Super League star proposes outrageous double points ‘wildcard’ rule
Warrington Wolves and England centre Toby King has proposed a rule change that would certainly get people talking – a wildcard with double points for a win.
King, speaking on Sky Sports’ The Bench, was asked for the one rule he would introduce to rugby league in order to make it more interesting – and he came up with a fascinating idea.
The Warrington man’s suggestion was for every Super League club to be armed wild a wildcard every season, which they can play only once. They apply it to a solitary game they believe they can win in that season and if they win, they get four points instead of the usual two.
But the catch? If they lose that game, they lose two points, rather than simply coming away with nothing.
King explained: “On a quiz night, you have a joker round. In the season, every team gets one wildcard. They can use it whenever they want. It gets you double points, but this is the catch, if you ose,you lose minus two points.
“If you think, I fancy St Helens today, they’ve got a weak team out – it motivates people in the changing rooms. They’ll go, these lads have just used the wildcard on us!”
Super League is no stranger to a quirky rule or two, of course. There have been innovations like the ClubCall, which enabled a top team to decide who they wanted to face in the play-off semi-finals – which had a similar theme of motivation attached to it along with King’s idea.
It’s certainly interesting – and one that fans would no doubt be keen to discuss. And it would get people talking without question, especially in the buildup to big games!