Super League: Captain’s Challenge to be introduced for 2025 with tackle height laws remaining the same

Captain’s Challenge will be introduced to Super League from 2025, starting from Round One in February.

The move to introduce Captain’s Challenge was one of four law changes made by the RFL on Tuesday, the new law allowing captains in all televised fixtures in 2025 – also including the Betfred Challenge Cup, and the Women’s Super League and Challenge Cup – to refer a range of on-field decisions to the video referee.

But captains will have to use their challenge wisely, as each team will only be allowed one unsuccessful challenge in each fixture. The challenge is retained if successful.

A captain has 10 seconds from when the referee makes the decision to challenge it. It can only be used in instances when the whistle is blown and play is stopped.

There are also situations in which the law cannot be used: Forward pass; roll ball; discretionary penalties (10 metre/marker offside, ruck infringements relating to the speed of the play the ball, tackled into touch or in-goal after the held call); the mark of a penalty; time wasting; dissent; deliberate forward pass; scrum penalties.

The RFL board has also approved an amendment to the recommendations relating to head contact, meaning the regulations around head contact will remain as they were in 2024.

This follows a “significant reduction in concussive and sub-concussive events in the Super League in 2024, measured by the widespread use of instrumented mouthguards”.

This means tackles below shoulder height will still be permitted rather than the change that was supposed to occur which was to below armpit height.

The other three laws introduced are around the use of the green card for injured players, offside kick chasers, and to encourage creativity around drop-outs.

Green cards can now be used for attacking players as well as defenders, referees can now differentiate between active and passive offside players at a kick chase, and drop-outs will have two variations.

If a team kicks a drop-out on the full over the touchline or kicks a drop-out so that it fails to travel at least 10 metres forward in the field of play, play will restart with a play the ball 10 metres out from the centre of the goal line rather than a penalty kick from the centre of the 10-metre line.

If a team takes a 20-metre drop-out and it travels on the full over the touchline or kicks a 20m drop-out so that it fails to travel at least 10 metres forward in the field of play, play will restart with a play the ball from the centre of the 20-metre line, rather than a penalty kick from the centre of the 20-metre line.

2025 Super League – key dates and what to look out for

March 1: Wigan Warriors vs Warrington Wolves in Las Vegas
April 17-19: Round 8 – Rivals Round
May 3-4: Magic Round (St James’ Park, Newcastle)
July 24: August 31 – Round 20 – split round across two weekends
September 4-7: Round 25 – Rivals Round fixtures reversed
September 18-21: Round 27 – last round of regular season (dates and times tbc)
September 26-27: Elimination Play-Offs
October 3-4: Semi-Finals
Saturday October 11: Grand Final (Old Trafford)