NRL changes obstruction rule in wake of heavy criticism Referee Matt Ceccin rules Tim Moltzen's try was disallowed due to obstruction during the round four clash between Manly and the Tigers. THE NRL has buckled against the growing pressure to amend the obstruction rule, now allowing video referees to determine the significance of any contact by decoy runners when ruling on try-scoring situations. NRL General Manager of Football Operations Nathan McGuirk issued the amendment today, and it will be effective from this weekend's round five. "Having examined the application of the rule over the opening four rounds we believe an adjustment was necessary to provide a level of discretion for the video referee in the review process," McGuirk said, following talks with referees boss and members of the NRL's Competition Committee. Daniel in particular has made some really positive changes to the refereeing of matches in 2013 and the fact that we are able to make adjustments when they need to be made reflects the strength of the system we have in place. It is important to note that this is not a green light for block (decoy) runners to start contacting defenders with no consequences. It simply provides the video referee with the discretion to rule on the significance of any contact by a block runner and ensure that tries that would have been fairly scored will be awarded.