It's not a case of the quick and the dead just yet. The quick and the seriously ill, or temporarily off colour, may be closer to the mark.
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But Wayne Bennett believes the congested NRL ladder and the sudden mortality of teams such as the Sydney Roosters and South Sydney reflects the changing speed of the game. Not everyone has enjoyed the shake-up of the tempo.
After seven rounds of the competition, just two wins separate first from 15th, with only the battling Sea Eagles genuinely adrift as they languish in 16th with just a solitary win for the season.
Many felt the Rabbitohs and Roosters were nearly untouchable when the season began but both heavyweights have come back to the pack in recent weeks, while Brisbane and St George-Illawarra have defied predictions to join the Storm on top of the table going into the Anzac weekend.
Bennett believes that gap could yet widen, particularly through the uncertainty of the State of Origin campaign, but says the new ruck laws have served to equalise the competition, while old habits die hard at clubs where winning the dreaded wrestle was top priority.
Melbourne are the exception and have adapted quickly to the new interpretations under the guidance of coach Craig Bellamy. But Bennett said adapting was proving far trickier for other outfits as they try to fit their systems around a speedier ruck and more stringent rulings from referees.
"I think so. I think that's certainly put some teams under pressure. They've done a pretty fair job there [the referees], the more football I'm watching," Bennett said.
Bennett went as far as comparing the new laws, which he helped usher in as part of his role on the NRL rules committee, to driving over the limit. It's not a matter of if you get penalised, he said, but when and how often.
"It's a bit like drinking and driving. The sign says 'sooner or later, we'll catch you'. It's pretty much like that now. If you want to lie all over them in the ruck, you won't get penalised in every tackle. But they will get you," Bennett said.
"And that's what I'm seeing. Most of the guys are starting to be more compliant with it because they realise they are going to give penalties away."
Brisbane have concentrated heavily on a hit-and-stick defensive mantra this season, rather than players piling on the held man then peeling away slowly, a tactic now outlawed in a bid to speed up play.
Bennett believes not all rival clubs have managed to make such a quick transition to the updated interpretations.
"It doesn't worry you because that's what you've done. It does worry other clubs and it does impact on their performances. They're used to it being played so slowly. They have to adjust now," he said.
Smaller players such as Cowboys hooker Jake Granville, a lightning attacker from dummy-half, have started to thrive and Bennett has already signalled his intent to retain more nimble players as the game toys with slashing interchanges from 10 to six.
He said a faster game was simply a superior product, which would only improve under further refinements.
"It's only common sense that we're all going to get better. You either get better or you get worse, so you'd hope we're getting better, stronger, faster, fitter ... pretty much like the Olympic ideals," he said.
"You have to assume the game you see today will only be better in five years' time."
