Offside is a position; interference makes it punishable.

The rule and version used here

This page applies the International Rugby League Laws of the Game 2026, especially Section 14, “Off Side.” It also identifies phase-specific duties from the tackle, scrum and restart sections.

IRL amended the active-and-passive offside wording from 1 January 2026. An offside player within ten metres must remain passive through the next play-the-ball or stoppage unless the player first gets back onside by retiring behind the point of the kick. That current wording is important when reading older explanations.

One foot can put a player offside

IRL defines a player as offside when the ball touches, is touched, held or kicked by a teammate behind that player. The notes make “in front” precise: having one foot, on or off the ground, in front of the relevant teammate is enough.

The exception is a player standing in that player's own in-goal. Elsewhere, position is assessed at the teammate's touch or kick—not at the later moment when a receiver catches the ball.

The player must not shape the next play

Section 14 says an offside player must not take part or attempt in any way to influence the course of the game. That rules out more than tackling the receiver. An offside player must not:

• Contest or collect the ball.
• Pressure the receiver into an early catch, pass or change of line.
• Block a support runner or narrow the receiver's escape route.
• Advance to form a downfield defensive net.
• Call or gesture in a way that materially affects the contest.

Raising both hands may communicate non-participation, but it does not make the player legal. Position, movement and effect still decide the call.

Ten metres around the catcher is protected

An offside chaser must not encroach within ten metres of an opponent waiting for the ball and must immediately retire ten metres from an opponent who first secures possession. An offside player who remains within ten metres of an opponent set to catch an upfield kick is deemed to be interfering or attempting to interfere, unless the receiving team gains an immediate advantage.

This is stricter than waiting to see whether the chaser makes a tackle. Proximity itself can remove the receiver's fair options, which is why the law treats the offside player as interference inside the protected distance.

The receiver cannot manufacture the offence by deliberately and unnecessarily running into an offside player. IRL tells the catcher to continue normal play and leave the decision to the referee.

Inside-ten players stay passive longer

Under IRL's 2026 wording, offside players who are within ten metres must not actively participate in or affect subsequent play up to the next play-the-ball or stoppage. The direct route out of that restriction is to retire behind the point from which the teammate kicked.

This prevents a chaser who began too close from simply waiting for the receiver to move ten metres and then joining the same phase from an advantageously advanced position. General onside provisions still exist, but the new inside-ten instruction specifically controls these kick chasers.

Five ways an offside player can be put onside

Outside a phase-specific restriction, IRL Section 14.3 lists these events:

1. An opponent moves ten metres or more with the ball.
2. An opponent touches the ball without retaining it.
3. A teammate carrying the ball runs in front of the offside player.
4. A teammate kicks or knocks the ball forward and then takes a position in front of the offside player in the field of play.
5. The offside player retires behind the point where a teammate last touched the ball.

These are legal events, not permission to loiter and obstruct. The player must remain out of the game until the onside event has actually occurred.

Chasers cannot build a ring ahead of the kick

A teammate already in front of the kicker may not advance beyond the point of the previous play-the-ball until the ball has gone past that offside player. IRL's notes call this the “downtown” rule.

Its purpose is to stop advanced players running downfield early and surrounding the receiver while an onside chaser arrives. Remaining behind the previous play-the-ball point is a movement restriction; it does not by itself put the player onside or permit interference.

The ruck uses its own out-of-play lines

At a play-the-ball, defenders other than the marker and acting half must retire ten metres from the point where the ball is played, or to their own goal line if that is closer. Having retired, they cannot advance until the ball has cleared the ruck.

Players of the team in possession, other than the two players taking part, must retire behind their teammates involved in the play-the-ball or to their own goal line. The marker and acting-half positions also have their own requirements.

These players are “out of play” under Section 11. They are not rescued by the five general onside events from Section 14; the play-the-ball rules decide when they can participate.

Each phase establishes a separate line

Players out of play at a scrum, kick-off, drop-out, penalty kick or free kick must comply with the section governing that restart. Section 14 expressly says the general ways of being put onside do not cure those positions.

• Scrum: participating forwards and players outside the scrum have prescribed positions and may not leave their offside lines early.
• Kick-off or drop-out: the kicking side must remain behind the ball until it is kicked, while receivers have the distances prescribed by Section 8.
• Penalty or free kick: the kicker's teammates must be behind the ball, and opponents must retire the required distance or to their goal line.

A quick restart tests whether opponents interfere while still retreating, but it does not erase their obligation to retire.

Penalty, scrum, advantage or play on?

Deliberately taking part or influencing play from offside normally brings a penalty. If the referee is satisfied that the interference was accidental, IRL directs a scrum instead. The referee may also allow advantage where the non-offending team obtains a real benefit.

A play-the-ball offside or early defensive line can instead fall under Section 11's tackle-count restart and field-position provisions. Repeated or deliberate offending can also become misconduct. The outcome therefore depends on both the offside position and the phase that created it.

An offside chaser stops inside ten

Situation: Blue 4 begins in front of the kicker, stops eight metres from Red's waiting fullback and raises both hands.

IRL 2026 ruling: Blue 4 is deemed to be interfering inside the protected ten-metre zone unless Red gains immediate advantage. Stopping and raising the hands do not undo the illegal proximity.

The receiver runs into a passive player

Situation: an offside Blue player is stationary and moving away from the contest. Red catches safely, changes direction and deliberately runs into Blue to request a penalty.

IRL 2026 ruling: play can continue. The IRL note says a catcher should not go out of the way to make interference unavoidable.

The inside-ten chaser waits for a ten-metre run

Situation: Blue starts five metres from the catcher. Red runs ten metres; Blue then tackles without first retiring behind the kick point.

IRL 2026 ruling: penalty. Under the 2026 amendment, the inside-ten player must remain passive until the next play-the-ball or stoppage unless first put onside by retiring behind the kick point.

A defender is eight metres back at the ruck

Situation: Red never reaches the required defensive line, then advances as the dummy-half passes.

IRL 2026 ruling: Red began out of play under Section 11 and has taken part before losing the advantage. Apply the play-the-ball infringement provisions rather than the general kick-offside routes.

The ball accidentally strikes an offside teammate

Situation: a kick rebounds unexpectedly into an offside teammate who could not reasonably avoid it.

IRL 2026 ruling: if the referee is satisfied the interference was accidental, restart with a scrum rather than treating it as deliberate offside participation.

How to analyse any offside replay

1. Name the phase. General-play kick, play-the-ball, scrum and set restart do not share one universal line.
2. Freeze the relevant touch or kick. Identify any teammate with one foot in front.
3. Measure special distances. Check the ten-metre catcher zone and play-the-ball line.
4. Track movement and influence. Pressure and blocking matter even without a tackle.
5. Apply the 2026 inside-ten restriction. Ask whether the player retired behind the kick point before rejoining.
6. Check for a valid onside event. Do not use general events to cure phase-specific positions.
7. Choose the phase's outcome. Advantage, scrum, set restart and penalty each have distinct triggers.

Five claims to avoid

• “Offside always causes an immediate whistle.” A passive player may remain temporarily out of the game.
• “Hands up makes the player legal.” It is only a signal; effect and distance still matter.
• “The receiver running ten metres frees every chaser.” The 2026 inside-ten rule can keep a player passive through the next play-the-ball.
• “All ten-metre rules are the same.” The kick-receiver zone and play-the-ball line arise from different provisions.
• “A general onside event cures an early scrum or restart position.” IRL expressly preserves the phase-specific rules.

Governing-body sources and effective version

• International Rugby League — Laws of the Game 2026, Sections 11–14
• International Rugby League — 2026 active/passive offside amendment
• Rugby Football League — current Laws of the Game hub
• National Rugby League — officials and rules resources

Checked against the IRL 2026 international law book and the amendment effective 1 January 2026. Domestic competition interpretations may supplement the international baseline.