Steve Mortimer, one of rugby league's great attacking players, appealed for the code's authorities to acknowledge finally that the 10 metres defensive line had sent the game backwards as an entertainment.
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The defensive line at a play-the-ball was extended from five to 10 metres in 1993 but Mortimer, who played for Canterbury's ''entertainers'' in the '70s and the ''enforcers'' of the '80s, said it was time to concede it had helped make the modern game too predictable.
''What you see now is when [Melbourne Storm] Cameron Smith skips out of dummy half, he has all the forwards alongside him, they're not back five yards,'' said Mortimer.
''So what we're seeing in sets of six is the forwards take it up for 10 metres, they make 50 metres, their kicker puts up a bomb or maybe they do a second phase play. They are simply taking the ball up and getting tackled, there's no imagination, it's just one-out stuff.
''And when a forward comes to defend, they go straight up the top and wrestle; we never had wrestle in my day but they're desperate now to stop the offload because [the defensive team] is going to have to run back another 10 metres for the next play.''
Mortimer said it should not surprise anyone that coaches were always certain to exploit the 10-metres rule.
''Rugby league is a simple game but it's the most entertaining when it comes to TV ratings,'' he said. ''We see that in State of Origin, but the way they're playing the game now it's just about taking advantage of rules.
''As a halfback I would've loved the 10-metre rule because I could take a look where the figures were but, now, as the coaches have it, the first three or four plays are just used as one-offs … get the ball up, kick the ball high and either score a try or not.''
He believed the neck injury Newcastle forward Alex McKinnon suffered in the match against Melbourne was, in part, a result of the 10-metre rule.
''When you take a look at the tackle, the two Bromwich boys [Jesse and Kenny] they went up the top and the reason they did that was to stop the ball, hold him up for a little while and get him down on the ground,'' he said.
''What that tackle does is it buys time for their teammates to get back the 10 metres and in position to prepare for the next attacking play.''
Mortimer, who retired in 1988, said he realised some people would dismiss him as a ''dinosaur'' but he was adamant his views were derived from his passion for the game and his fear it was perhaps too predictable.
''All I know is 10 metres is too far back for guys to defend. This isn't a whinge, I'm just looking at the betterment of our game.''
