Just a few hours before the start of the season, the NRL has announced an overhauled of its controversial judiciary system to streamline the process, eliminating the points system.

Round 1 gets underway at Penrith on Thursday night with the Panthers and Manly squaring off and the NRL put the finishing touches on its plan to make the match review system easier for players and fans to understand.

The existing points system, including carryover points, has been canned and the NRL has wiped the slate clean with player records, which will reset on a rolling 12-month basis since their last offence.

Players serving suspensions from last season will be required to complete their existing bans.

The previous system used a complex formula for repeat offenders who had been receiving loading to their sanctions of 50% if they had committed a similar offence in the previous two years or 20% for “non-similar offences”.

The NRL has also reduced the number of categories that a player can be charged under from 14 to eight with a rundown of what each charge will translate into a ban based on an early guilty plea or trip to the judiciary – careless or reckless high tackles, dangerous contact, striking, dangerous throw, contrary conduct, crusher tackle and shoulder charge.

All Grade 1 Offences will carry a fine except for a reckless high tackles, which is effectively treated as starting at an equivalent of a Grade 4, following on from careless high tackles.

NEW NRL BASE CHARGES

Careless high tackle, dangerous contact and contrary conduct:

Grade 1: Fine
Grade 2: Two-game ban
Grade 3: Three-game ban

Striking, crusher tackle, shoulder charge:

Grade 1: Fine
Grade 2: Three-game ban
Grade 3: Four-game ban

Dangerous throw:

Grade 1: Fine
Grade 2: Three-game ban
Grade 3: Five-game ban

Reckless high tackle:

Grade 1: Four-game ban
Grade 2: Five-game ban
Grade 3: Six-game ban

• Players will be able to remove a game from their ban with an early guilty plea, players will have their ban extended by one game for their second offence in a 12-month period, and two games for their third or subsequent charges.

As part of the changes, the pool of available panel members and match reviewers will be expanded with former coaches and referees now eligible to be members along with ex-players.

When there are two-member judiciary panels, the chairman will act as a casting vote if a verdict is not unanimous and explain the reasons behind the decision.

Former Bulldogs fullback Luke Patten has been appointed match review committee manager. The MRC will remain an independent body but the ARL Commission or NRL CEO has the power to refer matters to the committee if an incident is not charged in the initial review.

During the pre-season players have been sanctioned under the previous system with Dragons forward Tyrell Fuimaono copping a five-game suspension for a hip drop tackle on Eels rookie Haze Dunster which ended the winger’s season.

Wests Tigers skipper James Tamou and Sharks duo Braydon Trindall and Franklin Pele are also missing the start of the season due to suspensions from the trials. All existing bans from the pre-season and 2021 will remain.

Kate Ford’s Instagram comment.

Stuart plays straight bat to bitchy sledge

Canberra coach Ricky Stuart said he was aware of comments by English forward Ryan Sutton’s partner on social media but did not want to add any fuel to the flames when asked about the matter on Thursday.

Sutton was not named in the 17-man line-up for Friday’s Round 1 showdown with the Sharks in Canberra and is set to sign a deal with Canterbury.

His partner, Kate Ford, posted “and I thought the fashion industry was bitchy” on social media after Sutton was listed on the reserves.

Stuart said Sutton did not have his cards marked not to be selected in the NRL team again despite the social media post or his impending exit to the Bulldogs.

“If I commented on that behaviour I’ll be the one in trouble,” he said.

“If he plays good football in second grade he’ll be like everyone else, a great chance of playing NRL.”

Warriors boss pours cold water on Walsh departure rumours

NZ Warriors CEO Cameron George has distanced his star fullback Reece Walsh from any move back to Queensland, telling morning radio that it was just paper talk linking him away.

Walsh only joined the Warriors this time last year from the Brisbane Broncos and rocketed into Queensland contention within his first few months as an NRL player.

Despite playing for New Zealand Warriors, he has never left his home state of Queensland due to Covid restrictions and has been heavily linked with the new Dolphins franchise set to play out of Redcliffe.

“I think whenever you hear those lines in the media you always raise an eyebrow,” said George on SEN’s Morning Breakfast.

“The relationship we have we our players, it’s very transparent and we get that in return. We’re very engaging, i.e. myself, players and agents, there’s no surprises within here.

“We always know that at one stage one day, you’ve got a Queensland boy playing for a New Zealand based club, it could be a potential (move later).

“But what I can tell you is Reece is extremely happy, for me that’s just media talk, you sort of know where it comes from.

“You’re better off just letting those things lie and just keep doing what you do good, which is having a good culture in the club and hopefully the players stay for that.”

Joey says Yeo can lead Panthers to another trophy

Knights Immortal Andrew Johns has heaped praise on Penrith co-captain Isaah Yeo as one of the most influential players in the NRL in tipping the Panthers to achieve the rare feat of back-to-back titles.

Only the Broncos in 1992-93 and the Roosters of 2018-19 have successfully defended their premiership trophy in the past three decades but Joey says Yeo is the perfect foil for co-captain Nathan Cleary as Penrith try to go all the way again.

“He’s so important to the way the Panthers play ,” Johns wrote in his column for the Sydney Morning Herald. “Yeo has an ability to skip away from defenders, sucking them in and out of the defensive line, which frees up his big forwards.

“At other times, he links perfectly with both halves on either side of the field. He understands the game so well.”

Penrith are underdogs for their season opener against Manly with Cleary out until Round 4 with a shoulder problem.

Cronk – who famously won the 2018 grand final playing for the Roosters with a broken scapula – praised the decision.

“I like the strategy. There’s no reason he should be playing Round 1 if he’s not 100 per cent,” former premiership-winning halfback Cooper Cronk said on NRL 360.

“I think it would be a bad sign if he did because (this decision) tells me that Ivan Cleary and the leaders at Penrith are really ramped up to go back-to-back. If you play highly emotional from Round 1, by the time grand final comes around you’re going to fall off a cliff.

“So I actually like they’re taking the slow approach here because no coach will ever admit this but they like to time their run if they’re going to win finals. Ease him back in, let him know when he’s right and then have a hot hand towards the back of the year, hopefully.”