Try grounding and held-up calls depend on what reaches the ground.

The international law is the baseline

This page applies the International Rugby League (IRL) Laws of the Game 2026, including amendments effective from 1 January 2026. The Rugby Football League uses the international laws as the foundation for its competitions, while the NRL and other governing bodies may publish their own interpretations, playing conditions, and video-review procedures.

The core questions are consistent: was the ball grounded in the opponents' in-goal, was the grounding legal, and did a boundary contact, infringement, or completed tackle happen first? Always check the rules of the competition being played when a review process or restart variation matters.

Three actions can legally ground the ball

The IRL glossary recognises three ways to ground the ball:

1. Place the ball on the ground with one or both hands.
2. Apply downward pressure with a hand or arm while the ball itself is on the ground.
3. Drop on a ball that is on the ground and cover it with the front of the body above the waist and below the neck.

The third method was clarified in the 2026 laws: covering the ball with the player's back is not a legal grounding. The contact must be with the specified front part of the body.

The goal line is in-goal

A try can be scored on the goal line because the line forms part of in-goal. The whole ball does not have to travel beyond the line, and the player's whole body does not have to cross it. What matters is that the ball is legally grounded on or beyond the goal line before the ball or grounding player is out.

The touch line, touch-in-goal line, and dead-ball line are out of play. There is no try if the attacker is in touch or touch in-goal, or on or over the dead-ball line, before grounding. For a corner finish, officials compare the exact timing of the grounding and boundary contact.

Control and downward pressure are different questions

A player carrying the ball may score by placing it on the ground with a hand or hands. When the ball is already loose on the ground, a hand or arm must exert downward pressure, unless the player legally covers it with the front of the body in the way the glossary describes.

Rugby league does not impose a separate requirement to keep holding the ball after it has been grounded correctly. A release after legal grounding does not cancel the try. But if the player loses the ball before grounding it, officials must decide whether there was a knock-on, whether another player grounded it, or whether play should continue.

What “held up” means in-goal

An attacker is held up when they have possession in the opponents' in-goal but cannot ground the ball and the tackle has been completed. Defenders commonly achieve this by keeping the ball away from the turf or holding the carrier so that no further progress or legal grounding is possible.

Being above the line is not enough for a try, and being stopped there does not automatically create a goal-line drop-out. Once the referee is satisfied that the player is held and unable to ground the ball, the referee stops the contest and orders the held-up restart.

The count continues from 10 metres out

Under the IRL 2026 laws, the player who was held up plays the ball 10 metres from the goal line, opposite the place where they were held. The attacking team does not receive a fresh set merely because the tackle finished in-goal: the existing tackle count continues.

If the player is held up after the fifth play-the-ball—that is, on the last tackle—the defending team receives the ball through a handover 10 metres into the field of play. Older footage or a competition's local playing conditions may show different procedures, so the governing body's effective rules control the restart.

One reach can be legal; a second movement may not be

A player brought down near the goal line may place the ball on or over the line if the tackle has not yet been completed. That ordinary placing action can complete a try. Momentum may also carry a tackled player into in-goal, where legal grounding can produce a sliding try.

A player whose tackle is already complete cannot make a second movement to advance the ball over the line. Officials judge whether the action was one continuous grounding movement or a new effort after the tackle. The label “double movement” is common, but the practical issue is whether the tackle had already been completed.

Simultaneous grounding favours the try

If an attacker and defender ground the ball simultaneously in the defending in-goal, the laws award a try, provided the attacker is not already in touch, touch in-goal, or on or over the dead-ball line.

A sliding attacker can also score when momentum carries them into in-goal, even if the ball first touched the ground in the field of play. The ball must cross the goal line while the player remains legally in play, and the eventual grounding must meet the normal definition.

Picking the ball up is not grounding it

An attacker may pick up a loose ball in the opponents' in-goal and move to a better position before grounding it. The pickup itself does not score. Until legal grounding occurs, the ball remains live unless a knock-on, boundary contact, tackle, or another event stops play.

If an attacker fails to ground the ball correctly, the referee does not have to stop play solely for that failed attempt. Play can continue, although a prior or resulting knock-on may require a restart. A try also cannot be scored while the ball remains in a scrum.

Defenders may prevent grounding without foul play

Defenders can legally hold the ball off the ground, roll the carrier so the ball cannot be placed, or complete a lawful tackle in-goal. The usual restrictions on dangerous contact and misconduct still apply; the try line does not relax player-safety laws.

The IRL tackle notes also make a specific allowance during a try attempt: although a steal by two or more defenders would ordinarily be penalised, that multiple-defender restriction does not apply while the player in possession is attempting to ground the ball. Officials still judge any knock-on, illegal contact, or completed-tackle issue created by the contest.

How referees decide try or no try

1. Confirm that the ball reached the opponents' in-goal and identify who first grounded it.
2. Check for a hand placement, hand-or-arm downward pressure, or legal covering with the front of the body.
3. Compare the grounding with any touch, touch-in-goal, dead-ball, knock-on, obstruction, or foul-play event.
4. Decide whether a tackle was already complete, the attacker was held up, or momentum and a continuous movement still allowed grounding.
5. Apply the tackle count and the correct 10-metre play-the-ball or handover.

Where a competition appoints a video referee, replay may help with hidden grounding and the sequence of events. The referral, automatic-review, and evidence standards are competition procedures rather than a universal feature of every rugby league match.

Four practical outcomes

• Ball placed on the goal line: try, because the goal line is part of in-goal.
• Loose ball pressed down with a forearm: try if the forearm exerts downward pressure before any infringement or boundary contact.
• Carrier crosses the line but defenders keep the ball above the turf: held up once the tackle is complete; restart 10 metres out with the count continuing.
• Carrier is held up on the last tackle: no try and a handover 10 metres from the goal line, opposite where the player was held.

Where readers get caught

• “The ball broke the plane, so it is a try”: no. Rugby league requires legal grounding.
• “Downward pressure is always required”: no. A carrier can place the ball with a hand or hands; downward pressure matters when a hand or arm grounds a ball already on the ground.
• “Any part of the torso can cover the ball”: no. The 2026 IRL wording specifies the front of the body above the waist and below the neck, not the back.
• “Losing the ball immediately after contact cancels the try”: not if legal grounding was completed first.
• “Held up means a new set”: no. Under the IRL 2026 laws, the count continues.
• “Held up means a goal-line drop-out”: no. The international-law restart is a play-the-ball 10 metres out, or a handover after the fifth play-the-ball.

Governing bodies and effective rules

• International Rugby League Laws of the Game 2026 PDF — glossary and Sections 6, 11, and 12.
• International Rugby League laws page — publisher of the international laws.
• IRL amendments effective 1 January 2026 — grounding clarification.
• Rugby Football League laws and regulations — rules used for RFL-governed play.
• National Rugby League rules page — Australian rules and NRL interpretations.