In 1967, Rugby League was a different game.

Unlimited tackles became a thing of the past with the introduction of the four tackle rule. Originally an English modification, the new rule allowed four attacking plays and at the completion of four tackles, a scrum was packed. The defending team was given the best chance of winning the ball by being allowed the loose head (prop, feed side) and they were also allowed to feed the scrum. Following the controversial rule change, coaches and players irreversibly changed their game plans. Kicks became commonplace as attacking teams desperately tried to find touch downfield rather than be trapped with the ball. There were more scrums and with that, scrum penalties became a monotonous blight on the game. The traditional 'softening up period' was gone and replaced with a game where possession changed often.

Nevertheless, there were supporters of the limited tackle rule who pointed to the new game being faster and often swinging from one end of the field to the other.

The four tackle rule led to a completely new game of Rugby League and one that was the cause of much debate in its first year. In particular, it has often been blamed for the demise of the St George powerhouse during this period and that the Dragons couldn’t adapt to the new game - a claim which isn’t backed by research and is probably a myth.

In 1967, the St George Dragons were the defending premiers and had just won a world record 11 premierships in a row. But it was a vastly different world to the one that saw the Dragons beginning their dream run in 1956. Back then, Robert Menzies was Australian Prime Minister and the Melbourne Olympics was delivering stardom to Betty Cuthbert and Dawn Fraser. Ken Rosewall was winning Wimbledon and Rock-and-Roll was shocking parents in America. By 1967, there was Vietnam, protests and the Beatles released Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.

It was during this that the radical limited tackle rule came into being. This coincided with an end to the Dragons’ reign and gave rise to claims that the new rule was designed to stop St George. While it’s true that their forwards dominated while retaining possession for long periods, the St George of 1967 also adapted to playing under the four tackle rule. They still finished as minor premiers and scored more tries than anyone else. The Dragons had every chance to make it 12 premierships in a row.

But there were other factors going against them;

Firstly, core players in the team were one year older and some were having trouble backing up from representative duties. Journalist Mike Gibson wrote, “… a lot of them were looking more than just year older when we saw them rampaging last year.”

Secondly, the player depth was thinning. Lower grade players, tired of waiting for their chance, found better spots with other clubs. Additionally, there were two new teams in the competition, Penrith Panthers and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and this gave more opportunities to players coming onto the open market. In a nutshell, Saints had lost key players, mainly forwards, and left it too late to find replacements. The reality was that they were losing more players than they were gaining.

Thirdly, Souths were on the rise and their young team of future greats were a year older.

These factors plus a series of internal disputes were to weigh heavily on Saints in 1967. In particular, Saints were to rue their lost opportunity to keep Kevin Ryan who, as captain-coach of Canterbury-Bankstown would introduce many of the Dragon's training techniques. Ryan's Canterbury would be there in the semi-finals to narrowly defeat St George and finally end their premiership run.

The four tackle rule, having completed its first season, was still being hotly debated in the boardrooms and public bars of Sydney. A number of players despised the rule. Reg Gasnier didn’t mince words when he simply said, “I hated it.”

Test hooker, Ian Walsh wrote, “I didn’t like the four tackle rule. Under it, Rugby League became a game of chance and took much of the long-term strategy out of the game.”

The argument continued until 1971 when the rule was changed again with an extension to six attacking plays. Although the critics continued to debate the issues, it seems that this final six tackle modification silenced the antagonists forever and gave us the game we have today.

1967:
DEPLETED DRAGONS STILL MINOR PREMIERS
Saints had always prided itself on it's recruitment drive. This had been the cornerstone of their growing success for almost 30 years but in recent times, the club's commitment to nurturing new talent had taken a number of falls. By the early 60s, the club had reached the pinnacle of sporting achievement and with that a certain amount of relaxation had crept into ranks of the administrators. Players leaving the club was nothing new but in earlier years, there was a strong reserve grade and the club had replacements trained and ready up to a year prior to the changeover. By 1967, the club's strength had descended to shallow depths. The Dragons were written off in 1967, however, the champion side out-stayed all to become minor premiers for the 11th time in 12 seasons.
SAINTS HUMBLED BY PENRITH
Penrith Park, 23 April 1967:  St George suffer their first loss in 1967 in an embarrassing defeat to League newcomers, Penrith. Saints' have been suffering from a number of off field problems which no doubt contributed to the 24-12 round four loss.
SAINTS CRUSH BERRIES
Sydney Cricket Ground, 27 May 1967:  St George have responded to their critics with a resounding 26-8 victory over Canterbury Bankstown. In recent weeks, hooker and skipper/coach,  Ian Walsh was experiencing a drop in form and often found himself on the losing end of the scrum count. In short, his head was on the chopping block. A pre-game meeting sparked the team into action and the round 10 match became a turn- ing point in Saints 1967 campaign. The following week, Saints thrashed Newtown 42-7.
DENNIS PRESTON SEASON'S TOP POINT SCORER
Dennis Preston was the 1967 competition's top point scorer with six tries and 73 goals (164 points).