NRL referees are preparing to crack down on players chasing down kick receivers from offside positions in 2010, penalising where the kick was taken.

Referees boss Robert Finch told a coaches conference on Wednesday the move will aim to prevent the "dark old days" when kick returners were targeted by players crossing the advantage line before the ball had been kicked.

Finch says a "down town" play - where a chaser moves past the play-the-ball and charges down the field before a kick has been taken - will not be tolerated by referees with heavier penalties to be enforced.

Players who are simply in front of the kicker will still be penalised as being offside, however if a player is "down town", they will be penalised as being out of play.

Penalties for this infringement will be blown where the ball was kicked, as opposed to offside penalties, which are awarded where the ball lands.

"The technicality is that in a yardage kick, the offside players cannot intentionally progress past the play the ball until the ball has gone over their head," Finch said at the conference.

"So if they've gone and the ball isn't kicked, they're out of play. We would then penalise that action back at the play the ball. It's a very big penalty."

"Our issues are that it's becoming more and more prevalent ... there's no problem putting pressure on a fullback and winger as long as you're on onside and doing it legally.

"We're very keen to make sure the great attacking fullbacks and wingers we have in our game are given the space that they should have and we'll be coming down heavily on what we call 'down town' runners. That means players who have gone before the kick has gone."

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