.05 in the same three rounds of last year.
The change to video referee protocols have also brought improvements. Last season, there was an average of 2.9 video referee reviews per game, but this year, it is down to 1.3, more than halving the number of reviews per game so far.
Video referee reviews, and the time they were taking to complete, was another bugbear across the game last year, contributing to more stoppages that were frequently bemoaned by coaches keen to see a quicker tempo and fewer pauses in matches.
On a side note, it was noted that the Las Vegas game between Hull KR and Leeds Rhinos reverted back to the old video referee system, where the on-field official would send up a potential try-scoring action as either a ‘try’ or ‘no try’. Across Super League, video referees are only consulted this year if the referee believes the try shouldn’t be awarded, where tries that are given are reviewed while teams celebrate and the goal-kicker prepares to convert the try.
Love Rugby League has been told the reason for this was because the game wasn’t a Sky Sports production, and therefore it was required to revert back to the old system for one game only.
