The code expelled the Rabbitohs from the competition and then cheered for them to win last year's premiership.

Now, Souths can't take advantage of a law the NRL introduced last year.

In an attempt to stop players deliberately booting the ball from near midway to cross the dead ball line (and prevent fullbacks like Billy Slater returning it), the NRL ruled that the consequent 20 metre tap would be a zero tackle. In other words, it would be a seven tackle set.

It was an over-reaction by the NRL, because there were not enough examples of balls deliberately kicked dead to justify the change.

Souths' Adam Reynolds is the best kicker/creator of repeat sets in the NRL. Before he was injured, the Rabbitohs were 4-1. Now they are 0-3.

Great kickers can dribble the ball in-goal to force teams into line drop outs and also force a repeat set via an attacking kick on the end of a 20-metre tap.

Without a clever kicker, a team may be better running the ball on the last tackle.

That is, rather than risk kicking the ball dead and have the opposition re-start play 20 metres from the posts with seven tackles, it would be better to run it. If unsuccessful with a try, play re-starts only metres from the try line with one less tackle.

If more tries was an intended corollary of the rule change, it hasn't worked.

Prozone statistics show that for rounds 1 to 8, there has only been one try from this in 2014 and one this year.

But the number of 20 metre taps is declining.

According to Prozone data, for rounds 1 to 8, there were 283 quarter taps in 2014 and 219 for the same period this year, a 22.6 per cent fall.

Another hoped for corollary of the changed rule was that teams would use the extra tackle from a 20 metre tap to move up field quickly, ending the set with an attacking kick.

Assuming this was the case, more tries would follow.

In 2014, rounds 1 to 8, there were 19 tries from a set following a quarter tap, whereas this year it has been 13.

With 64 less quarter taps in 2015, this is to be expected.

But let's look at tries from repeat sets, as well. In other words, the attacking team executes an attacking kick on the seventh tackle and forces the opposition into error, or receives a penalty.

That is, they receive a repeat set via a fumble, a penalty or a line drop out.

There were 22 of these repeat set tries in 2014 rounds 1 to 8 and only 13 this year.

That's a drop of nearly half.

One reason for this is referees are not giving the attacking team as many penalties from repeat sets in 2015.

There have been eight less repeat sets through a penalty which makes it harder for a team to enter good field position.

If we add tries from 20 metre taps and tries from the repeat set which followed it, there were 41 tries from the 417 tries scored in rounds 1 to 8 in 2014 and 28 from 428 this year.

That is, a decline from 9.8 per cent in 2014 to 6.5 per cent this year.

There has to be an explanation other than fewer quarter taps.

Perhaps the team in front on the scoreboard uses the extra tackle from a quarter tap conservatively. It merely grinds its way up field to eat up the clock.

Perhaps the team behind, as the Sea Eagles were against the Storm in round 8, uses the seven tackles aggressively and launches an attacking kick and wins a penalty.

Today's coaches tend to be conservative and most players have been plying their craft for 15 years.

It therefore takes time to adjust to the corollaries of new rules, such as running the ball on the last tackle in the opposition 20 metre zone, even if the opposing wingers have dropped back.

Taking the chance on an offload in the middle of a seven tackle set, when ahead by eight points with two minutes left, simply to run up the score, is not in the match plan.

However, a preliminary examination of the NRL's zero tackle rule from quarter taps, introduced last year to stop the rare occasions when the ball was deliberately kicked dead, shows it hasn't worked.

Tries are what the code craves, yet the new rule has merely produced more turnovers and exposed the Rabbitohs' reliance on Reynolds.

• More rugby league at LeagueHQ