Brandy: The circuit breaker that could fix Round 1 blowouts

SEN’s Greg Alexander has had a change of heart on the NRL’s proposal to change the kick off rule following a number of concerning blowouts in the opening round of the 2026 season.

Despite two golden point thrillers in Round 1, the average winning margin was 20 points. The Parramatta Eels and Gold Coast Titans both conceded 50 points in their respective losses to Melbourne and Cronulla.

At the beginning of the year, the NRL proposed a rule change in which the team who conceded points would receive the ball on the ensuing kick off.

The proposal was overwhelmingly unpopular amongst fans and past players and as a result, was not included among the other 2026 rule changes.

However, Alexander believes a change to the kick off rule may be necessary to avoid lopsided results.

“Why did we bring in those other rule changes last year?” Alexander said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.

“Did we really think the game was too slow last year?

“When you look at the stats, you have three, four and even five penalties to nil.

“The side that has the momentum just doesn’t relinquish the ball. (Teams) need a circuit breaker.

“Is the circuit breaker that scorers kick? I’m just throwing it out there.

“I was against that. I had a year of that in Super League and (it was) rubbish. The game wasn’t what it is now.

“I was watching Parramatta and wondering how they were ever going to change the momentum in that game?

“It’s a wheel that you can’t get off.

“Rugby league is a shared possession game. At the moment, we are not getting shared possession.”

The winning team in Round 1 had an average possession of 56%. Meanwhile, the losing teams in Round 1 lost the penalty count 45-32 and the set restart count 30-26.

Round 2 begins with the Brisbane Broncos hosting the Parramatta Eels at Suncorp Stadium.