EXCLUSIVE: Greats question 'fluff' NRL bench shake-up that is 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'

The NRL is "robbing Peter to pay Paul" in introducing an expanded bench, according to Manly legend Geoff Toovey.

The expanded bench was one of four rule changes announced by the ARLC on Wednesday, and represent the biggest shake-up of bench rules in decades.

For 2026, the bench has expanded from four players to six, although only four can be used during a game. The number of interchanges permitted remains capped at eight.

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The argument is it will provide clubs better injury cover, and there is a fresh strategic element for coaches in selecting their bench players.

Storm skipper Harry Grant was the first to raise "concerns" about the change when he spoke to Nine's Today on Thursday.

Toovey - a Sea Eagles legend who also coached the NRL team for four years - is certainly not a fan of the shake-up.

He believes the changes only detract from the fatigue factor that is a crucial element of elite sport.

"Why is this rule being changed? It's just fluff. What happened to the fittest team wins?" Toovey told Wide World of Sports on Thursday.

"There is fatigue, those who are left standing deserve to win. Isn't this a game of attrition? Isn't that was it's meant to be about? Who's the fittest, the fastest, the strongest?"

The best recent example of when the added bench player would have been handy was the 2024 Origin opener, when Reece Walsh was ruled out of the match after that high shot from Joseph Suaalii.

Toovey said changing rules in response to specific examples wasn't the way to go, and suggested it could eventually lead to benches resembling something out of the NFL where multiple players sit idle for the entirety of a contest.

"You can't allow for everything in the game ... you've got to generalise," he said.

"You can't just say, 'Oh, if this happens, I need to have this happen. Oh, I need to have wingers on the bench just in case we get we get a winger injury'.

"Why don't we just have the whole team from the game before sit on the bench, and just pick four from them, like we used to?"

NRL great Jamie Soward spent four seasons in charge of the Dragons NRLW side.

He says coaches will likely now pick more outside backs on the bench, but he would like the rule to be tweaked so all six players can be used during a game, while maintaining the eight interchanges per team.

"Everyone's getting fitter – it's not like everyone's getting unfitter and you're going to need more rotations. The game's faster, so everyone's got fitter. You look what Payne Haas has done – most of your middles now would play 60 minutes," he told Wide World of Sports.

"If you had six there and you could use any of them ... that would open it up, but to only be able to use four, I don't know why you would have the two extras."

Wide World of Sports has confirmed the old 18th-man concussion sub rule is now defunct, with teams instead being able to use a fifth bench player in the event of a concussion due to foul play.

It has not yet been determined if the rules will also be introduced for the NRLW.