EXCLUSIVE: 'Concerned' Phil Gould urges referees to 'rein it in' as NRL issues warning to clubs

Phil Gould has urged referees to "rein it in" after an opening round full of six-agains, with the Bulldogs boss admitting he was "concerned" by some of the officiating.

The plea from Gould comes as the NRL appears prepared to clamp down on certain areas of the game in round two, after sending an email around to all 17 clubs.

Nine's Danny Weidler posted the lengthy email on behalf of the officials, which related to issues such as rucks, contact on kickers, disruptors and communication from captains.

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Former NRL star Josh Morris raised concerns whether the email meant a 'crackdown' was coming just one week into the new season and could lead to sin bins.

The biggest area of concern for Gould, however, stems from the set restarts, which have become more frequent and for "very minor" incidents during a game.

The six-again overhaul was only brought in by ALRC chairman Peter V'landys a few years ago, and has been a controversial addition to the game.

"Statistically, there were a few more six-agains than is normally the case," Gould said on Wide World Of Sports' Six Tackles With Gus.

"I'm just concerned that the six-again penalty is an addition to our game. Originally when they brought the six-again penalty in, it was to take away stopping the game for a kick for touch and slowing the game down and teams deliberately giving away penalties.

"The six-again was to be a deterrent and we've learned that it's not.

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"It appears to me that these six-agains are at most for very minor indirections, that under the old system, I don't think would have warranted a penalty.

"I find it very troublesome that if you give away three in the one set, it's an automatic sin bin. They can be very minor indiscretions and all of a sudden you do get a legitimate penalty and someone's gotta go to the sin bin for it.

"I hope it settles down and I hope the referees rein it in a little bit."

Gould also sympathised with players, who have been left uncertain in the heat of battle what the cause of some set restarts are and how to fix them.

Fans are also often left confused about why a referee has awarded a set restart.

"My issue with the six-agains is that it's a little bit too pedantic at times and both players and fans don't understand why they are being given, there's a lot of confusion," he said.

"There are teams that deliberately give them away in the first couple of tackles to try and get control of the defensive rhythm.

"There was a time where sides were deliberately giving them away on tackle one or two … but there are far too many in the game where coaches, players and fans are asking 'what was that for?' ... you only need two of those to change the course of the game."

"Hopefully it settles down."

In the first eight games of the season, there were 72 set restarts given - with the biggest totals coming in the Storm vs Eels game, which was a 52-4 blowout scoreline.