Melbourne captain Harry Grant and Penrith counterpart Isaah Yeo have both questioned the long-term impact of the NRL's new interchange rules, fearful it will arrest the development of the game's rising stars.
Last week the NRL announced several minor changes to the rules for the 2026 season, with arguably none bigger than the introduction of a six-man interchange bench.
Coaches will still only be able to use four players throughout a game, but will now be given the tactical flexibility to cover for losses due to injury - particularly to playmakers and outside backs - as they see fit.
What that means for the two players who don't see game time is what worries Yeo and Grant, who spent the years before his breakthrough at the Storm playing big minutes in the Queensland Cup for Melbourne feeder clubs.
"I definitely have some concerns," Grant told AAP.
"I worry a little bit about younger guys and their development - if there's six people and two people have to sit on the bench, week after week, they probably won't get to play too much footy. How's their development going to go?
"In a sense, if it is a debut, if it's their first time suiting up in NRL colours, and they don't get on the field, do we count it or do we celebrate it?
"You might be an outside back that sits on the bench for a few weeks but you might not get used, depending on if all the outside backs get through the game OK."
Players who don't take the field in the NRL will be free to drop back to and play in the lower grades where possible.
Yeo predicted most teams would carry four forwards, an outside back and a specialist playmaker as part of a beefed-up six-man interchange.
But the Panthers captain was concerned what that would mean for the club's NSW Cup side, who have provided a nurturing ground for Penrith's generation next who have helped maintain their glory-laden decade.
"It might hinder some players and their opportunity because they're actually not getting those games in NSW Cup," Yeo told AAP.
"It probably takes out the value of versatility, whereas we've usually had a No.14 who can play hooker or halves, and Luke Garner has been our No.17 and can play as a back-rower or centre.
"Particularly with us, it's probably going to hinder a few just in terms of their minutes in Cup."
The new rule change does, however, reduce the likelihood of mass disruption to a team's spine.
St George Illawarra hooker Damien Cook has had to fill in at centre at both NRL and State of Origin level in recent seasons to cover for injuries in the backline.
"I love going out to the centre when something happens," Cook said.
"I really do, I enjoy it, it's good fun, but if someone is on the bench in that six-man, 18, 19 role, if they happen to be an outside back, it just makes everything better and we can keep everyone in our positions."
