'What's that for?': Legends tee off on referee 'blitz'

League icon Phil Gould has declared referees are handing out six again calls "like M&M's" after Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said they're "guessing" with set restarts.

"It's a blitz," Gould said on Nine's 100% Footy.

"They're handing them out like M&M's, Smarties. I don't like it, I've never liked the situation."

The six again rule was introduced into the NRL in mid-2020 when the competition resumed after COVID-19.

Phil Gould believes there's a 'blitz' of six agains.

It was a major change in the game and the brain child of then-new ARLC chairman Peter V'landys, with penalties for ruck infringements scrapped in favour of a set restart.

Gould believes referees wouldn't be blowing penalties for the same infringements under the old rules.

"It's kind of like if they had to give a penalty I doubt they'd give the penalty but because they've got the safety of this six again thing (they do it), where they don't have to be held accountable for it and they don't have to explain it," he said.

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"People in the crowd are going 'what's that for?'."

League great Paul Gallen believes players are responsible, too, with an increasing trend of six again calls coming when teams defend a set off a scrum or drop out.

"You've got to remember when there's a scrum, particularly 10, 20 metres out from the tryline, nine times out of 10 the team's given away a set there," he said.

"It's one tackle they've made, they slow it down, they wait until the line's set, they'll blow six again, it's only one extra tackle.

"So the players are contributing to that, but some of the other ones, I agree they're just blowing it for the sake of it. If they had to blow the whistle, there's no way they'd stop the whole game, they just wouldn't so it's frustrating for everyone because no one knows what's going on and the fact the play rolls on, they don't have to answer for it."

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Gould added the amount of penalties getting blown in games is leading to frustration within the stands and at home.

"I think the art of refereeing, particularly at the top level, is the ones you don't blow, you let the game flow," he said.

"We say it every year, the games where there's less penalties and less six agains flow, they're more enjoyable, the players get into a fatigued state, the football looks after itself. If you keep doing that, everyone gets frustrated."