An edict sent from NRL headquarters during the Christmas break, ambushing coaches with a significant new rule interpretation, has angered them, with some claiming Broncos boss Wayne Bennett is "running the game".

The edict, sent out on December 23, by NRL head of football Todd Greenberg, warns that referees will penalise defenders who do not simultaneously release themselves from a ball carrier. Bennett, a 700-game multiple premiership coach, has long campaigned against what is called "the wrestle", with the new rule interpretation designed to speed up the play-the-ball.

Influential: Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett. Credit:Getty Images

Coaches protest it will result in more dummy-half running and one-out play, with offload rates dropping even more precipitously than in 2014, where the three top teams had the lowest statistics on keeping the ball alive. Team bosses left a meeting early in December, convinced there would be no changes to the rules, with one phoning his chief executive, saying, "Good news. No new rule changes."

However, the NRL competition committee, which includes Bennett and Roosters coach Trent Robinson, is the body empowered to recommend rule changes to the ARL Commission. It met the following day and voted in the new rule interpretation. The ARLC approved it and eventually the head coaches received Greenberg's edict just before Christmas.