Forward passes which infuriate fans and decide games could soon be a thing of the past, with the NRL taking another step to fix the glaring problem.
The NRL secretly trialled forward pass technology at the end of last season and will implement systems again in this month’s trial games and the NRLW.
Ball-tracking technology was used in the final weeks of last season and the results were kept top secret by the governing body.
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But the technology was accurate enough to warrant further investigation and the NRL are using it again this month, before making a final call on introducing it to premiership games.
The ARL Commission will need to approve the technology which could become part of the game within months, but it could also potentially be delayed until next season.
“We have been quietly working on different types of technology with a couple of companies for the past 12 months or so,” NRL head of football Graham Annesley said.
“It’s not an easy solution due to the physics of the forward pass rule and the location of cameras at venues.
“We’ve been exploring two very different possible solutions and we trialled one of them behind the scenes in a number of games late last year.
“The alternate proposal will also be blind-tested in several pre-season matches over the next month.
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“This will allow us to properly assess the capability and accuracy of both technologies against each other.
“After the trials we will discuss the results with the Commission and seek further direction on next steps.
“While I’m not sure of the outcome at this stage, the potential to finally crack one of the great frustrations of our game is very exciting.”
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