Super League jargon, glossary and slang terms explained: Set of six, sin bin, play-the-ball and more!
Ahead of the Super League season, we take you through some of the key terms you need to know; Sky Sports is the only place to watch every Super League game live this year, with the season beginning on Thursday February 13
Wednesday 12 February 2025 16:42, UK
Think you know your 40-20 from your dropout? Your dummy half from your half-back? Well ahead of the 2025 Super League season, here is all your rugby league jargon explained in one handy guide!
Try
Let's start with an easy one, shall we? A try is when a player crosses the whitewash to score in the opposition's goal area. So they have worked their way down the pitch and get over the white line, placing the ball down. In rugby league, this is worth four points.
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Conversion
Every time a try is scored, the scoring team will attempt to convert that try. The goal kicker from the team will take this opportunity and by kicking the ball through the middle of the posts, they can add an extra two points. So from a converted try there is a total of six points to be gained.
Drop goal
A drop goal is when a player drop-kicks the ball over the opposition's posts, like a conversion. This can happen from anywhere on the field and is worth an extra point.
Of course, drop goals occur in the most DRAMATIC moments!
Penalty
When an infringement is committed against your team, the referee will blow their whistle and award you a penalty. When this happens, a team has three options:
1) If in good field position, the team may opt to add two more points from a goal conversion.
2) The team can kick downfield to touch for better field position.
3) The team can tap the ball on their foot and quickly run it from where they are.
Every penalty gives a team a new set of six. What is that, you ask...
Set of six or just 'set'
A set of six refers to the six tackles a team has when they're in possession of the ball. In rugby league, every time a team regains possession they have six chances to make their way downfield and score a try. So they can be tackled a total of six times before they have to hand over possession to the opposing outfit.
Six tackles, six chances to score. Simple, right?
Set restart
So when can one of these sets get started again? In Super League, the referee can call for a set restart and reset the tackle count for a minor infringement, colloquially known as a 'six again' due to the call made by the referee to indicate it has been awarded.
Sin bin
In sports like football, if you are shown a yellow card, it is like a warning to not infringe again. However, in Super League, if you are shown a yellow card, you will spend 10 minutes in the sin bin.
This means your team will have to spend 10 minutes of the match down to 12 instead of 13 players and you will have to watch on from the sidelines HOPING that your error doesn't put the other team on top.
Interchange
In rugby league, when a player is subbed off the field they are able to return again and so this is why they are called interchanges. Each team has a bench of four players they can use and you can interchange your players up to eight times.
You don't have to use them all but you can't use more!
Ruck area
The ruck area is the area around where a tackle is made but very different to a ruck in rugby union, where there is a contest for possession.
Once a player is tackled in rugby league, the contest is over and the tacklers move away from the ruck area in order for the next tackle to start - remember, they only get six!
Play-the-ball
So at the end of each of these tackles, the player tackled has to play-the-ball. This is what the tackled player does in backheeling the ball to a team-mate after they're tackled.
Dummy-half
Then who picks up the ball? The dummy-half, of course! This player is usually wearing the No 9 jersey and their job is to pick up the ball from a play-the-ball and pass it onto whoever is running in next.
Half-back
The half-back in rugby league is usually the player who wears the No 7 shirt and their job is directing the play around the field.
Think of them like a conductor - they decide how the song is going to be played, how fast, how slow and when the moment to strike is!
40/20
A 40/20 is a kick which a player makes from inside their own 40 metres which bounces over the touchline inside their opponents' 20-metre zone and sees the kicking team retain possession.
There is also a 20/40 kick which works in the same way but is very rarely seen.
Out on the full
This is when a kick goes straight out of play without bouncing. In rugby league, all kicks in general play must bounce once infield before going into touch otherwise the opposing team takes over possession where the ball was kicked from.
This does not apply to kicks for touch from penalties.
2025 Super League - key dates and what to look out for
February 13-16: Round 1 season start
March 1: Wigan Warriors vs Warrington Wolves in Las Vegas
April 17-19: Round 8 - Rivals Round
May 3-4: Magic Round (St James' Park, Newcastle)
July 24: August 31 - Round 20 - split round across two weekends
September 4-7: Round 25 - Rivals Round fixtures reversed
September 18-21: Round 27 - last round of regular season (dates and times TBC)
September 26-27: Elimination Play-Offs
October 3-4: Semi-Finals
Saturday October 11: Grand Final (Old Trafford)
Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season - including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining four matches each week shown on Sky Sports+
