Rugby league rules explained

Players

13 per side on the field. 4 substitutes on the bench (17 total).

Objective

Score more points than the opposition by scoring tries, conversions, penalty goals, and drop goals.

Tackles

Each team gets 6 tackles to advance the ball before handing possession over. On the 5th tackle teams usually kick to concede field position strategically.

Restarts

After a tackle, the ball carrier stands and rolls the ball back with their foot (the play-the-ball). A teammate picks it up and play resumes. Simple and fast.

Ball in touch

A scrum restarts play when the ball goes into touch, or after certain infringements. Scrums in league are non-contested formalities — the ball goes to the team that didn't knock it out.

Duration

Two halves of 40 minutes. Clock stops for serious injuries but not for normal stoppages.

A converted try scores 6 points — the most common combination you'll see.

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The play-the-ball. This is the unique restart mechanic that makes rugby league so fluid. After a tackle, the ball carrier stands up and rolls (plays) the ball backwards with their foot. The dummy-half — almost always the hooker — picks it up. This happens on every single tackle. It looks like a mess to first-time viewers, but you get used to it fast.

The six-tackle rule. Each possession lasts a maximum of six tackles. The team with the ball tries to advance as far as possible in six tackles before kicking on the sixth — usually a deep bomb or a grubber towards the try line. The team that receives the kick then starts their own set of six.

The 40/20. If a player kicks from behind their own 40-metre line and the ball bounces into touch between the opposition's 20-metre line and try line, the kicking team gets the scrum. It's a rare but significant tactical reward for an accurate long kick.

The drop-out. If the ball is grounded in goal by a defender or goes out of play in-goal off a defender, the defending team restarts with a drop kick from their own 20-metre line.

Scrums. In rugby league, scrums are uncontested. The team awarded the scrum puts the ball in and wins it automatically. They exist mainly to restart play after the ball goes out or after certain minor infringements. They're quite different from the contested, complex scrums of rugby union.