What actually is a disruptor? Annesley clarifies contentious rule

NRL Head of Football Graham Annesley has clarified what the NRL looks for when ruling on the contentious disruptor rule after the league conceded multiple calls from Round 6 were incorrect.

The adjudication of the disruptor rule has been a point of conflict early in the 2026 season, with changes to kick contests coming days before the season kicked off.

Under current interpretations, players must make a genuine attempt in an aerial contest, with both arms and both eyes on the ball, with players who look away from the ball or using one hand in a contest penalised so far this season.

This includes two instances from Round 6, where Cowboys’ fullback Scott Drinkwater and Roosters’ centre Rob Toia were penalised for not making a genuine attempt, only for Annesley to concede these were fair contests yesterday.

Speaking to SEN 1170 Breakfast, Annesley clarified that players are allowed to compete one-handed in contests, but must make contact with the ball to avoid conceding a penalty.

“There is no blanket ban on that,” Annesley revealed.

“If a player comes through and tries to bat the ball back and does it successfully without taking out a catcher who's waiting for the ball and doing it in a way that doesn't obstruct his opportunity to compete for the ball, then that's okay.

“But you know, generally what the bunker officials in particular look for is they look for the kind of indicators to determine whether it is a fair contest or not, and some of these are very close judgement calls, and we acknowledge that, but they're looking for, did the chaser arrive early to jump into the contest, which would then disadvantage the catcher.

“Did they come through and just take a swipe at it with no possibility of even making contact just to put the catcher off? Were they looking at the ball as they're chasing, or they just purely have their eyes on the player that they were intending to knock over?

“So there are a number of things that they look for to try and get this level of consistency that we're talking about.

“I'm not trying to make it sound complicated, the bottom line is… we just want it to be a big contest and not have anyone disadvantaged in the opportunity to get the ball.”

Other rule changes, including changes to the six-again law, have come under scrutiny in the early parts of the season, with high-scoring games becoming commonplace.

Referee performances are under the microscope, with reports of referees being dropped after contentious performances, notably Liam Kennedy after Round 4’s Titans v Dragons clash.

However, Annesley revealed no referees have been dropped in 2026, with the schedule for referees set two weeks in advance by the NRL.

“Everyone's striving for consistency of approach,” Annesley said.

“We don't want different standards applied in different games, so the coaching staff are instructed on policy by the NRL, and they are shown multiple examples of video incidents that hopefully set that standard and that standard is conveyed to the match officials, particularly the bunker officials who have to look at these things on replay and make decisions.

“Liam Kennedy wasn't dropped.

“The referee's appointments are done two weeks in advance.

“They're not released publicly two weeks in advance because we do reserve the right to change them based on what happens in any particular round of football.

“We haven't had a referee dropped, for want of a better term, for performance in the last few weeks.”