With a few new rules set to benefit attacking footy, I'm preparing to see an avalanche of points in 2020.
I don't think the 20/40 rule or the captain's challenge system will be overly consequential, but the new guidelines for scrums and mid-air tackles will change the game.
Outlawing the tackling of attacking players in mid-air will prove to be the most influential rule, in my opinion.
Towering Roosters winger Daniel Tupou could easily score 20 tries this year because of it. If someone that tall gets a running jump at the ball, how do you now stop them from winning the aerial contest?
No doubt it will become a prominent tactic to kick to the tallest and most athletic wingers, and that could even influence team selections.
Any team boasting elite wingers and/or an astute kicker are going to take full advantage of the rule.
How the captain's challenge will work
Think Parramatta with Mitchell Moses's pin-point boot and Blake Ferguson and Maika Sivo on the flanks, Melbourne with wingers Josh Addo-Carr and Suliasi Vunivalu, or Souths with Adam Reynolds's kicking and good leapers like Dane Gagai and Campbell Graham.
Some sides are going to struggle with the rule big time. We could see smaller wingers opting to bat the ball dead rather than risking an aerial contest.
And for kickers who can't find their range, they'll frequently give away seven-tackle sets by kicking too deep or release the pressure by coming up short.
Mansour ready for 2020 rule changes
My main concern is there will be a grey area as to what constitutes a tackle in the air. Does having a hand on someone count as attempting to tackle them?
I don't think the Refs' Bunker will go against the referee's on-field call too often if it's challenged.
Onto the scrum rule, which gives the team feeding the ball five seconds to nominate where they want it: 10 or 20 metres in from the nearest sideline or right in the middle of the field.
I reckon we'll see teams choosing to pack down from the middle 90% of the time because the space and options on both edges will force more one-on-one battles.
Rather than just a way to restart play with a prop or centre having a mundane hit-up at first receiver, scrums will quickly become an offensive weapon.
We got a glimpse of that when the Rabbitohs scored early in the Charity Shield against the Dragons on Saturday after a centred scrum 10 metres out from the try line, creating an overlap with a simple left-edge block play.
Captain's challenge - successful
On the right side of that scrum, Souths centre James Roberts was matched against Tim Lafai with plenty of open space across the field. I liked the chances of Jimmy the Jet being able to burn Lafai had they gone that way.
Electric outside backs like Roberts will come into their own from centred scrums. I don't think there's a need to try many trick shots: just give clean, early ball to your centres and get them one-on-one with their opposite number.
I hated defending off scrums because it was the only time I felt I didn't have enough protection and you had to make more one-on-one tackles. And that was when they were packed on one side of the field.
Knowing how hard it will be to defend against scrums in the "red zone", a bigger emphasis will be placed on minimising errors. Teams might push in scrums to try to win back possession or at least disrupt the attacking side's fluency.
I'm sure coaches will tell defending teams to break away early and get offside to combat the attacking advantage. Either they'll shut down the play or a differential penalty will be blown, meaning a penalty goal shot can't be taken.
Captain's challenge - unsuccessful
So it makes sense for teams under the pump to give away a penalty and then back their goal-line defence after the tap restart - a much easier defensive scenario.
The Roosters were happy to bend the rules when defending inside their 20 metres last season to allow their line to reset, trusting themselves to hold firm until the other side eventually made an error. The tactic clearly worked for the premiers.
By and large, the scrum rule should bring some excitement. If a team is down by two with a minute remaining, a midfield scrum gives them one more roll of the dice.
As for the captain's challenge, I can't see it being used for much more than 50-50 knock-on calls. If a player convinces his captain to review a play and they lose a challenge they need later, he'll get grilled!
I can confidently predict very few 20/40s will be attempted. If you're camped inside your own 20 metres, it's almost impossible to get the time and angle needed for such a kick, especially with the opposing fullback sweeping.
It's not worth sacrificing possession and I can only see it being tried as a last-ditch option.
The scrum and mid-air tackling rules should have positive effects for attacking footy, but I'm interested to see how all the rules go at once. I hope it isn't too much given the pressure the referees are already under.
The views in this article do not necessarily express the opinions of the NRL, ARLC, NRL clubs or state associations.